Strategic Human Capital Insights

Over the past ten years, women’s representation in the workforce has increased at every level in corporate America. However, recent data from Lean In and McKinsey & Company's “Women in the Workplace” report shows that while there is good news, there are no signs of equity across the pipeline. Here are some of the key takeaways from the report.

Current State

1. Senior positions are filled with women who are hired from the outside.

Disappointingly, many top-level company positions were filled by women brought in from outside the company instead of promoting women from within. According to the 2023 data, 40% of C-Suite leaders in their roles last year were outside hires. Alexis Krivkovich, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, states that this “weakness in the internal promotion pipeline is largely to blame for women’s underrepresentation in senior roles.” The lack of women in the pipeline has been a corporate excuse for over 50 years. It’s time to start making real, positive, long-term commitments to women in the workforce to have opportunities to advance.  

While we have seen meaningful, though modest, gains in women’s corporate representation; however, progress has been much slower earlier in the pipeline at the entry and manager levels.

1. Women remain underrepresented at every stage of the corporate pipeline, regardless of race and ethnicity.
2. The ‘broken rung’ remains a significant barrier to women’s advancement, especially for women of color.
3. It will take nearly 50 years to achieve gender parity for all women.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Joanne Flynn's co-authored career development book, Brand YOU, Brand NEW, a Step-by-Step Guide to Take Your Career to the Next Level.📚
 

Joanne Toth Flynn and Elyse Flynn Meyer, a mother-daughter team, co-authored, Brand YOU, Brand NEW  from a multigenerational perspective. Through their collaborative approach, they provide a range of universal perspectives to help you optimize your personal Brand YOU. This book takes you through the critical steps needed to proactively manage your brand and your personal development. The goal is to put you in the ultimate career control seat.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the launch event for Girls in Tech Phoenix. Girls in Tech, started in San Francisco in 2007, is an international organization focused on the empowerment, entrepreneurship, engagement, and education of women in technology. It has more than 50 chapters located in North America, Asia, The Middle East, Africa and South America. The Girls in Tech mission provides the following opportunities for women and girls:

• Education: Facilitating learning and skillbuilding through advanced curriculum and programming within the STEM fields
• Engagement: Utilizing the power of technology to bring women together to shape their future and democratize the world
• Empowerment: Increasing the technical and entrepreneurial capacity to inspire women to innovate, share wisdom, and have a voice within the industry

As you may know, I recently co-authored the book, “The Female Factor: A Confidence Guide for Women.” The 3-part chapter of the book entitled, “Spanning Generations as We Journey Ahead,” focuses on the issues of women in the workforce over the past 50 years, looking at what has changed, what has not, and what women can do to move their careers forward.

I also want to share the work of our strategic partner, Elyse Flynn Meyer, Owner & Founder of Prism Global Marketing Solutions, also wrote a chapter for the same book that you may find beneficial. Her section of the book focuses on 6 key strategies she has found very helpful in managing her career, including ideas and personal stories specifically for early-stage women in business (1-10 years of experience). Download Your Copy of the Book Chapter.

Joanne Flynn, Managing Director and Founder of Phoenix Strategic Performance, recently co-authored the book, “The Female Factor: A Confidence Guide for Women.” Her 3-part chapter of the book entitled, “Spanning Generations as We Journey Ahead,” focuses on the issues of women in the workforce over the past 50 years, looking at what has changed, what has not, and what women can do to move their careers forward.

We are thrilled to announce that Joanne Flynn, Founder of Phoenix Strategic Performance, will be speaking at this year's National Association of Women MBAs conference in Washington, DC.  The topic of the conference is, "Aspire. Ascend. Break Through."  What a powerful statement, not only for women, but anyone looking to make a strategic transformation in their
business.

The conference will be held from October 9-11, 2014 in Washington, DC.  The National Association of Women MBAs will welcome hundreds of female MBA students, professionals and entrepreneurs to the Hyatt Crystal City Hotel for three days of networking and personal development through keynotes, speaker presentations, panel discussions and an on-site career fair with valued corporate sponsors.

Joanne's session will be focused on the critical importance of planning in your business, whether you are a start up, or a Fortune 500 company.