Changing the Conversation

In 2009, I had a big idea: the world needs the right solutions to women’s advancement, and we can drive that conversation.

The idea struck me in the wake of reading the Harvard Business Review’s article which said, “The women’s market is larger than China and India combined, and it would be foolish for companies to ignore them, but they are doing just that.” What I realized was that we, the corporate world and the media, were talking about the gender GAP and the continued UNDER representation of women in the C-Suite, but not HOW we were going to change it. Which made me wonder, how DO WE change the game? Does anybody know?

It turns out, that no, not a lot of people know the answers. So we partnered with the best – Thomson Reuters, who has been equally driven to find the answers to the diversity and inclusion mandate that so many global companies understand is not just a women’s issue, but a business issue. We also partnered with Barbara Annis & Associates, whose world renowned research and solutions on gender intelligence are showing the best results we’ve seen.

Four and a half years later, after a lot of time invested, cameras were rolling, and that big idea was ready to be released around the world: Canada, U.S., London and Hong Kong. This is big. This is what it’s all about. This is what I’ve been working on.

Monday April 28, 2014 we launched a global press release on The Solutions to Women’s Advancement
The Press Release launched not only our first white paper, but a game changing conversation. We opened with the call that it’s time for co-gender leadership, specifically, to say that we need different solutions than the ones being used today. Firstly, it’s not all on women to advance women; we can “lean-in” all we want, but without the culture being right on the other side, these efforts will be fruitless. Secondly, it’s time for corporations to get it; gender diverse and gender intelligent senior management teams drive, on average, 34 per cent higher profit margins; this is and should be in the top 3 corporate strategic growth initiatives.

What is “co-gender leadership”?
It’s about having the ultimate power couple at the helm of a company which creates a fully integrated and diversified approach to leadership that will allow companies to approach business from a more effective and successful position. By tapping into the innate skillset of both genders, their unique management styles, and differing insights and perspectives, companies can only benefit from this approach.

>> Read the press coverage on our game-changing conversation here

What’s significant about the white paper?
The report studies the Senior Executive women in the Women of Influence community in North America to precisely analyze the qualities, traits and environments that enabled their success. This was done with the most sophisticated diagnostic tool we could find, leveraging our partnership with Barbara Annis. Then the results were analyzed against years of neuroscience differences between both men and women, and the anecdotal evidence of how that plays out in the workforce.
The result: Powerful, direct, actionable solutions for women AND the corporations who hire them.

We are so proud, thrilled, excited and grateful for the opportunity to bring this work to you.

Carolyn.

>> Read the Solutions for Women and Solutions for Organizations here
>> Read everything: Press Release, Video & Full White Paper here