We’ve all heard the soundbites – gender pay equality is 170 years away*; only 4.4% of S&P 500 CEOs are women**; only 14% of Irish companies have either a female CEO or Head of Operations (and this ratio is diminishing)***.

 

Meanwhile, an international report by Citi showed that closing the gender gap in labour market participation could add 12% to OECD GDP.**** And yet there are many men (and some women) who believe gender equality in the workplace is a zero-sum game. For example, if women are to win, men must lose. Men often feel disengaged from the inequality problem too because issues relating to gender do not concern them. Further, when men do generally get involved, it is to ‘fix’ the problem by encouraging women to behave in the same way that men do in the workplace.

The MASF Sponsorship program aims to tackle this issue. It recognizes that Sponsorship is not about talking to me, it is talking about me. It is the key to unlocking the main obstacle to womens’ career success – a lack of exposure.

 

* World Economic Forum: Global Gender Gap Report 2016. It is worth noting that the calculated gap has widened from the 118 years as highlighted in the 2015 report. Now the gap is predicted to close only by 2186.
** Catalyst. Women CEOs of the S&P 500. New York: Catalyst, January 3, 2017.
*** Irish Times article published 11 February, 2016.
**** Citi: Women in the Economy – Global Growth Generators. Published 5 May, 2015.

Sponsoring Success. Leadership Development for Executive Women

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The fundamental aims of this intense and interactive 12-month long program:

 

• Unlock the potential of the female executives that already operate in your organisation Enhance the exposure of these talents to a wider and more senior audience

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• Drive sponsor accountability through their sponsoree-selection and transparent responsibility throughout the program   (including a commitment to job shadowing and authentic partnering)

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• Underpin and accentuate the principal role of the sponsoree, with guidance and assessment throughout the program, resilience training and other supports

Exposure is the key recipe to career success and sponsorship provides the ingredients Studies have shown that there
are three principle levers to career success and their weighting is not what you might expect.One’s professional performance i.e.
how you do your job, is important. However, in modern businesses with sophisticated talent attraction techniques, it accounts for
just 10%. After all, your company expects you to be excellent – it’s why you were hired in the first place. More important is your professional image i.e. how you present yourself in the workplace. Being assured, trustworthy and open to change is
central to your success and impacts just under one-third of your success. Perhaps surprisingly, it is your exposure that holds
the lion’s share of future opportunity and advancement. It is not what you know or indeed who you know. It is more about
who knows you and what you can do.

This program will equip the female executives with the additional learning, skills and most importantly, exposure, to be ready for the next challenge. In parallel, the sponsor will gain a trusted and confidential support in his/her sponsoree and a deeper understanding of the challenges and operations in an area not under their direct remit Once through the program, the
sponsor-sponsoree tandem is encouraged to continue beyond the scheduled 12 months in a more informal fashion. The sponsorees themselves can now as Ambassadors and role models for the program going forward to ensure a sustainable roll-out.

Contact us today.

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