{"id":919,"date":"2019-04-13T10:19:46","date_gmt":"2019-04-13T10:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/officesuppliesphoenix.com\/?p=919"},"modified":"2020-08-14T13:18:06","modified_gmt":"2020-08-14T13:18:06","slug":"top-7-signs-company-doesnt-glass-ceiling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.officesuppliesphoenix.com\/office-supplies-el-mirage\/top-7-signs-company-doesnt-glass-ceiling\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 7 signs a company doesn’t have a glass ceiling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rather than avoiding organizations with cultural barriers that prohibit career advancement, seek businesses that show they welcome anyone dedicated to moving up the career ladder. These positive signposts are a healthy way to start.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Far too many women working in technical careers are still crashing into glass ceilings. By definition, the ceilings are translucent or even transparent, so they’re difficult to detect before you hit one of them hard. Then, boom!<\/p>\n

However, in the best job environments for women\u2014and anyone for whom the term \u201cdiversity\u201d is personally relevant\u2014a ceiling isn\u2019t even there.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one thing for a woman to look for a job where she\u2019ll be comfortable doing the work. The bar is raised, however, for ambitious women who want to move up the career ladder. Here are seven signs you\u2019re entering a glass-free place and advice about how to determine if these positive attributes apply.<\/p>\n

The positive indications apply beyond women-in-IT circles, of course; everyone benefits from indications that the career opportunities are genuine. Plus, a commitment to diversity in human background suggests that the company is open to not-the-usual-answers in product development, too.<\/p>\n

If you recognize your employer in these attributes, take a moment to appreciate that fact. If you\u2019re in the executive suite yourself, contemplate how well you communicate these strengths to would-be employees.<\/p>\n

1. The company holds a solid track record in hiring and promoting women, ideally with women in top management.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best way to know if you can get ahead in a company is to see “people like you” who already have done so. When women are at the top, it\u2019s easy to assume that they welcome more ambitious women. And that\u2019s true whether those women \u201cat the top\u201d are senior technologists, project managers, or in the C-suite.<\/p>\n

One engineer\u2014let\u2019s call her Susanna \u2013 left a position at a major tech enterprise after sensing she had hit a glass ceiling. She concluded that she would never achieve an executive role, \u201cespecially given that there were zero women above me in the hierarchy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before moving on to a new position at another tech giant, Susanna sought out companies with women working in jobs that appealed to her. \u201cI’m now an executive-level engineer solving my favorite engineering problems,\u201d Susanna told me. \u201cMy VP and SVP are both women and amazingly talented leaders and sponsors to me and others. I’ve built a wonderful engineering team under me that is half female, and I have been able to successfully sponsor amazing talent toward more senior and impactful roles.”<\/p>\n

“Find a company with already visible signs that women are thriving. This can mean that women are in senior, C-level, founder, or board positions and have real tenure at the company,” says Elizabeth Douglas, CEO of wikiHow, a major how-to website.<\/p>\n

Another gentle metric is the balance between male and female counterparts in every role. \u201cOne high-ranking female does not pass this litmus test if remaining lower leadership positions are still filled by men,\u201d Douglas adds.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t always obvious when women are in powerful positions, but online searches can help.<\/p>\n

Everyone tells you to research a company before you apply for a job. One of those tasks should be to look at corporate management. For example, before quality assurance tester Monika Kamoda accepted her job at Zety, a careers website previously known as Uptowork, she checked the company\u2019s LinkedIn profile and discovered that two out of five teams were managed by women.<\/p>\n

One woman had been hired to Zety directly to a team lead position, while the other one progressed to team leader from an internship within a two-year time span. \u201cThat was a clear indicator to me that women are appreciated here and offered equal chances to move up in their career paths,\u201d Kamoda says.<\/p>\n

Another way to identify female company leaders is to look at the company website’s \u201cAbout Us\u201d section or company brochures, suggests Ketan Kapoor, CEO and co-founder of Mettl, an HR technology and talent measurement firm.<\/p>\n

The results of such research can sometimes be misleading, however, points out Parna Sakar, vice president of marketing for the professional association Women in Technology International (WITI). \u201cToday, some companies are hurriedly putting women on their websites in order to be perceived as promoting women,\u201d she says. Sakar recommends you dig to see when the page was updated and who the company spotlights.<\/p>\n

2. The company practices “inclusionism.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

To address parity issues, some companies are adopting a practice known as “inclusionism,” which embraces gender diversity as well as diversity across lines such as race, nationality, religion, culture, sexual orientation, and disabilities.<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s a misconception that only women-owned companies can provide an environment without glass ceilings; this is not the case,” contends Nick H. Kamboj, founder and CEO of Aston & James, a technology advisory firm.<\/p>\n

One element in the inclusionist mindset is that men in corporate leadership positions should act as “allies” to women, says Karen Catlin, author of “Better Allies: Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces.”<\/p>\n

\u201cBy being mindful of inclusion and diversity throughout the workplace, company culture can truly shine. Welcoming cultural differences isn\u2019t sufficient, though; job seekers should look for companies that encourage the actual sharing and appreciation of those cultures,\u201d says Linda Crawford, CEO of Helpshift, which provides a customer support platform and in-app support software.<\/p>\n

Wanting to be supportive of change and actually achieving that goal are somewhat different things. Don\u2019t expect perfection at all times. “We\u2019ve all been there. Wanting to show our support for diversity but saying the wrong thing. Or writing a quick message and using gendered language by mistake. Or laughing at an off-color joke. Perhaps we’ve been a bystander who ignored some sexist or otherwise offensive behavior and, in hindsight, we know we should have called it out,” Catlin says.<\/p>\n

Although inclusionism is a hot buzzword these days, companies\u2019 adoption of the concept varies. \u201cSome don\u2019t even have it on their radar, while some are doing a lot. Some talk about inclusionism but only pay lip service to the idea,\u201d Catlin notes.<\/p>\n

“When interviewing with C-suite members, why not ask them about a time when they didn\u2019t take action to support someone from a marginalized group or when they didn\u2019t push back against non-inclusive behaviors and what they learned from that experience about how to be a better ally?\u201d Catlin suggests. \u201cTheir answers help you evaluate whether there are allies in the C-suite.”<\/p>\n

3. Equal pay is a given.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It ought to go without saying that a woman\u2019s pay should be the same as a man\u2019s pay for the same title or role. Yet, according to a recent survey by tech job platform Hired, in the U.S., men are offered more money for the same position 63 percent of the time. On average, too, companies offer women 4 percent less than men for the same role. Black and Latina women fare even worse.<\/p>\n

One way to ascertain whether men and women are treated fairly is to see how easily that information can be gathered. Is that guy down the hall who holds the same title but has less seniority taking home a heftier paycheck? A starting point is to look at salaries for specific jobs at specific companies, as listed on websites such as Glassdoor and Indeed.<\/p>\n

Salaries should be transparent within the company, too. “My company has an open salary policy. Anyone can see [the numbers] at any time. It promotes productivity and eliminates conflict,\u201d writes Rodney Hill in a Google+ discussion.<\/p>\n

The company should conduct salary reviews on an ongoing basis. “Honestly, what Salesforce.com is doing with constant reviews of salary and stock options is the only excellent example in tech that I know of, and they have a white dude CEO who is simply determined to be an ally,\u201d one woman pointed out in a Slack discussion.<\/p>\n

Yet, although Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has helped to pave the way, more companies now review salaries regularly, Catlin observes. Helpshift, for example, reviews all employee salaries twice annually, says Crawford.<\/p>\n

RackWare, a hybrid cloud platform provider, also reviews salaries every six months, says CEO Sash Sunkara; wikiHow reviews salaries once a year.<\/p>\n

4. Company benefits are family-friendly and encourage personal advancement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sure, more dads might be stepping to the plate, but the fact is that moms still perform more child care in most families, particularly when kids are very young. To ease trade-offs between career and family, companies that want to banish the glass ceiling are likely to offer perks beyond vacation and healthcare plans, such as paid maternity and family leave, work-at-home options, flex time, paid time off for elder care, and on-site or nearby subsidized day care.<\/p>\n

Such benefits \u201creveal a lot about the company\u2019s gender sensitivity and women empowerment policies at the workplace,\u201d Mettl’s Kapoor says.<\/p>\n

Also, look for customizable training or education compensation. A training budget was a strong incentive for Zety’s Kamoda to accept her job offer, because it indicated the company was willing to invest in her growth. \u201cThere’s no limit to the budget. If I can justify the need for a certain training program or attendance at a conference and prove that it will help me to develop skills, I will get the funds granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Mentoring is available, if you want it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mentorship can happen either formally or informally, at any stage of your career. \u201cIt really starts at the top\u2014because as more women are hired as engineers, executives, and CEOs at tech companies, equal pay and increased diversity throughout the workforce will follow suit. Women in positions of power must hire other women and mentor other women so we all rise together,” Crawford says.<\/p>\n

Companies run a variety of formal mentorship programs: female-to-female, male-to-male, cross-gender, one-to-one, and many-to-many. However, formal mentorship programs are much more common in large organizations, according to Sakar.<\/p>\n

To help fill the mentoring gap, Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg founded the Lean-In Foundation in 2013, with a goal of supporting women in the workplace through community, education, and \u201ccircles,\u201d or small and coordinated peer groups of women and men that meet regularly to \u201clearn and grow together.\u201d Discussions often revolve around gender issues.<\/p>\n

In and of itself, however, an internal mentoring program isn\u2019t a fair test as to the existence of a glass ceiling, according to Catlin. She adds, \u201cDon\u2019t ask C-level executives whether they\u2019ve approved mentorship programs. Ask them what they\u2019re doing to actually mentor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone is a fan of formal mentoring programs, which can be seen as forcing employees into relationships as mentors or mentees. Yet many upwardly mobile women encourage workers to ask one another for mentorships, even if the term is never used. Crawford urges people to choose mentors who can help them broaden their knowledge base. An engineering manager, for instance, might ask a finance pro for a mentorship. \u201cIf you\u2019re working in the C-suite, you need to know as much as possible about as many aspects as possible,\u201d Crawford maintains.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to get advice when you see something wrong or uncomfortable. Execs may tout an open-door policy (and do their best to make it safe to walk in that door). In successful organizations, expect to find trusted channels for voicing concerns, with formal and established HR processes for employees to report grievances or unfair treatment and file complaints or requests for investigations. Many also have forums, led by female execs, that address the appropriate processes for dealing with pay equity issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployees can also talk to their direct managers, their leadership teams, or our HR folks,\u201d says RackWare\u2019s Sunkara. \u201cIf there\u2019s an issue, let\u2019s talk about it. Otherwise, it can blow up, and we don\u2019t want to lose our talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. There are clear pathways to success.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur company has developed a clear structure to give equal and fair opportunities for each employee to work towards career progression,\u201d says Kamoda. \u201cThis structure places an employee on a certain level [be it a junior, medium, or senior position] according to skills gained. It then shows exactly what has to be achieved and improved in order to move up to a higher position. Specific targets are set and so is the timeline to reach those. So whoever wishes to get promoted knows exactly which way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

A clear structure for career progression can be a big help in leveling the playing field, Catlin says. It\u2019s a lot fairer than the traditional method of offering new opportunities to buddies in personal or professional networks. (Of course, you should be growing your own network, too, she adds.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are still very few women in engineering, if you look at the numbers. There aren\u2019t many women on management boards. But we\u2019re putting a focus on investing in women. You\u2019re kind of a rare commodity, and we want to change that,\u201d Sunkara says.<\/p>\n

RackWare\u2019s motives aren\u2019t purely altruistic. Diversity spurs innovation. \u201cThis will give us a competitive edge in our market. We don\u2019t want just one group of people to be developing our product,\u201d Sunkara explains.<\/p>\n

7. Recognition and support come from on high, regularly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Companies can give official recognition by assigning women to speak at conferences, represent the organization at job fairs, and spearhead important projects.<\/p>\n

At Helpshift, for example, Crawford gives employees assignments that stretch their skills and better equip them for C-suite positions down the road. All eight members of the leadership team\u2014four women and four men\u2014attend board meetings.<\/p>\n

Female project leaders should receive face time with both clients and company leaders to discuss those projects. Direct managers should make a point of singling out major contributors to top management for special recognition.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoin a company where the person you are reporting directly to shows signs of wanting to help you to advance, regardless of their gender,\u201d suggests wikiHow\u2019s Douglas. \u201cThe glass ceiling exists when the ladder is blocked; work for people who are fully supportive of you, your growth, and your aspirations.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interviewing for a job opening at a company, you\u2019ll definitely meet with your prospective direct manager. You\u2019re likely to meet up, too, with folks in higher levels of the hierarchy. Ask everyone, especially the direct manager, lots of questions about how they can support you in fulfilling your career goals. And after you accept the job, keep asking.<\/p>\n

If you need more guidance: In 2016, a team of women, including well-known Silicon Valley engineers Tracy Chou and Erica Baker, founded ProjectInclude.org, which provides recommendations to companies on how to be more inclusive of women and other marginalized groups. Recommendations cover areas such as defining and implementing culture, writing a code of conduct, hiring, compensating fairly, and training.<\/p>\n

No glass ceiling for women: Lessons for leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n

To find out whether a prospective employer has a glass ceiling, follow these steps:<\/p>\n