Helping Women Advance in the Workplace with Addie Swartz and Lauren Zajac
b"In this episode of WorkHuman Radio, hosts Todd Schnick and Mike Wood chat with Addie Swartz, CEO of reacHIRE, and Lauren Zajac, Chief Legal Officer at WorkHuman. They discuss the challenges women face in advancing their careers, as well as some innovative ways to address these challenges.\\nThe Challenges Start Early for WomenThe McKinsey research last October showed that even though equal numbers of men and women start as individual contributors, men get promoted to manager 21% more. This illustrates that the challenges for women start right out the gate. If you're a woman of color, Addie says, it's twice as bad. She questions, If we can't get women to start up the pipeline, how can we expect them at middle management and senior levels? Lauren is often asked if the pay equity issue won\\u2019t be solved simply by bringing in more women. She answers that it starts there, but the problem needs to be addressed all the way through to the executive level, or else the problem will perpetuate across the board.\\nHow Men Can HelpTodd asks what men can do to help invert the problem. Addie and Lauren list several ways men can help:Support women in their career journey;Build better companies;When a woman has a great idea, reiterate that idea as hers;Jobs shouldn\\u2019t be gender-specific;Senior executives should mentor more women.\\nReducing the StigmaMike says that there is a stigma that you\\u2019re not supposed to rest or take a vacation as a man. You're just supposed to work, work, work.\\xa0 Many men are afraid to take paternity or vacation leave because they may be viewed as less committed. He asks how can men get around this stigma. Addie shares an example of a Silicon Valley company which allows its employees to divide their leave up into chunks spread over four to five months. Lauren adds that this cool idea also solves the idea that women who take leave are not as committed.\\nExciting New Things at WorkHumanWorkHuman has a new initiative which is very exciting. Lauren is the executive sponsor of the Women\\u2019s Network, the company\\u2019s first employee resource group. Within months the participation has exploded: the dialogue that opened up and the relationships formed amazes Lauren. The executive team conceived the idea, but they asked employees to assume responsibility for the group since they didn\\u2019t want the initiative to feel mandated or top-down. The executive team listens to the group and takes action on their suggestions. Lauren sees the Women\\u2019s Network as the blueprint for future employee resource groups.\\nResourcesAddie Swartz: reacHire.comLauren Zajac: WorkHuman.com"