Welcome to the seventy-second issue of CEE News!
.
What role should female leaders play in helping their C-suite navigate the issue of state efforts to restrict reproductive rights in America?
What are some workplace policies or practices that companies should enact to support women and accelerate progress in closing the gender gap in the workforce?
These are just two of the questions tackled by participants in our recent panel discussion, HERstory: A Conversation With Executive Women About Gender Equality. As I listened to the responses from the panelists, I was struck how women executives are uniquely suited to navigate the nuances of the 21st century workplace.
Collectively, these women bring over 110 years of experience, hold degrees from Howard University School of Law, UCLA, Goa Institute of Management (Sattari, India), Ma Christina Del Escorial (Madrid, Spain), and California State University, and impact nearly 92,000 employees across the globe. More importantly, the panelists have firsthand experience of what it’s like to not be a part of the dominate group in the workplace. They’ve juggled child rearing as working moms and broken the deep cultural expectations about the role of women at work and at home.
These are executives who have sharpened their leadership skills in the face of microaggression, gaslighting, unconscious bias, and sexism, making them exceptionally well suited to lead the diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) challenges at the highest levels of business. The research clearly shows not only that the business case for DEIB remains robust but also that the relationship between diversity on executive teams and the likelihood of financial outperformance has strengthened over time.
It was an honor to provide a platform for these exceptional women to share and a joy to watch them shine. If you didn’t get a chance to see the panel discussion, you can watch the replay on our YouTube channel any time. I encourage you to watch it and share it with your team. Workplaces that work for women, work for everyone.
Sheri Nasim | President & CEO