by Chellie Mejia, B.Sc.
In January of this year, Rosenzweig & Co. reported that the number of women in top executive positions in Canada had fallen over the past year, and that of the 535 highest paid and most senior positions, only 5.8% were held by women. Another disheartening statistic? Only 26% of companies in Canada had at least one woman in an executive officer’s position, another decline from the previous year.
I’m not heartbroken – I’m just baffled.
Most people would expect me to look at these statistics and focus on the consistent hesitancy among companies and organizations to open executive doors to women, but really, I just think it’s bad business all around.
One of the most disastrous policy practices, even in established firms, is entering into the decision making process focused on reaching a unanimous outcome rather than the right outcome – a risk that is compounded in homogenous groups. In my personal and professional experience, the best way to get different perspectives and points of view is to engage in discussions with people from differing backgrounds and experiences. How else can you reap the benefits of different mindsets and ideas?
It’s a matter of nature; women will raise considerations that may not have even crossed a man’s mind and that input may not always be right but it will inevitably lead to better discussions and thus, better decisions. The evidence suggests as much. Catalyst, a non-profit corporate membership research and advisory organization, conducted research that concluded that companies with more female board members outperformed those with fewer female representatives.
I fear I might have fallen trap to this same practice. In reading these statistics, I found myself thinking how contrary these facts were to my own daily experience. In every department of my firm, women reign supreme. The challenge, I suppose, is in operating your business beyond your own personal experience and leaving the forum open for the multitude of backgrounds and experiences that exist around us; not only from a male-female perspective, but encompassing differences in ethnicity, generational gaps, economic backgrounds, etc. What better way to kick open the doors to the boardroom for deserving individuals from all walks of life while simultaneously growing and progressing your business?