Striving for Gender Equality with iGROWW Protiviti Is Bringing Diversity and Gender Equity to the Forefront Many organisations talk about gender equity and the need to promote a more diverse workforce. Protiviti is doing more than just talking about it. Jane Tumurbaatar has been leading the charge when it comes to equality and inclusion at Protiviti in Australia through the organisation’s Initiative for Growth and Retention of Women at Work (iGROWW). Right now, the company is targeting an increased female presence in leadership positions. At present, in junior positions, the gender numbers are close to even, with more women than men in some instances. However, at the manager level and above, the proportion of women is lower. It’s a global issue. Worldwide, just 24% of senior leadership positions are held by women despite making up 45% of the global workforce in large companies, according to the Institute for Women’s Leadership. Protiviti is working to change that. Creating innovation, equality, diversity and a multicultural environment in senior leadership positions such as Director and Managing Director takes time and effort. The process goes well beyond hiring a more diverse set of employees. 'You also need to develop and retain that diversity as they progress to leadership,' Jane said. 'It’s more about cultivating, encouraging and developing people through their careers, so we have those female leaders ready to take on those roles.' Topics Business Performance Setting Goals and Measuring Performance A key to any successful program is setting goals and measuring performance. 'What gets measured gets done,' Jane said. iGROWW sets internal targets and monitors what the organisation is doing about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to hold the company accountable. 'We set these targets to have measurable criteria that we can measure our progress towards gender equity,' she said. Another important part of fostering a diverse culture is creating an environment where people feel comfortable discussing diversity issues. By bringing these issues to the forefront, organisations can identify potential problems and take positive action to remedy them. Yet, many companies are uncomfortable with providing such a forum. At Protiviti, iGROWW sees it as essential to achieve its goals. Diverse Leadership Attracts Diverse Resources 'Having a diverse leadership team also attracts diverse resources,' Jane said. 'It creates a better culture and better business results.' For example, she said it helps to be able to see client problems through multiple perspectives and better serve clients. Organisations with diverse leadership indeed perform better. A study by McKinsey showed that organisations with gender diversity in their senior leadership teams were 25 times more likely to achieve greater profitability. That’s an increase of 21% from the same measurement taken in 2017. Diversity isn’t just the right thing to do, it can also increase the bottom line. Diversity Initiatives at Protiviti While the iGROWW programme is primarily focused on growing female leadership, it’s only part of the diversity initiatives at Protiviti. The organisation has also launched formal sponsorship programs to help develop leaders from diverse cultural groups. 'In Australia, for example, we’re also looking at opportunities to increase awareness and representation from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and LGBTQ+ communities,' Jane said. 'It’s about being more inclusive for all.' Find out more about diversity initiatives. Reach out here: [email protected]
