Catalyst for Change

Given the recent election activity of 2008 and the record 94 women that served during the 110th U.S. Congress, one would think that gender barriers are beginning to fall. In the business world; however, progress is still somewhat sketchy. Women still earn less than men for "comparable" work, and they're still having trouble breaking into the highest executive positions.

A study conducted by Catalyst, a global non-profit organization who works to expand opportunities for women, discovered that women in technical fields were "relatively satisfied with their jobs and workplace cultures." It further stated that women were "less satisfied with their interactions with supervisors and their companies' approaches to fairness" compared with other workers." It was also perceived by women that companies failed to provide them with opportunities to participate in decision-making processes.

Nevertheless, female CIOs are growing in number and amongst InformationWeek’s 500 companies, about 75(15%) have a woman in the top IT position. Just five years ago there were only 45 women on the roster of top techs. Some additional news to make you smile is the impressive number of women that are in senior executive positions at some of the nation’s leading tech companies, such as Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, IBM, Google, Cisco and Microsoft. Unfortunately, Dell, receives no applause, with 0% women in senior exec positions and a pending class-action lawsuit filed in October by four women. These four former HR managers allege that the company systematically blocks women from entering its top executive “good old boy” ranks.

When hearing this news, the knee jerk reaction is to be appalled; however, we must closely assess the situation before passing judgment. At higher levels there is still a shortage of good talent and the field of IT is very much so male-dominated. I am a strong advocate of fair treatment, but before we play any card, whether it be race or gender, it behooves us all to examine ourselves.

If foul play is indeed the case at Dell, then I admire the four managers for their courage to challenge the status quo. Change is certainly possible and begins with the person in the mirror. At all levels let’s exude intelligence. Be a catalyst for change, be resilient and stay connected!