Talking Tall Poppy Syndrome

Right before I left for Spring Break I had the pleasure of listening to a March 20 panel convened by the American Bar Association discussing Tall Poppy Syndrome. TPS is when people are attacked, resented, disliked, criticized, or cutdown because of their success. TPS happens to women more than men:

Panel participants included Emily Logan Stedman, Paulette Brown, and Kate Harmon. If you missed the panel, this article from the Wisconsin Bar Journal has a pretty good summary.

You Don’t Say: Pay for Women Lawyers Remains “Skewed”

Two women attorneys at Culhane Meadows wrote an article discussing how pay disparities between women lawyers and men lawyers remains. Female lawyers earn on average 19% less than their male colleagues. At the partner level, that spread rises to 34%. As they point out, this disparity largely exists because “[a]mong firm leadership, men are still largely making the policies, deciding compensation, and determining advancement.”

Harmful Narratives That Keep Women from Advancing in Law

Megan Gray wrote an article for Bloomberg about harmful narratives that keep women from advancing within law firms. The narratives we need to eliminate include that (1) women need to work on their confidence and imposter syndrome; (2) dads have it just as hard as moms in the workplace; (3) it’s “only a matter of time” before women reach parity; (4) change is impossible; (5) there are plenty of BigLaw partners, if you’re just willing to work hard enough; and (6) the lack of diversity isn’t hurting law firms.

Being a Woman in Legal Tech

In light of the stories around Legalweek this year, Law360 [paywall] interviewed five female legal tech founders on what it’s like to be a woman in the industry. The interviewees talked about bias in obtaining funding and the gender imbalances and sometimes uncomfortable environments at conferences. They also discussed the challenges of being working mothers. Sonja Ebron, CEO of Courtroom5, also discussed the lack of racial diversity in the industry.

Women Lawyers and . . . Makeup?

Law360 [paywall] published an article reporting that, since the pandemic, women lawyers are navigating “shifting expectations” over makeup.

How to Design DEI Programs

Nikki Lewis Simon, a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig LLP, wrote an article for Law360 listing the 5 best practices for firms designing DEI programs. You can find the article here. Her list includes (1) establishing a DEI team/department, action committee or advisory board; (2) aligning DEI initiatives with an organization’s culture; (3) facilitating consistent leadership buy-in; (4) communicating the firm’s DEI mission and goals internally and externally; and (5) navigating the “frozen middle”—individuals in middle management focused on driving revenue who may been seen as keepers of the status quo.

How Women Can Build High-Status Networks

The Harvard Business Review [paywall] published an article written by authors of research published in the Academy of Management Journal on how women can build high-status networks. The research is based on data from 42 global pharmaceutical companies collected over 25 years that traces the networks of thousands of men and women as they progressed through their careers. They conclude that, while data show that men benefit more than women from facetime with high-profile colleagues, women are more likely to form high-status connections via a third-party tie. In other words, women’s accomplishments are more likely to be noticed if others outside the organization (such as clients) call attention to them. The authors therefore suggest that organizations facilitate these connections by creating network sponsor programs where promising women are connected to sponsors outside the organization, often male ones. In short, women thrive when they have sponsors and allies outside the organization (and, as we discussed in this week’s issue, don’t thrive when people outside the organization merely reinforce gender disparities already present within the organization).

Gendered Ideas of Ambition

The Harvard Business Review [paywall] also published an article about how we need to redefine the gendered idea of “ambition,” because women, who are often caregivers, can be seen as less ambitious because they need to balance work obligations with personal ones. The authors suggest that this shift can come about when employers offer flexibility in career pace and path, when they provide development opportunities, and when they recognize that companies need more than one singular woman at the top to show that it can be done. While there’s no question such a shift is required, we also need have a societal shift where women aren’t doing all the caregiving.

More on Women Leaving Goldman

The Financial Times [paywall] published an article about why Stephanie Cohen left Goldman Sachs, where she was put in charge of a division that needed a turnaround but was given insufficient resources to affect it. She is leaving to become Chief Strategy Officer at Cloudfare, where she will have the opportunity to grow the business.

And, just in case you want to do the significant obstacles women face in getting men to take these issues seriously, read the idiotic comments on the article.

Women in Retail Leaving CEO Positions

Along the same lines as the article above, ModernRetail published an article [3 free articles] regarding why women in retail are leaving CEO positions, including Helena Helmersson from H&M, Rosalind Brewer from Walgreens, and Susan Wojcicki from YouTube. Among other things, the article discussed the glass cliff, where women are often elevated in precarious corporation situations, and then blamed when things don’t work out. Jane Park, former CEO of Julep Cosmetics and founder of the reusable gift bag company Tokki, is quoted as saying: “There’s no woman CEO that would be allowed to be as unprofitable for as long as Jeff Bezos was.”

Is Corporate Leadership at “Tipping Point” for Women?

The Conference Board published a report asking whether women are at a tipping point when it comes to corporate leadership. (As the two articles above suggest, I think the answer is no.) Unsurprisingly, however, it found that female CEOs tend to be appointed by more gender-diverse boards:

Sexual Harassment at Citigroup

Bloomberg published an article about sexual harassment that was allowed to persist for years within Citigroup’s big bank’s equities division. Interviews conducted for the article mirror allegations made in a complaint filed by a managing director late last year. The allegations were magnified by an environment in which employees liberally abused drugs and alcohol in the workplace and at after-hours events. Several other outlets covered this story.

Women are Happier—and Sadder—Than Men

The Wall Street Journal [paywall] reported that around the world women report being more distressed on a day-to-day basis, but are more satisfied than men are with their lives in general.

Coming Up On April 10!!

I’m excited to announce that on April 10 at 3:30 Eastern I’ll be doing a live discussion with two of my friends, Rachel Clar, Founder and CEO of Interconnected Us, and Emily Logan Stedman, a partner at Husch Blackwell. We’ll be talking about Women Who Don’t Support Other Women and What To Do About It. Rachel and Emily are fabulous, so you should absolutely join us (and follow both Rachel and Emily on LinkedIn if you don’t already) for a candid discussion of a tough topic. You can sign up at this link.

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