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Saturday, February 04, 2012
Feature: June 2006
Fair Play
Though women are rising to the top, gender inequities remain
Story by Michael P. Scott
As a student at the University of Southern California School of Architecture, Lori Weir was one of only a handful of women in a curriculum traditionally dominated by men. What she and her cohorts did not realize at the time was that they were paving the way for other females. Since then, many architecture schools across the state and nation, including USC, have seen their number of women enrollees exceed men enrollees.
“As women, proving ourselves in that sort of academic environment back then was pretty rough,” says Weir, who in February was appointed California’s deputy treasurer. “It is exciting, however, to see the advancements that have been made by women in many professions since that time.”
While many Capital Region business leaders would acknowledge that women’s presence in leadership ranks is expanding, there is strong evidence suggesting institutional barriers to full inclusion still exist.
A recent study of California women business leaders conducted by the University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management suggests a continued absence of women at the executive and board ranks of many of California’s top companies.
According to the study, 55 of California’s 200 largest publicly traded companies, or more than 27 percent, have no women board members and no women executives. In the Capital Region, only one organization, the McClatchy Co., which has four women directors and executive officers out of 19, received a favorable mark.
This and other related studies signal the need for organizations to recruit and retain women leaders. Many gender-diversity advocates point to the advantages for companies in terms of morale and bottom-line performance, a contention supported by a 2004 study by Catalyst, a nonprofit seeking to advance women in business. Others argue that it is simply the right thing to do.
Many leaders are quick to point out that top opportunities exist for women who have the ambition to pursue them. Doors are opened, they say, through preparation, hard work and a steadfast determination to succeed.
“Growing up in a household of working women, there was never any question in my mind that I would succeed in whatever I chose to do,” says Weir, who credits a great deal of her success to her rigorous training in the field of architecture.
“There are some women colleagues of mine, however, who more times than not are in the private sector, that continue to run up against barriers to advancement,” Weir continues. “I feel like it is incumbent upon me to acknowledge and support them with their goals.”
Having run her own private-sector firm prior to joining the public realm, Weir recognizes that there are distinctions between the two relative to how women are nurtured and supported.
“It seems to me that the private sector is more difficult than the public as far as women’s advancement,” says Weir. “What’s nice about government work is that there is often an established structure for training as well as career options, which allow those who desire to move up through the ranks to do so.”
Heddy Chiang, vice president and general manager of California Bank and Trust, has found the banking field ripe with opportunities for women. After an initial stint with Wells Fargo Bank, where she rose to the vice president level in five years, she has continued to flourish in her current position, which she has held since 1999.
“If there are disparities out there, I certainly don’t see them at this bank,” says Chiang. “Because everything is based on meeting your performance-based numbers, men and women, as I see it, have an equal chance at success.”
Active in numerous community organizations that support her work at the bank, Chiang believes a combination of hard work, savvy relationship-building and integrity have been vital to her success.
“I have a terrific spouse as well as great daycare providers and housekeepers.
I see them all as an essential part of my success.”
— Patricia Cochran, vice president and CFO, Vision Service Plan
“There are many opportunities available to women who have a vision for where they want to go and are willing to commit to superior work performance,” says Chiang.
As president and chief executive officer of LPA Sacramento, an architecture firm in Natomas, Theresa Paige is considered a rare breed in a field traditionally dominated by men. “Outside of those who put up a shingle and start their own business, it is rare to find women at the executive ranks of this field,” says Paige.
She began her career with LPA Sacramento when the company operated under the name Foothill Design Group. After leaving to develop her career in senior housing, she returned to LPA in 1996. In 2004, she was chosen as president in large part because of her business acumen, decision-making and leadership abilities.
Paige says that while the proverbial glass ceiling has had little effect on her, there was an experience early in her professional career that served as a wake-up call.
“As a young architect, I discovered from a male colleague at the firm where I was working at the time that the women associates were making less money than the men. I immediately thought that leaving the firm, which I did, was the only option.
“At the time, I underestimated the value and experience I could offer to another employer in obtaining an equitably paying position,” says Paige.
She rarely thinks about being one of very few women in the field. “Normally, it doesn’t occur to me that I am in a room with all men,” she says. “I’ve always felt like I was there for a reason.”
Paige believes professional organizations that cater exclusively to women can be problematic. “I tend to shy away from women’s organizations because, in a sense, they perpetuate the problem that we are trying to correct.”
Throughout her career, Elizabeth Parker has witnessed the debilitating effects of discrimination on women in the legal profession. Correcting these inequities is one of her primary callings as the first woman dean of the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law.
“Early in my career I was turned down all sorts of times by some of the best firms,” says Parker. “Today, it still shocks me to realize that there is a lack of diversity in the legal profession, particularly at the partner level. In fact, it has been reported that the legal profession is less diverse than any other profession outside of civil engineering.”
Parker points to enduring structural problems within many legal firms as one of the primary reasons that barriers exist for women and minorities. “It’s so surprising to me that many law firms continue to be resistant to change.”
Wage inequity has been a particularly pervasive problem, according to many women’s advocacy groups. A 2005 salary survey conducted by the National Association of Female Executives found that women, despite holding more than half of the nation’s managerial jobs, continue to earn less than men — only 76 cents for every dollar that men earn.
A new project that aims to address barriers facing women lawyers and business professionals in the Capital Region is the No Glass Ceiling Initiative. Sponsored by a consortium of American Bar Associations, the initiative serves as an educational tool for the advancement of women in law firms and legal departments.
“There is this perception that women focus on the relationship-oriented aspects of leadership. What is overlooked is that relationships
often lead to sustained results.”
— Roberta Pickett, executive coach
“This is not just a female issue, but a business issue,” says Grace Bergen, business attorney for the Sacramento law firm Greenberg Traurig and past president of Women Lawyers of Sacramento.
“Every large law firm, as well as organizations with in-house legal departments, should seek to become a signatory with this initiative because it promotes a workplace environment for women that is flexible, forward-thinking and in alignment with the realities of today’s world. By gaining more women attorneys at leadership levels, we will be able to fundamentally change the way the law is practiced,” says Bergen, who also is the prior general counsel for Tower Records.
She says law firms have traditionally not offered work arrangements conducive to the professional advancement of women. In particular, many law firms are still reluctant to offer part-time arrangements, now a common practice in much of corporate America. As a result, turnover among female associates is a major factor behind the low numbers of women advancing to partnership.
“Growing numbers of firms are beginning to wake up to the fact that the cost of retraining a new associate has been estimated to be as high as $250,000 a year,” says Bergen.
“These firms are also becoming aware of the fact that there is a whole new generation of young women entering the legal profession that expect things like flexible work arrangements and professional-advancement opportunities,” Bergen continues. “For a firm or business to ignore this simply does not make good business sense.”
Many women leaders say the biggest challenge they face in the workplace is balancing and integrating professional responsibilities with busy personal lives. Roberta Pickett, a Folsom-based executive coach, has mentored many women over the years who struggle with this very issue.
“It’s pretty common for women to want to do their best in all phases of their life,” says Pickett. “For executive- and managerial-level women, this can often mean 80- to 100-hour workweeks, kids’ soccer and dance practices, time with their spouse or partner, and a quick workout at the gym. In many respects, the end of the day for these women is still not ‘the end of the day.’ ”
Some women resign themselves to the fact that this is simply the price they have to pay in order to compete in today’s business world. Others are scaling back their professional lives considerably, either through flexible work arrangements or by leaving the corporate world entirely to pursue the freedom and flexibility a small business can offer.
“Many executive-level women, some by choice and others due to corporate changes, are saying to themselves,‘I don’t want to do this the rest of my life,’ ” says Pickett. At this point, they often begin to explore career opportunities that can afford them more balance and fulfillment.”
Life balance for LPA’s Paige has meant returning to many of the interests she used to have. “Outside of work, I consider myself to be somewhat of a bored empty-nester, so I’ve started playing tennis again regularly. I also took up rowing a couple of years ago and loved it, so I may pursue this again.”
For Chiang of California Bank and Trust, the theater has long been a meaningful diversion from her busy career. “Some people go to the gym; I go to the theater for recreation,” she says.
Patricia Cochran, vice president and chief financial officer for Rancho Cordova-based Vision Service Plan, believes there are many tradeoffs professional women have to contend with in the business world. She feels fortunate to have worked for two male CEOs at VSP over the years who were sensitive to the importance of work-life balance.
“I’m also fortunate in that I have a terrific spouse as well as great daycare providers and housekeepers. I see them all as an essential part of my success at VSP,” says Cochran.
“Because everything is based on meeting your performance-based numbers, men and women, as I see it, have an equal chance at success.”
— Heddy Chiang, VP and GM, California Bank and Trust
She says Vision Service Plan has long been known for its advancement of women to executive leadership and board positions. Six of VSP’s 11 executive team members are women. On the board, two out of the five officers are women.
“I personally am a product of a great culture here at VSP, one that values and supports their people through mentoring, community involvement and other personal- and professional-growth experiences,” says Cochran.
AT&T is another company that has been a trendsetter for women leaders in the Capital Region and throughout California. More than 50 percent of its California officers (vice president level and above) are women. In addition, the top team of executives in California, which reports directly to AT&T West CEO Chuck Smith, is two-thirds women.
Loretta Walker, vice president and general manager for AT&T’s Northern California and Nevada regions, recounts a very positive journey to her current leadership role. A 25-year veteran with the company, she attributes much of her success to a willingness to be adaptable.
“What I frequently say to women that I mentor is that the bridge to opportunity within corporate America involves a willingness to be receptive to change,” says Walker, who counts among her varied experiences in the company stints in rate planning, competitive intelligence, sales and marketing, external affairs, government relations and regulatory compliance.
She has strong advice for business executives still scratching their heads over the importance of female representation in their leadership ranks. “Look at the customers that you are serving; if your organization doesn’t mirror that at all levels, particularly at the executive ranks, you are probably losing out on some important strategic opportunities.”
Executive coach Roberta Pickett believes women bring a number of critical attributes to top executive and board levels.
“There is still this perception in some business circles that women aren’t as concerned about bottom-line results because they typically focus on the softer, more relationship-oriented aspects of leadership,” says Pickett. “What is often overlooked with this sort of thinking is that these very relationships are often what lead to more sustained, longer-term results within a company.”
While Pickett and others recognize that barriers to the full integration of women at leadership levels still exist, they believe opportunities are available for those women who have the desire and motivation to overcome these barriers.
“Women who believe they can break through the barriers break through them. Those who fight the barriers run into resistance,” says Pickett. Paige of LPA concurs. “Women who wanted to attain these levels did so. They focused on where they wanted to go and went for it.”
