Why Women Mean Business

WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS ...gives example after example of the price that we all pay for a situation in which women may hold the keys but men still control the locks . The Times What s especially valuable is the authors analysis of where companies go wrong in managing women...that s how it will help women in the workplace. Harvard Business Review Lays out the importance of retaining women in senior leadership positions. Harpers Bazaar Wittenberg-Cox and Maitland have opened new ground. Management Today WOMEN MEAN BUSINESSThey make up much of the market and most of the talent pool. Reaching women consumers and developing female talent is essential for sustainable economic growth in the 21st century. Studies show that better gender balance in business means better bottom line results and greater resistance to economic crises. So why are there still so few women in leadership roles in business? Why are companies struggling to respond to today s female consumer? Why is there a persistent pay gap between men and women around the world? Why Women Mean Business takes the economic arguments for change to the heart of the corporate world. Fully updated in paperback, the book shows why getting gender right matters as much when the economy s bust as when it s booming. A must-read, packed with ideas from companies that have made it work, views from top business leaders and step-by-step guides to how we can all become gender bilingual.

WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS"...gives example after example of the price that we all pay for a situation in which 'women may hold the keys but men still control the locks'."The Times"What's especially valuable is the authors' analysis of where companies go wrong in managing women...that's how it will help women in the workplace."Harvard Business Review"Lays out the importance of retaining women in senior leadership positions."Harpers Bazaar"Wittenberg-Cox and Maitland have opened new ground."Management TodayWOMEN MEAN BUSINESSThey make up much of the market and most of the talent pool. Reaching women consumers and developing female talent is essential for sustainable economic growth in the 21st century. Studies show that better gender balance in business means better bottom line results and greater resistance to economic crises.So why are there still so few women in leadership roles in business? Why are companies struggling to respond to today's female consumer? Why is there a persistent pay gap between men and women around the world?Why Women Mean Business takes the economic arguments for change to the heart of the corporate world. Fully updated in paperback, the book shows why getting gender right matters - as much when the economy's bust as when it's booming. A must-read, packed with ideas from companies that have made it work, views from top business leaders and step-by-step guides to how we can all become gender bilingual.

Foreword by Niall FitzGerald KBE xiiiPreface by Michael Kimmel xvAcknowledgements xxiCHAPTER ONE: WOMENOMICS 1Guarantors of growth 1The strategic side of the gender divide 6Opportunity cost 9Valuing difference 12Becoming "gender-bilingual" 15Declining demographics is not destiny 1821st century forces: weather, women, web 22CHAPTER TWO: MOST OF THE TALENT 27The "talent wars" are here 28Female brainpower 30Under-used talent 34The role of business schools 36Tapping into the pool 39Recruiting: making women welcome 40Retaining: structural repairs needed 44Promoting: return on investment 57Building better boards 62Legislating solutions - the controversial quota 65CHAPTER THREE: MUCH OF THE MARKET 73Purchasing power - beyond parity 75Female finances 77Sex and segmentation 85The many faces of marketing to women 89Shut-your-eyes 90Marginalise 93Specialise 94Prioritise 96CHAPTER FOUR: BECOMING "BILINGUAL", WHATCOMPANIES CAN DO 103A fresh look at traditional approaches to gender 103Equal and different 107Diversity dilemmas 110Recognise that "best" is biased 113Surprising sectors 119A new approach to gender 120Understand the starting point 120Personalise the conversation 124Manage the metaphors - the power of vocabulary and vision126The building blocks of bilingualism 1301 "Getting it": top management commitment 1312 Management bilingualism: proactively managing difference1323 Empowering women: the knowledge and networks to succeed1334 Banning bias: identifying and eliminating systemic bias fromcorporate systems and processes 134CHAPTER FIVE: SEVEN STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION141Key success factors 1411 Awaken your leadership team 1432 Define the business case 1483 Let people express resistance 1514 Make it a business issue, not a women's issue 1555 Make changes before making noise 1626 Don't mix up the messages 1667 Give it a budget, not just volunteers 170CHAPTER SIX: CULTURE COUNTS, WHAT COUNTRIES CAN DO183Making bosses and babies 183Best and worst: surprising results 187Imperfect deal in America 199Continents of contrast 206Public policy pull, private sector push 212CHAPTER SEVEN: FIGURING OUT FEMALES 223What companies need to know about women 223Discomfort with "politics" 225The conversations that matter 236Careers are not straight lines 238Phase 1: ambition 242Phase 2: culture shock 244Phase 3: self-affirmation 252The lure of entrepreneurship 256Alternative views of "power" 258Sex, success and the media 259Change agents on their own terms 264CHAPTER EIGHT: TOMORROW'S TALENT TRENDS . . . TODAY,"WOMEN-FRIENDLY" MEANS"PEOPLE-FRIENDLY" 271New models of work 273Fathers count too 277Technology as enabler 280The value of "grey" brainpower 285Making the most of the "Me" generation 291The future is already here 296CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSION, FROM BETTER BUSINESS TO A BETTERWORLD? 301New voices, new choices 302New measures of success 306A challenge for business 309Index 317