With the recent spate of firms in the news over sexual harassment allegations and charges of gender bias, it is obvious that an issue many in business had thought was “done” is instead far from finished. Fostering corporate cultures which make half your employees feel somewhere between unengaged and unsafe is becoming risky and unsustainable. A lot of companies are doubling down on efforts to finally “crack” the gender issue.
How Royal DSM Is Improving Its Geographic and Gender Diversity
Most companies now have more gender-balanced talent pools, especially at the early-to-mid-career levels, and are looking for ways to make sure progress continues at the mid-to-upper levels. But the ones who really understand the issue see gender balance as not just a numbers game but part of a broader, more strategic cultural shift that includes developing leadership teams representing geographically diffuse markets. Dutch-based Royal DSM is a case study of multiple parallel transformations – in their business and in their leadership balance. The CEO, Feike Sijbesma, is convinced that the one feeds the other. By articulating a vision that connected business outcomes with a more geographically diverse and gender-balanced management team with business outcomes, and making an explicit effort to get Dutch men on board with the change, DSM has started to see progress. In the year 2000, DSM’s top 350 executives were 75% Dutch and more than 99% male. Today, it’s 40% Dutch and 83% male. Sijbesma emphasizes the need to do better, particularly on gender, but celebrates the progress they’ve made thus far, and how it has already translated into better business results.