Improving Bank Culture By Being an Ally

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Tuesday, March 8, is International Women’s Day, a global celebration of women’s historical, social, economic, cultural and political achievements.

This day is also a call to action for accelerating gender equality in all aspects of life. The theme for 2022’s day is #breakthebias, to create a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination, and that is diverse, equitable and inclusive.

I feel tremendous pride when I see my fellow women leaders succeed, whether they lead a country or a company. I also feel tremendous pride at the steps Securian Financial has taken to draw on the diverse talents and creativity of our team to maintain our workforce and our commitments to our policyholders. One of the ways we’ve done that is through the gender equity work of our associate resource group, which seeks to foster an environment that supports, educates and empowers all women at our company and in the broader community.

Creating gender equitable cultures can result in stronger corporate reputation, earnings and a greater ability to attract and retain talent. A diverse and equitable workforce can increase creativity, increase collaboration and provide better job satisfaction for employees. But the right policies alone cannot shift culture; it’s critical that employees become part of the cause. That’s where being an ally comes in.

What does it mean to be an ally?
I get this question a lot. For too long, gender equity issues were seen as a women’s problem to solve. Yet, these issues are actually leadership issues for all to address and conquer. This involves action, advocacy and the desire to create change. It is an understanding of how power operates, and who has it. It is learning and appreciating the history and issues that women face in the workplace.

Being an ally means creating an environment that nurtures, builds community and demonstrates paths to successful career advancement. Here are some ways executives and employees at any company can practice allyship:

  • In the Moment: Speaking up in the moment when sexist comments are made is a great way to reaffirm that sexism won’t be tolerated in your organization.
  • Listen: Be a sounding board. Avoid offering your perspective unless asked, and resist the urge to fix the situation.
  • Ask: Don’t hesitate to ask female colleagues how you can be an ally. Ask about specific issues or changes that the workplace or management can make, and be willing to take responsibility for change.
  • Feedback: Provide specific and quality feedback to women for developmental goals.
  • Mentor and Sponsor Women: Commit the time and energy to mentor women in the company, and connect them with opportunities to network and showcase their talents.
  • Engage: Engage in women’s initiatives and events. Be present and be willing to be part of the conversation.

In addition to becoming an ally, executives can initiate a review of the following through a gender equity lens:

  • Job descriptions.
  • Marketing materials, including gender-inclusive imagery.
  • The types of meetings you are having — even conferences.

In today’s challenging environment of hiring and retention, an organization’s commitment to gender equity can make a substantial difference. While we regularly celebrate women’s milestones in the workplace, we still look to give women equal opportunities to exist and succeed in the workplace.

Having equal opportunities strengthens communities and the industry. With diversity of thought and background, as well as gender, we can find a well of strength in times of change and transformation.

The views expressed here are Jennifer Ortale’s own and do not necessarily represent those of Securian Financial.

Gender Pay Equity and Board Gender Diversity – Is Your Board Prepared?

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governance-8-1-18.pngGender pay equity and board gender diversity are two areas of focus for both the media and investors. Lately, many large institutional investors have turned their attention to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, where board diversity has taken center stage and questions around gender pay equity are increasing. Boards and management should proactively gain an understanding of their current position and any concerns on these fronts to avoid adverse reactions from employees and/or shareholders.

Slow progress on gender diversity in the boardroom has led many large investors to push for an increase in the number of women on boards. Several influential institutional investors such as Blackrock, State Street Global Advisors and Vanguard have added diversity stipulations to their engagement and voting policies, citing studies that link increased female representation on boards with improved shareholder returns. More specifically, these institutions may vote against, and proxy advisory firms such as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis may recommend voting against, the nominating and governance committee members if there are not a least one or two women on the board. These voting policies have been very impactful, and we have seen a dramatic increase in women serving in board roles at the largest organizations.

Compensation Advisory Partners (CAP) researched the 15 largest public diversified financial services companies in the Fortune 100 and found that approximately 50 of companies had at least three women on their board and an additional 20 percent had at least two. As a comparison, CAP researched the board composition of 90 smaller financial services companies with assets between $5 billion and $20 billion and found approximately 15 have at least three females on their board and an additional 15 have at least two. Similar to other compensation and governance trends, we expect smaller financial organizations to catch up with the increased external pressure.

In addition, initiatives such as the NYC Comptroller’s Boardroom Accountability Project 2.0, focus on enhancing disclosure of board composition through a skills matrix. California is now the first state considering a bill to require a minimum number of women on all boards of the state’s more than 400 companies. These initiatives are driving heightened attention to the diversity and competencies of the board as a whole.

While information on director composition and profiles is public, this is not the case with gender pay equity across an organization. In the U.K. there is a requirement to disclose gender pay statistics for organizations with at least 250 employees, but that does not currently exist in the U.S. Even so, we have observed some institutional investors use shareholder proposals to pressure large organizations to provide public reports on gender pay.

Several financial institutions have been under scrutiny for a lack of female representation in senior roles despite a majority of their employees being female. Unlike the U.K., where all employees must be included in the sample, shareholder proposals in the U.S. focus on a comparison of “like-for-like jobs.” Over the last three years, companies recommended shareholders vote against the proposal, and support averaged around 15 percent. Only 5 proposals (compared to 14 in 2017) have gone to a vote in 2018, none at financial services companies (compared to 7 in 2017), since several large financial organizations such as Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Wells Fargo & Co. were able to have these requests withdrawn from their annual proxy statement and in exchange agreed to publish their gender pay. In all cases, the reports have shown almost no gap, but the approach by company can vary.

These two movements have put a spotlight on the underlying issue of equal representation in the boardroom and pay equality across organizations. The push for board equality has already resulted in progress especially at larger organizations. Boards are reviewing nominating and governance committee charters and adopting policies to promote diversity in the board recruitment process. On the gender pay equity front, even though disclosure is not required in the U.S., momentum and pressure are building from institutional investors for companies to disclose gender pay gaps.

We expect boards of all companies to start asking management if a gender pay gap exists, and what they should be doing to address any gaps that do exist. Conversations on both these topics should be an agenda item in all boardrooms today.