International Women’s Day (IWD) has actually been around since the 1900s. Regardless of whether you believe its origins to be based in early socialist ideals or the garment worker rights movement, some people wonder if, in the 21st century, we still need a day that focuses on women. I believe without hesitation that we do. We absolutely do.
Many of us have the luxury of being raised or living in countries that have a legislative equality framework in place – and having travelled and worked around the world, I can tell you it is indeed a luxury. But even with equality laws, inequality persists. Look at the work that NOW: Pensions has done with its Gender Pension Gap report, for example. Going deeper, it’s simply impossible to legislate away our biases, assumptions and prejudices. We are human – we fundamentally replicate patterns of beliefs and behaviours we already have until they are replaced by others (and before you ask, I am not a fan of unconscious bias training as my experience of it so far indicates it focuses too much on the “stick” and not enough on the “carrot”) The legislation has really gone as far as it can in some ways, certainly in many countries. So what can we do?
Balance is key
Carla Harris, Vice Chairman, Global Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley, has written several excellent books on personal and career development. In her “Carla’s pearls” talk at the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference in 2017, she touched on the idea of “performance currency” vs “relationship currency.” This concept has stayed with me as I think it’s a powerful tool we can use to help nurture a better gender balance across our industry and beyond. Performance currency is generated by doing the job well and being recognised for that good work. Relationship currency is generated by investing internally in connections with others and allowing them to know you and support you. An over-reliance on either type of currency, by either employee or management at any level, can lead to inequalities, regardless of gender. Allocating effort to both types of currency are essential. A part of me thinks that helping everyone, men and women, get this balance right can lead to better gender equality and diversity.
Pensions
The pension sector includes people from all sorts of disciplines including investment, legal, actuarial, administration and covenant. If I had to rate each discipline in terms of general gender equality I would say investment continues to be woefully behind the times – The Diversity Project and many other groups recognise this and are working hard to change it. Covenant and administration need further attention, for sure, whilst the legal and actuarial professions have made decent progress. I can’t help but think that some of this can be tied back to the idea of performance and relationship currency – how success is measured and value is assessed.
Build me up, don’t break me down
In essence, equality should not be about alienating others. If we do this, we are getting it wrong. Sometimes, though, it feels like the only tool we seem to have against gender inequality is a hammer – and that’s just destructive. Does this mean the idea of equality is just too big for us to achieve? It doesn’t have to be.
There is something about 20-20 Trustees that really does feel different – equality is not about gender or age, how you look or how you speak. This intangible idea is actually more apparent here than anywhere else I have worked; it was evident in my first meeting. Everyone says their organisation works as a team, but here we actually do it. It doesn’t matter here if you are 25 or 65 or have worked here for a month or a decade – and it certainly doesn’t matter what gender you identify with. Everyone has a voice and that voice is never dismissed or diminished.
I am very fortunate to work at a company where we have a 50/50 gender split – at all levels. We have an inspirational female leader in Naomi L’Estrange who lives and breathes equality in all of its forms, which is vital. If you want a truly egalitarian business model it must come from the top – in actions, not just words – leadership signs off the budget after all!
Full of hope
I have also seen that women who are earlier in their careers are much more optimistic, so hopefully, all of this dialogue is having some positive impact. They are not afraid to use their voice and they demand to be heard. I find this refreshing and it fills me with hope that the time and energy we continue to spend talking about this topic is worth it.
I’m not advocating a hammer, but instead, a balance and the awareness generated around the world by occasions like International Women’s Day remain an important piece of creating that balance for everyone, not just women. I would urge others to find out more, share their support and get involved: #DiversityinPensions, The Diversity Project, CFA UK Inclusion and Diversity Network and NextGen.