IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2016 - 48
Career Advisor
Striving Toward More
Women at the Top
s
Start-ups and large organizations typically have some pretty different needs
from their leadership, but there is one
thing they seem to have in common:
both need more women at the top. How
to achieve that is an issue that has been
plaguing companies of all sizes for years,
with many studies and articles published
that mention contributing factors, such
as the wage gap between men's and
women's salaries or the challenges of
navigating maternity leave policies. Next
year, the results of a new study on gender parity are set to be released, but this
time the methodology centers on the
women who have beaten the odds.
" We are identif ying women in
leadership positions and using a 360°
assessment method to understand
how their peers, bosses, and subordinates view the idea of female leadership," says Annie Combelles, director
of research and studies for the Women
Initiative Foundation, which is fielding
the project. "This, of course, includes
men. We are absolutely convinced that
gender parity will only be possible if
men have different viewpoints about
women in leadership."
Launched mid-2016, the study runs
across three countries in Europe, with
the objective of identifying best practices for achieving parity in both large
groups and entrepreneurial-run orga-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2016.2603758
Date of publication: 9 November 2016
48
IEEE womEn In EngInEErIng magazInE
tant to build a support organization
for others. A graduate of Stanford's
business school, she partnered with
several other alumni in launching
WBMI, which is also supported by WIF
study partners BNP Paribas and Engie.
More recently, Liautaud published a
book, Breaking Through: Stories and
Best Practices From Companies that
Help Women Succeed, that expands
the reach of WBMI's mission through
nizations. "We want the results to show
evidence-based narratives that show
how organizations can change and what
how mentoring of all types can benpractices they need to adopt to enable a
efit women in business and ultireal transformation," adds Combelles. "We would also like to
mately move all companies
on a path toward gender
provide recommendations
equality.
to universities and schools
So far, WBMI mentors
because everything really
have personally assisted
starts there." While one
over 100 entrepreneurs
year is an ambitious timewith business growth and
line for such a major study,
international expansion.
partnerships with BNP PariAnnie Combelles
Additionally, the group and
bas, Engie, ESCP Europe
its partners have conducted two sepaBusiness School, and the Stanford Gradrate one-week executive programs at
uate School of Business are providing
Stanford for 40 women entrepreneurs
support and, in some cases, already had
that focuses on the theme "Women in
internal groups working on gender parLeadership." Mentoring services are
ity initiatives.
open to any business where a woman
The organization that conceived
is the majority shareholder, as long as
this study, the Women Initiative Founit is at least three years old. Combelles
dation (WIF), was created in January
explains that the three-year rule is due
2016 to serve as "a think-tank to stimto the fact that, in France, a start-up in
ulate and contribute to the reflection
its first three years has access to a lot
on subjects such as gender diversity,
of assistance, including incubators and
the access of women to top jobs in the
accelerators, but after the third year,
workplace, equal pay, etc.," according
those opportunities diminish.
to its website. The idea for WIF grew
"The other type of 'prerequisite' we
out of the success of the Women Busievaluate is that the leader has the capacness Mentoring Initiative (WBMI), a
ity and capability to listen," explains
group of mentors set up in 2010 to
Combelles. "We won't make decisions for
help female entrepreneurs establish
anyone's business, but we want the leadand grow their businesses.
ership to be open to what we are suggestBoth groups were founded by Maring." This includes a leader's willingness
tine Liautaud, an entrepreneur who
to share a little bit of her power. "Most
cites gratitude toward the mentor
of the time the women who set up these
that helped her set up her consultbusinesses manage absolutely everything
ing firm as a reason she felt it impor-
december 2016
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