Talent to the Top

Swedish-DutchConference on Gender Equality and Labour Participation21 November 2008 Tweede kamer, The Hague

Contents

2

Background

TopBrainstorm

Supplementary measures

Charter Talent to the Top

TopBrainstorm

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TopBrainstorm

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• TopBrainstorm was set up in May 2007 as an initiative to get more female talent in the top management and Board positions.

• The initiative was unique in that it brought together government officials, corporate business and top women.

• On 30 October 2007 at a session at the Social Economic Council the business case for more women, the analysis as to why Holland currently lags behind plus an action plan on how to generate change was presented to a diverse group amongst whom the Prime Minister.

• Chaired by former Secretary of State Sybilla Dekker and under directorship of Marieke Bax a number of project teams under the guidance of talented top women got together to work out the action plan for presentation on 28 May 2008.

• The project teams developed the Charter ‘Talent to the Top’, HR best practices and supplementary proposals for a multi-media campaign for improving the image of working women/mothers, flexible and affordable childcare and schooling and a website for providing information to companies and women (www.talentnaardetop.nl).

• The FoundationTopBrainstorm will continue to be financed by government with an aim to stimulate the more effective use of female talent.

Background

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6

Background: Analysis

• As many as 33% of all women would like a career

• 25% of women would under the correct conditions like to work 4 days or more

• However, reality is that:

• Only 5% of Board directors of listed companies are female1

• The situation in Executive Boards is worse with 2% women• The percentage in senior positions is not in proportion to the percentage of women

who enter the labour market with a higher or university degree (51%)• Especially the inability to keep women at middle management level prevents

them from climbing to the top2

1 Dutch Female Board Index; Mijntje Lükerath-Rovers2 Diversiteitsladder 2007, Woman Capital

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Background: Analysis (2)

Share of women

~51% ~25% ~5%

~49% ~28%

Top position *

Management position

Successfully completed HBO/WO education

*Board of top 50 Business in the Netherlands (Source: McKinsey)

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Share of part time working women is the highest in The Netherlands

0

20

40

60

80

Share of part-time workers in total employment, in EUMember States - 2006

BG SK HU CZ LV RO EL EE LT SI CY PL PT FI MT ES IT FR DK LU SE AT BE UK DE NL

EU25

EU25

WomenMen

Source: Eurostat, European Labour Force Survey, Spring results

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Analysis: the impediments

Focus Drivers

% Women with

satisfactory

qualities

Bottlenecks

• Low degree of participating women • Low share of fulltime working women • Career is interrupted • Male criteria for top positions • Nature of women (experience & assigments)

• Women participating in networks • Dominant workfloor culture

• Social norms/images • Few positive role models • Lack of positive self image • Lack of mentoring and stimulus from family/friends and social

pressure • Lack of communication at all levels

• Financial balance – care • Lack of flexibility in work and career • Lack of infrastructure (both social and technological) • Lack of standards (fiscal, leave, share)

% Women who are

acknowledged and

recognised

% Women who

dare to take the

step

% Women who are

able to take the

step

×Impediments to

the number of top

women

×

×

=

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The ‘Dutch mindset’ reinforces cultural barriers for women to be both mothers and executives

“The Netherlands is a retarded country when it comes to mothers and their work. When women work, they often have a double feeling of guilt. They feel they are a bad mum at the days that they work and a bad employee at the days they don’t work.”

Jeroen Smit, Management Scope 11-01-2007

“The parenting model [as in the Netherlands] where women need to spend a lot of time and attention to their kids is completely ridiculous and unnatural! There is no other culture where women are expected to seclude themselves from the outside world and only concentrate on motherhood. In other cultures children are always raised by more people: elder brothers and sisters, other family members, professional childcare.”

Naomi Wolf, American Feminist 25-05-2002

“Why is it that we in this country hold on so strongly to the idea that only mothers can raise children? Poor mothers, they have to be half saints and they will never do it right. (…) Bringing children to childcare is far from a matter of course in Holland 2007, terms like ‘dumping’ are still used.”

Dutch internet forum childcare 16-05-2007

A motherhood model restrictive for career…

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Background: Reasons for change

• Increased labour participation parries financial ‘grey’ consequences, and provides more room in a cramped labour market

– More than half of the new generation of talent is female

• “Diverse’ companies are often recognisable because of improved co-operation of employers and better development and preservation of talent

Diversity means improved development of talent, more innovation and creativity, improved governance and higher company results for Nederland Inc.

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Approach: an integral approach is needed for a change in attitude

Charter ‘Talent to the Top’• Public commitment by the government

and corporate business with clear objectives, criteria for success and reporting

• Publication of HR Best Practices

Image of the working woman • Multimedia campaigns • Attention to role models

Creation of a website• Monitoring tool for Charter• Exchange of HR best practices• Gathering of information

Measures concerning the infrastructure• Recommendations for childcare and

various support at home• Professionalization of the occupational

group providing childcare at home

Fly wheel for a change in attitude

Charter Talent to the Top

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14080425-RB4-TopBrainstorm_PARTI

• To realize more diversity at the top of organizations, we need a culture change. • Our research, interviews and online survey showed that the following factors are crucial

to achieving such change- The most important elements are targets/ KPI setting and tracking with clear

accountability, a well communicated business case to which gender diversity goals are tied.

- All initiatives should be supported by top executives and integrated in company policies.

- In addition, companies should have HR tools in place for long term tailored career planning, allowing career breaks and re-entry and talent management for all employees.

- There should be specific emphasis on successfully managing, developing and retaining talented women.

- Companies should go beyond flexible work arrangements and focus on enhanced career support through mentoring, role modelling and creating real gender awareness (among top 6 tools most important for females)

Why do we need a Charter? The business case

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Essential success factors: building blocks of the Charter

Targets Targets for diversity

Organizational structure Diversity related organizations (Taskforces, councils, coordinators…)

Measurement and Reporting Research, measuring progress, reporting

Communication Internal and External Communication

Accountability

Responsibility and awareness of managers

Rewards, sanctions, promotion criteria

Company vision and strategy

Include diversity in company vision and values

Incorporate diversity into company policies

Involvement and support of senior leaders

Business case

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Tools for a successful diversity strategy

Attract more womenRecruitment policy

Manage career breaks and re-entry

Motivate by talent management

Other specific leadership preparation

Tailored career planning

Professional development

Offer special training

Change selection criteria and committee

Review job functions

Offer job opportunities

Promotion policy

Mentoring/ coaching

Role modelling

Create gender awareness

Image

Build and support networksNetworking

Offer flexible work arrangementsWork schedules

Provide facility for childcare

Offer financial support for childcareChildcare

Change “Dutch mindset’’

Care

er

develo

pm

ent

Support

syst

em

Work

-life

bala

nce

Charter Talent to the Top: introduction

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• The Charter is the result of close cooperation between Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW), Dutch Trade Union Federation (FNV), the Social and Economic Council (SER) and representatives of corporate business, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ).

• The Charter focuses on all employers, i.e. listed and unlisted companies, institutions and public organizations in the Netherlands.

• Its title (Talent to the Top) acknowledges that diversity encompasses more than only the talent of women. Diversity focuses on a balanced organizational culture, in which everybody can develop his or her talents regardless of background, culture, sexual orientation, gender or age.

 

• However, the Charter focuses in the first place on female talent given that Holland trailes behind in terms of the number of women working in higher management positions, let alone on Executive and Supervisory Boards.

Charter Talent to the Top: important elements

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• Every Dutch employer is free to sign or not to sign the Charter.

• However, in signing the Charter, the Executive Board commits itself to develop:

• clear objectives (in %) over the next 3 to 5 years and

• a strategy as how to employ, develop and keep more female talent.

• In the first six months after signing, every employer reports its baseline assessment and a clear management strategy to the Committee Monitoring Talent.

• Employers develop clear, action-oriented management agreements based on their specific strategy.

• Progress as to stated goals is reported annually based on a number of clear key performance indicators as in the Tool Monitoring Talent.

• Employers also commit to develop and actively work on specific tools for female career guidance.

Committee Monitoring Talent to the Top

• The Committee Monitoring Talent under Chairmanship of Aad Veenman (CEO of the Dutch railways) is responsible for the reporting of results of all parties on the basis of ‘praising and naming’.

• The Committee Monitoring Talent to the Top was installed on the 13th of November2008 by the Minister for Education, Culture and Science and the State Secretary for Economic Affairs.

• Over the past months TopBrainstorm developed the Tool Monitoring Talent, which will be used by signatories to present their baseline and annual assessment to the Committee Monitoring Talent to the Top.

Tool Monitoring Talent: summary

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Entry Exit

Progress

Number of women in top

• Share in entry

• Balance top – subtop

• Share in organisation

• Share in the top

• Percentage in exit

Tool Monitoring Talent

Quantitative criteria Qualitative criteria

Strategy

Management goals

Communication

HR Tools

Charter: signatories

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On the 28th of May 2008, 47 organisations signed the Charter Talent to the Top:

Accenture, Achmea, Aegon, Allen & Overy, Bain & Company, Baker & McKenzie,

Capgemini, Cisco, Clifford Chance, De Nederlansche Bank, Delta Lloyd, DHV, DLA Piper,

Egon Zehnder International, Ernst & Young, Essent, FNV Vakcentrale, Fortis Bank

Nederland, Fortis Verzekeringen Nederland, Gemeente Almere, Gemeente Amsterdam,

Gemeente Den Haag, GGz Eindhoven, IBM, ING, Kadaster, Koninklijke BAM Groep,

Koninklijke Haskoning Groep, KPMG, KPN, Loyens & Loeff, McKinsey & Company,

Mondriaan Stichting, Nauta Dutilh, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Océ, OVG

Projectontwikkeling, PCM Uitgevers, Politie, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Randstad,

Rijksoverheid, Stibbe, TNO, TomTom, Van Doorne, VNO-NCW

More information or contact

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• More (English) information on the Charter and supplementary measures can be found on www.talenttothetop.nl

• Contact us at info@topbrainstorm.nl or + 31 (0)6 52 61 61 60

Final remark

Three sides of the coin to bring Talent to the Top

• Businesses and Organizations

• Government

• Women themselves