Will ‘Fearless Girl’ lead to more women on retail company boards?
Source: Instagram – ccustode, belenleste

Will ‘Fearless Girl’ lead to more women on retail company boards?

Drawing heavy traditional and social media coverage, a small statue of a girl that landed last week in Manhattan’s Financial District has sparked a wide discussion on the need for greater influence from women in corporate America.

Standing defiantly, hands on hips, the 50-inch bronze girl stares at the famous 11-foot, 7,000-pound “Charging Bull” sculpture on Bowling Green. A plaque on the ground in front of the statue reads, “Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference.”

State Street Global Advisors in partnership with McCann New York placed the “Fearless Girl” statue the day before International Women’s Day to encourage companies to increase the number of women on their boards.

Although some progress has been made, one out of every four Russell 3000 companies are without a single woman on their board, and nearly 60 percent have fewer than 15 percent women directors. State Street pointed to a study from MSCI that found companies with strong female leadership generated a return on equity of 10.1 percent per year versus 7.4 percent for those without a critical mass of women at the top. The money manager plans to vote against board nominations if more women aren’t voted to boards.

Said Chris Ailman, chief investment officer, CalSTRS, one of the largest public pension funds, in State Street’s statement, “This statue boldly signals to financial markets that the future depends on investing in the power of women.”

The statue has drawn flocks of people to Wall Street to take pictures that have spread across social media. More than 15,000 people have signed an online petition to make the statue a permanent downtown fixture.

Spencer Stuart’s 11th edition of the Retail & Apparel Board Index last year found women constitute 21 percent of all directors on the boards of the 112 largest U.S. retail and apparel companies on the S&P 500 versus 20 percent of all S&P 500 boards.

According to a study last year from Catalyst, women made up three percent of the CEOs and 30.1 percent of executive/senior-level officials and managers of retailers in the S&P 500.

BrainTrust

"I think the first step is to demand the recruiters look beyond the "usual suspects" and identify gaps in board knowledge."

Paula Rosenblum

Co-founder, RSR Research


"You gotta love the message of “courage in the face of power” that has been broadcast by this bronze figure."

James Tenser

Retail Tech Marketing Strategist | B2B Expert Storytelling™ Guru | President, VSN Media LLC


"I agree with Ralph — most people appoint their friends. Women from middle management need to be part of committees with senior managers."

Camille P. Schuster, PhD.

President, Global Collaborations, Inc.


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What do you think is holding back the appointment of women to corporate boards and c-level positions? What do you see as the most effective ways to create more diversity across retail organizations, particularly in management and leadership positions?

Poll

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Di Di Chan
Di Di Chan
Member
7 years ago

Fearless Girl is not waiting for a man to approve and appoint her on a board. She’s challenging the “Bull” directly. She’s establishing her own grounds, head to head, on an even playing field. The fastest way for anyone to become a CEO/President is to start her or his own company.

HY Louis
Reply to  Di Di Chan
7 years ago

Well said.

Ralph Jacobson
Member
7 years ago

Quite simply, the vast majority of corporate boards are comprised of corporate friends and corporate celebrities. Rarely are the truly best-qualified people for the roles chosen … regardless of sex, race or other characteristics. If the best people for the job are chosen, we would see an immediate influx of women and minorities filling up the boards and making these boards far more effective.

Lyle Bunn (Ph.D. Hon)
Lyle Bunn (Ph.D. Hon)
7 years ago

The move to greater diversity is happening all around us. The economic compression of the last 15 years has made this time of Millennials’ entry to the workforce one of the most challenging that most of us can remember, and it has forged stronger capabilities. Those willing to work harder and smarter at the entry levels beget competencies above, and this trickle up in key and growth fields such as analytics-driven marketing will increase the flow into executive roles. Current executives should be putting newly discovered talent into roles that develop their ability to be change agents, as this is the key to success.

David Livingston
7 years ago

Di Di is correct. A person’s destiny is not determined by being artificially promoted to meet a quota but rather giving yourself the promotion. In my opinion what is holding back anyone, regardless of gender, to board memberships and C-level positions is that they are not up to the task. It’s based on competition and survival of the fittest, not the fairest.

Paula Rosenblum
Noble Member
7 years ago

What’s holding back the appointment of women? The old boy network. Simple as that. And recruiters that don’t really look at the essence of a CV and the person behind the document.

I’ve been wanting to join a retailer board or two for a while now (I’m on the advisory board of a small CP company already) and talking to recruiters is as demoralizing as when I was applying for temp jobs in my 20s. Maybe worse, because now they just say “Put your CV on our website” and that’s the end of that.

I think the first step is to demand the recruiters look beyond the “usual suspects” and identify gaps in board knowledge. Then do real and significant searches to find the right candidates. It strikes me that either retailers are not going through recruiters, or the recruiters themselves have gone lazy.

Ian Percy
Member
Reply to  Paula Rosenblum
7 years ago

I am totally with you on this, Paula. Recruiters tend to be ineffective old-school gate-keepers and I’m trying to avoid them entirely. That, of course, raises other challenges.

Tom Redd
Tom Redd
Reply to  Paula Rosenblum
7 years ago

Paula, It is not as much about the old-school recruiters as it is about boards and how they add their friends first, then see what to add next. I am not a good old boy and I am on a board that is mainly made up of women. I think over time as more women start driving business (which will take time, as all change does) we will see more women on boards via the friend channel. All these women’s rallies and protests kinda drive me nuts. As a male, simple guy I get no respect. You know that!

Ed Rosenbaum
Ed Rosenbaum
Member
Reply to  Paula Rosenblum
7 years ago

I agree with you Paula. Recruiters seem to want to fill their “stable” of qualified people, men or women, so when the call comes they can say they have the right person. More so, it is about sending a candidate and hoping they get hires which fills two needs: 1.) they will get paid and 2.) they will get the call when another opening happens.

Patricia Vekich Waldron
Active Member
Reply to  Paula Rosenblum
7 years ago

You’re right, Paula. Until shareholders demand boards take a more inclusive position and look beyond the finite set of insider candidates, executives and recruiters who control this process, change at scale will not take place.

Jasmine Glasheen
Member
7 years ago

Women are being held back by a “good ol’ boy” mentality held by those who would appoint them. Just last month there was an article in Forbes titled “I Only Hire People I’d Have a Beer With.” This mentality is detrimental not only to women, but to job candidates from different cultures and ethnicities.

Women make 85 percent of consumer purchases, so it behooves company leaders to have someone in charge who understands their key demographic. To create more diversity, companies can set internal diversity goals. Equally important, they can train hiring managers to hire based on merit, as opposed to backslapping.

Joan Treistman
Joan Treistman
Member
7 years ago

Of course, there is no simple answer or simple remedy. But I’ll share one observation at a graduate school reunion that surprised me, but didn’t shock me.

Women are still dealing with the some of the same self-defeating challenges today that they (I) did when I earned my MBA, when women were definitely a minority in the graduating class. Some of these obstacles are tactical, some strategic. Women are still questioning how to balance career and family, asking for a raise, how to be perceived as assertive and not pushy, how to envision themselves in a top leadership role, how not to disappear in the sidelines instead of insisting upon a voice and so on. This graduate school reunion with recent grads had programs and panel discussions about these very topics with some suggestions as to how to overcome the challenges. I was surprised, but not shocked.

It’s probably why we see women heading into entrepreneurial directions rather than dealing head on with corporations not of their own making. If this is part of a woman’s perspective, it’s easy to understand that it’s also imparted to her male colleagues. Ultimately women and men need to embrace the strengths and business savvy of women to insure the ultimate success of their companies.

For some corporations it will have to be decreed, because their bottom-line depends on it. For other companies, it will be more nuanced. I suppose that “slow but steady” progress is what I ultimately see happening.

Ian Percy
Member
7 years ago

My first vote goes to: Let the girl stay! I absolutely love that juxtaposition.

To our question. For me it comes down to three possible causes: 1.) The availability pool is small (and before you thumbs-down me I don’t believe this); 2.) The closed minds of the old white men’s club and 3.) Visibility and accessibility.

Rule out cause number one because it’s dumb and not based in facts. Cause number two is more ingrained and prevalent than its members will ever admit. Changing centuries of chauvinistic and demeaning attitudes and belief is a challenge of epic proportions. And then there is the process of locating and recruiting brilliant and innovative leaders who think differently and are also female. What we have to get past, it seems to me, is the sense that strategically seeking female candidates is somehow acquiescing to PC pressure. Doing so merely in order to hit some percentage target is a lot different than doing so because it makes good business sense for all kinds of reasons. We went through this in trying to arrive at race diversification with modest results and now we’re doing it over gender. Why? I think most of us will but scratch at the surface of the true answer.

This is a timely piece for me since I’m close to recruiting a CEO for a disruptive venture that would be well-served by female thinking, insight and leadership. Guidance from my BrainTrust colleagues more than welcomed.

Camille P. Schuster, PhD.
Member
7 years ago

I agree with Ralph — most people appoint their friends. Women from middle management need to be part of committees with senior managers. Men in executive management positions need to include more women and other minority groups on their committees. If they understand that companies that have female leadership “generated a return on equity of 10.1 percent per year versus 7.4 percent for those without a critical mass of women at the top” this should happen sooner rather than later.

Ryan Mathews
Trusted Member
7 years ago

What’s holding women back? In a word — men! Retail is still largely a good old boys club where misogyny reins supreme. Proof point? We really think 50 inches of bronze is going to alert C-suite executives that women exist or make them feel so guilty and ashamed of themselves that they change hiring and promotion policy over night. Really? The most effective way to change corporate behavior is to boycott companies with the most regressive personnel policies. Hitting men in the wallet is generally more effective than appealing to their progressive sense of ethics.

Ed Rosenbaum
Ed Rosenbaum
Member
7 years ago

This statue has opened the eyes of many people and created a dialogue that will hopefully lead to filling needs with the best qualified person regardless of sex. The one thing holding women back is men. Men are the dominant recruiters and men are the ones on the boards looking to fill the opening with someone who will think like them. Let’s hope the dialogue continues and changes happen.

Ben Zifkin
7 years ago

The “Fearless Girl” shouldn’t be the reason why more women should be included on retail boards. The reason should be because it is the right thing to do. Having diversity of thought on a board leads to better decisions which benefit the shareholders, employees and customers. It is one of the great situations in business where the right thing to do is also what is best for business.

Brandon Rael
Active Member
7 years ago

This is truly inspiring, and the symbolism is not lost. “The Fearless Girl” gives me hope, as a Father of a fearless 6 year old beautiful, intelligent and brave young girl. I instill in her that anything is possible, that she should reach for the stars and never give up. She was so excited to see this, and that is truly empowering for the next generation.

Sadly, I am in agreement with the majority of the replies, as the corporate boards are dominated by the “old boy” networks, and full of friends of friends. The expectation that this will change overnight is that it simply will not. Only by challenging the process, and demanding that the boards evolved to be more inclusive, diverse and break the outdated old boy network mode, will this change.

With that said, I am hopeful that things will change sooner and, that the most talented, capable people are chosen, regardless of their agenda, race or cultural background.

Warren Thayer
7 years ago

All good points here. Sexism is still rampant; good ole boys’ clubs (made up largely of the 1 percenters) still rule. But I do think that some of the large companies with such inbred boards and leadership are weakening themselves, as evidenced by the many new and successful entrepreneurial companies, many of them led by women. From what I’ve seen of Nielsen data, smaller companies/brands are significantly out-pacing “the big boys.” So I actually think that the best/fastest way for women and (and men) to get ahead is to start their own business. It truly ain’t rocket science. And it’s always amazed me how once you are a male CEO somewhere, you are a CEO for life, even if you move from job to job with colossal incompetence.

Anybody who thinks sexism is mostly “solved” is deluded. My daughter, and many of her friends, can convincingly tell you otherwise. As for the statue, I hope it stays there. It probably won’t do much, but every little bit helps. (Full disclosure: this topic absolutely infuriates me.)

James Tenser
Active Member
7 years ago

You gotta love the message of “courage in the face of power” that has been broadcast by this bronze figure. From a metaphorical perspective, my only (slight) regret is the diminutive stature of the female figure. Nevertheless, I am rooting for Fearless Girl to remain as a permanent fixture on Wall Street.

Will more female corporate board members result? Well, the beefy world of business cronyism has certainly discouraged participation by anyone outside the club, and this statue won’t have a direct effect. But changes in mores typically follow an accumulation of insights over time. Fearless Girl has already become a meme. I believe it will inspire young women to compete for their rightful places in leadership.

Mohamed Amer
Mohamed Amer
Active Member
7 years ago

I think Paula cut to the chase on this one. It’s clearly not about a dearth of capable or qualified women candidates. Organizational changes are difficult to bring about, and when they touch the core power structure of a company — its board of directors — that change comes at a glacial pace. For all the talk about diversity, the efforts need to go beyond incremental improvements and metrics anchored in the past. It’s the rare recruiter that pushes back on their client to convince them to widen the net or alter their selection process. Clients pay for a service and get what they believe they need.

How do we create more diversity across upper management in retail? Simply make it a bold and strategic priority for the organization and bring it to life in a very visible, concrete ways. The pace of change in today’s world and corporate transparency make incremental changes unacceptable. Gradualism comes at a cost of alienating half the population, and even more if you consider marginalized ethnic groups, while further distancing the board from the reality that is their customers. Ignore the issue long enough and it will sound the organization’s death knell.

One week does not change minds, and barely raise awareness — even when done in a very visible way on Wall Street, the clubbiest of clubs. The location of the statue is perfect in its juxtaposition to the roaring bull; she firmly stands her ground, ready to take on a man’s world. Although the “Fearless Girl” statue is slated to be removed, what she stands for is not. The statue should become a permanent fixture opposite the bull as a reminder of this perennial struggle.

Craig Sundstrom
Craig Sundstrom
Noble Member
7 years ago

The corporate world is progressively less “diverse” — by whatever criteria you are measuring — as one moves up the hierarchy, so this is simply the end result of that underlying foundation. So changing those lower strata is more important that statuary, various “Days,” or other superficial attempts, but for those who are unhappy with the current state of affairs, the recent past isn’t very encouraging: new age companies are some of the least diverse around.

Sunny Kumar
7 years ago

When I saw this land last week, I thought how amazing it was. Amazing in the simplicity and strength of message.

Putting that to one side, in response to “What do you see as the most effective ways to create more diversity across retail organizations?” my thoughts are a bit of the Fearless Girl attitude would not go amiss when it comes to how retail organizations are structured and operate. To make the most effective difference, we need new thinking on how these businesses actually work. I quote “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Michael Spencer
7 years ago

I often cover women in technology stories, and with Retail I think we’re seeing the same bottleneck that especially in the U.S., is still very extreme.

The painful truth is the U.S. lags behind Europe and several other areas in terms of female leadership, gender equality and the rights of female professoinals. Up here in Canada, a gender-equal cabinet is considered the “new normal.” If we look at SAP 500 companies, the percentage of female CEOs is well under 5%.

The trouble seems to be that in the states in tech companies, the entire Venture capital (VC) system is inherently patriarchal. While places like New York are seeing a rise in female-led startups (many migrants from the valley), I’m not sure retail c-level executives are doing much better. Correct me if I’m wrong?

Fearless Girl was a nice publicity stunt for women’s day, but in areas like female software engineers, if you look at the numbers, it’s actually getting worse. I can’t imagine retail boards or Wall Street are pioneering new ground.

Even when I attended NRF, I was a bit mortified at how few female retail speakers there were. Considering it’s a known fact women tend to make a majority of purchasing decisions for families, that men lead the industry is maybe a significant problem in terms of monetization of these businesses.

If we fail at giving female leaders a bigger place, we will create algorithms and machine intelligence that “inherits the bias.” In Retail, this could be disastrous. Women in fact, might be superior when compared to men, at empathizing with customers and the customer experience. Who better to lead retail than those individuals who tend to be more savvy “shopping-natives”?

Make equal gender distributions legally binding on all boards, there’s no other way. Those in authority promote people like them, it’s an unavoidable bias of human nature.