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9/25/05
Gender gap Women in a variety of industries are moving more slowly up America's corporate ladder, lagging behind their male counterparts in joining corporate boards, obtaining venture capital funding, and being promoted, according to a recent report from the Committee of 200. The ''2005 C200 Business Leadership Index'' noted there has been no increase in the pace of women's overall clout in the business world, ''which indicates that women's influence has been creeping forward slowly for at least the last four years and probably won't equal men's during this decade or the next.''
This year's study marks a shift in America's executive landscape, where women have been gaining ground as corporate leaders over the past few decades. The index, which is compiled and reported annually by C200, measures benchmark traits where men and women differ. A score of 10 on the index indicates total equality between men and women, and is tracked on a number of factors including rate of business ownership, number of board seats and corporate officer positions with Fortune 500 companies, the size of businesses run by women, access to venture capital funding, and the width of the gender-wage gap. While certain fields in the study showed a continuing improvement for women — including the size of women-owned businesses and the number of women working toward a master's degree in business administration — others showed a severe slowdown or reversal of progress. The benchmark measuring the increase in women serving on corporate boards slowed to a 3 percent growth rate between 2004 and 2005, down from 6 percent growth between 2003 and 2004. The biggest drop in the report was in venture capital, which measured women's access to investment funds from outside sources for their own businesses or companies they worked for. That measure dropped 24 percent between 2004 and 2005, down from a 30 percent increase the previous year. ''If companies want to stay competitive, they need to find ways to position more women in line executive roles, and yet the index shows that progress in this area has slowed,'' said Jo Marie Dancik, treasurer of C200, and a regional managing partner of Ernst & Young, an international accounting firm.
Workplace One Boston human resources firm says employees just don't understand their workplaces well enough. Only one in three companies have employees who understand and live up to the corporate business strategy, according to a survey released last week by Right Management Consultants of Boston in conjunction with the International Association of Business Communicators Research Foundation. While 63 percent of companies cited keeping their employees in line with their business strategy as the major goal of their internal communications efforts, only 37 percent said they felt it was being done effectively. The results underscore a problem many of today's companies are facing: keeping employees energized and enthusiastic about their work, when they don't understand much of what their ultimate goals are. ''Companies with employees who understand and can carry out their employer's business strategy tend to have higher worker retention rates and are generally more productive than those with disengaged workforces,'' said Chuck Mollor, regional vice president for Right Management.
Middle management Middle managers, take note: Sharpen your skills or your jobs could soon become obsolete. By 2012, the American workforce will be more diverse in terms of workers' ages and ethnic backgrounds, according to a study conducted recently by TNS, a market information group, and the Conference Board, a business consulting and information firm. These fundamental changes, along with other expected shifts in workforce demographics, mean much of the nation's middle management simply won't have the skills needed to grow with their companies while staying competitive, the study said. ''Changing demographics combined with the changing needs of American business will create two substantial tests for employers: finding ways to attract, retain, and motivate high-quality employees regardless of age, ethnicity, gender or occupation,'' the study noted. Companies will also have to develop ''workforce management practices that balance the corporate bottom line with the needs and expectations of a diverse, global workforce.'' The survey also cited figures from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics stating that changes in the workforce will create a greater disparity between those at both ends of the corporate ladder, where most jobs, separated by pay and skill levels, will leave few workers in the middle. As the workforce begins to polarize, the survey found, employees are finding themselves less engaged with their work. Of those employees surveyed, 40 percent said they felt disconnected from their employers in some way, and 25 percent said they showed up to work ''just for the paycheck.'' The two organizations also collected data on the correlation between workers' pay and their motivation for performance while at their jobs. Workers in higher-paid management positions were more likely to feel motivated toward their company than lower-paid workers, 48 percent of whom reported feeling detached from their employers.
Compensation In the wake of recent white-collar crime scandals, ethics and compliance officers are becoming more valuable to corporations, according to a pay scale survey conducted last month by Salary.com, a compensation news and information website, and the Ethics Officer Association. The study, which tracked the compensation packages at 109 large corporations, showed that many of today's ethics executives are earning salaries and benefits comparable to other business leaders, such as chief information officers. Much of the improvement is an increase in the amount of long-term, nonsalary incentives such as stock options. Most ethics executives earn close to $750,000 a year, the survey found. Almost 79 percent of those in ethics-related positions hold, at minimum, master's or law degrees, as well. Nathan Hurst can be reached at nhurst@globe.com
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