Research Paper: Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly Can Women Have It All?

Research Paper Assessment
Name: Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly Date: October 2012 Student ID: Email: Lisa@myBlueSky.ch
Complete your 2000 word research paper and insert it in the space below. Then email this document as an attachment to assessment@icoachacademy.com
Can women have it all?

By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly
Lisa, you can do anything you want Jim Kelly (authors father)

By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly
Contents
Synopsis Key words Introduction Definition of having it all What are the facts? - Research Interview results The role of coaching - Coaching for individuals - Coaching for change in culture Conclusion 3 3 3 3 4 6 9 9 10 11
Reflection further thoughts
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Bibliography Profile of author
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Copyright 2006 International Coach Academy Pty. Ltd. Use is governed by the Terms and Conditions at http://www.icoachacademy.com Last updated Feb 2006

By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly Synopsis Anne-Marie Slaughter maintains in her article Why Women Still Cant Have It All published in The Atlantic Monthly that women cant have it all. Slaughter writes that the ability to control her own schedule is what prompted her to leave the State Department and return to her full time job at Princeton University. A response by Madeleine M. Kumin Why Men Cant Have it all agrees with many of the findings and points out that because of the failings of ability to provide affordable quality childcare, men cant have it all either. Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly wanted to explore this further. What do we mean by having it all? Are men having more than women? Where are we on the gender balance at work and in the family? What do working mothers and fathers really think? What are the opportunities and consequences for coaching? Key words working mothers, working fathers, transition, doing it all, having it all, work life balance, gender equality, women Introduction The question of whether women can have it all is not a new one. This paper will describe an investigation into some of the facts regarding the success of women in the workplace and whether women and or men are indeed, having or doing it all. Definition of having it all For the purpose of the research, the definition of having it all is having a successful career as well as having a family. A renowned speaker on the topic sums up one view as follows:

By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly Could a woman have it all? was a pressing question in the past two decades. Could she have a glamorous rewarding career and a great loving family? The answer of course, was no. Women couldnt have it all because men did It is men who have the rewarding careers outside the home and the loving family to come home to. So if women are going to have it all, they are going to need men to share the housework and childcare. Michael Kimmel
So lets investigate. Do women have greater challenges or obstacles to overcome to achieve success at their careers than men? Do men do less at home than the women? Lets take a look at what we do know.
What are the facts? - Research Research in the 20-first Gender Balance Scorecard Reports that most of the educated talent in the world and a majority of the consumer market is female. They also report a correlation between gender balance in leadership and improved corporate performance. Not surprisingly then, companies are waking up and trying to improve their gender balance. McKinseys 2010 Women Matter Report states that one of the reasons that change has been slow in coming are the persisting barriers women face on their way to the top. The survey of 1500 executives, across multiple industries and regions of the world, from middle managers to CEOs, identified two main barriers to gender diversity in top management. The first one is the double burden syndrome the combination of work and domestic responsibilities which is difficult to reconcile with the second barrier: the anytime, anywhere performance model.

By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly The following exhibit from the Women Matter 2010 survey shows this impact:
Similarly, a Harvard Business Review study from ten years ago, Executive Women and the Myth of Having it All reported an inequity between men and women.
When it comes to career and fatherhood, high achieving men dont have to deal with difficult trade-offs: 79% of the men I surveyed report wanting children and 75% have them. The disparity is particularly striking among corporate ultraachievers. In fact, 49% of these women are childless. But a mere 19% of their male colleagues are.

By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly Interview results With statistics telling us there is a difference, what do the people who are having it all tell us? For the purpose of this paper a number of people were interviewed. The people were men and women with both careers and families, and therefore might be perceived as having it all.
Interviewees were informed about the research paper topic and the definition used by the paper of having it all to mean a fulfilling career as well as family.
Interview Questions: 1. Do you consider yourself having it all. 2. What do you believe it means? 3. What are you missing out on, ie not doing or not having? 4. What are others, without children, not having or doing? 5. What are people without careers not having or doing? 6. What do you believe are the prerequisites for having career and children, having both it all? Case study 1: Bob and Suzy acceptability of working part-time, assumptions made about future ambition, stereotyping flexible working arrangements Bob, a computer programmer, and his wife Suzy decided ten years ago to have a family, and that each of them would ask to change their current employment to a four day week, reducing compensation proportionately. This was accepted by Suzys employer, a large bank, as it is common in the community and society in which they live (central Europe) for women to work part-time after having children. It was also accepted that she was now on the mummy track and that she had acknowledged a preference for her children over her career, and no further promotions or rewards would be considered. In her words; they assumed

By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly I should be happy to have a part-time job and that I had no ambition to progress my career: Suzy was now performing exactly the same leadership tasks and significant responsibilities on 20% less salary, was still achieving outstanding performance appraisals, and yet promotion opportunities were closed to her. On the other side, Bobs application to work part-time in a large multinational insurance company, was however, rejected. In this same community, it was simply not appropriate or traditional to have men working on a part-time basis. I insisted that I needed to be at home one day a week, and they willingly agreed that I could work from home, while still receiving my full salary. While I take phone calls and read emails, frankly my home office is more about running the kids around. But thats what was accepted. There was no discussion of his dedication or lack of ambition. No impact on his compensation. Bob and Suzy both agree that they are having it all per the definition given for the survey purpose, but that they definitely do not have the same lifestyle they had prechildren, and do not miss that or regret that. They believe the desire and willingness to have children changes the ability to have it all, and having both of them work does not change that or interfere further with that.
Case study 2: Tracy and Hugh addressing a need for workplace flexibility by ensuring childcare flexibility. Tracy and Hugh are both Executive Directors in a bank. They have two children and both work full-time. When asked if they are having it all they answer yes, they have fulfilling careers but also manage to spend quality time including vacation time with their children, who are otherwise at an all day school followed by after school nanny care. When asked if there was anything they were missing out on, that perhaps others could have, they answered yes, but it is all a choice. We choose to have the nanny take the kids on a Thursday evening so that we can have date night together, assuming one or other of us is not travelling for work. Every decision to travel has to be taken with full

By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly communication with one another and with the nanny, to ensure it is clear who is responsible for the kids at that time. The nanny has an agreed contractual number of working hours over the year. If the normal weekly hours are extended e.g due to extra hours during a day (school holidays are 13 weeks!) or in the evenings (date night) and overnight (when both travel) the extra time is compensated at a time suitable for the nanny. This requires significant planning and coordination. We are having it all, but there are three adults involved in our childcare, and each of us is actively involved and committed. Needless to say, the nanny is a quality nanny and comes at quite a price, as does the all day international school the kids attend. Tracy and Hugh are addressing a need for workplace flexibility by ensuring childcare flexibility.
Case study 3: Ann and John Flexibility not only by both parents, flexibility also required on part of employer Ann is a banker and John is a lawyer. Their balance between childcare and their careers is difficult because in both professions the norm is to spend long hours of face time, both being seen to be in the office, and also reflecting that time spent in the production of new business or chargeable hours. What are their answers to our survey? Essentially they add that not only is flexibility required from each partner and the childcare solution, but also there is definitely a flexibility required by their employers, the individuals that they directly report to. In both cases these individuals are male, and as John says: without my boss full cooperation and understanding of my need to be able to spend quality time with my kids on a regular basis, there is no way we as a family would be able to sustain two careers as well as a happy family. Sometimes I simply have to take an afternoon out to bring the kids to the orthodontist, or watch the sports day, or the theatre production. Without the firms flexibility, it simply would not happen.

By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly The role of coaching: addressing gender imbalance and performance sustainability Companies want to address the issue of gender imbalance for the purpose of improving company performance. Companies also want sustainable high performance from both their male and female leaders. With research demonstrating that women are wanting success and many are not yet achieving it, and also suggesting that the men are also wanting to do more with their families and are not achieving it, there is a great opportunity for companies to step up and address these issues with the use of coaches.. Significant investment by companies is made in diversity programs, in providing quality childcare, womens networking groups, and improving skills. This is not always sufficient, as there are still many stereotyping and social issues to overcome. Corporations also provide coaching to executives toward achieving career success, but often the non-work issues faced by executives are excluded from that arrangement, either contractually or by assumption.
Coaching the individuals Having the responsibilities of a leadership role as well as the responsibilities of parenthood is enormous, and very emotional. A coach can help an individual face those challenges, help the individual define for him or herself what doing it all means for them, and what one needs to do to achieve it. Companies can provide support structures to their key executives and talent pools in providing work life balance programs for staff and ideally include also their spouses and other elements of the individuals support structures (boss, nanny). Coaching programmes could be developed to help clarify an individual or couples needs in respect of their commitments to work and family, and help encourage and progress these individuals toward success in all areas of their lives. Such coaching programmes would essentially address the employees who are in need of greater balance in their lives. This has referred to in some circles as fixing the

By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly women but should be extended to all requiring a balance. Most corporations include some aspect of this approach in their diversity programs, although usually it stops at the individual and does not extend to their spouses or their line managers. Coaching for a change in corporate culture The 2012 Women Matter Report said that tackling the mindsets was a significant factor in making a breakthrough on gender diversity. The best of efforts may fail unless people change the way they think. So for example, if the prevailing view is that aspiring managers need to make themselves available anytime, anywhere, it will inevitably be more difficult for some women to flourish..McKinsey work has shown that corporate transformations that address the underlying attitudes that prevent change are four times more likely to succeed than those that tackle only the symptoms of resistance. Companies must understand the unhelpful attitudes and beliefs that prevail among men and women alike in their companies, and then work to change them. With innovative corporations leading the way, there could be a paradigm shift if the term mummy track could be replaced with highly balanced, flexible, sustainable individual track and incentive programs offered for any employee who demonstrates success also outside the corporate environment, whether that success be as an athlete or sportsman, as an active parent, as caregiver for an elderly parent, or volunteer for charity. To achieve truly long term sustainable performance companies need to acknowledge those other lives that their staff have. Happy employees are better employees. Employees with strong structures and activities outside work are also more balanced individuals and therefore potentially able to better cope with the changing work environments that we are currently facing. Coaching programmes rolled out from the top to the bottom, team by team, could facilitate this corporate mindshift.
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By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly Conclusion Women in leadership roles appear to be still facing greater challenges than their male counterparts, when it comes to demonstrating their abilities to lead and succeed. Just the same, many men who choose to create a harmonious balance between career and family are facing those same challenges. These obstacles and challenges are unique to their individual circumstances and environments, including the cultural and societal norms. Executive leaders are keen to address the gender imbalance in their companies. Evidence suggests this can be addressed by investing in the enhancement of corporate culture and mindset to encompass the different non-work related needs of individuals, as well as providing support structures to facilitate a holistic approach to talent development. Can women have it all? It would appear that we are on the cusp. It is not only the women wanting to have it all, now many men want a balance too. And the companies are committed to addressing the gender imbalance. With the right investment in a change of corporate mindset, companies will make it more palatable for those that choose to have a balance. That in turn may lead to more women and men - choosing to have it all with fulfilling careers as well as active parenting. Women will then be having it all on an equal playing field with men who also choose to be active parents. An equal playing field in a meritocracy will in turn address the gender imbalance.
The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.
-Michelangelo
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By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly Reflection: Further thoughts for individuals Do you want to have it all? What does having it all look like to you? Can you really commit to both a fulfilling career and the responsibilities of family? Do you have the support structures (childcare, company support, acknowledgement from coworkers and friends) that will support that? What are the alternatives? What are you willing to give up to do it? Are you happy with that decision? What do you really want? Further thoughts for companies What percentage of your employees, male and female, have significant outside interests including their own families? Is having a work life balance a strength that you look for in your employees? Is having outside interests regarded as an additional competency adding an element of diversity to your teams? How is having a work life balance reflected in performance evaluations? Does your company place a higher value on face time than on other performance measures, either intentionally or not? Is there an unconscious bias against an employee with significant non company related interests? Is flexibility in working hours seen to be only the preserve of women with dependents in your company?
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By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly Bibliography
Why Women Still Cant Have It All, Anne-Marie Slaughter, The Atlantic Monthly JulyAugust 2012 Why Men Cant Have It All, 7.9.2012 Madeleine M. Kunin, former US Ambassador to Switzerland under President Bill Clinton. Huffington Post Why is having it all just a womens issue?, Stephanie Coontz, CNN.com 25.6.2012 Men Never Had It All, Toure, Time Ideas, June 27, 2012 20-first Gender Balance Scorecard Reports http://www.20-first.com/1550-0-where-theworlds-top-companies-stand.html October 012 Executive Women and the Myth of Having it All, Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Harvard Business Review April 2002 The Qualities That Distinguish Women Leaders Caliper Corporation, 2005 How Women Lead the 8 Successful Strategies Successful Women Know, by Sharon Hadary and Laura Henderson, McGraw-Hill, 2012 Why Men Should Support Gender Equity, Michael S Kimmel Guyland The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men, Michael S Kimmel What is Having it All, After All? 4 Outstanding Women Respond 18.7.2012 Asholka Forbes How women mean business 2010 Avivah Wittenberg-Cox Catalyst 2007 The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Womens Representation on Boards The 2010 Women Matter Report; Women at the Top of Organisations, Making it Happen McKinsey and Company October 2010 The 2012 Women Matter Report: Making the Breakthrough McKinsey and Company October 2012 What successful transformations share: McKinsey Global Survey results: www.mykinseyquarterly.com
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By Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly Profile: Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly
A passionate and energetic leader, Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly is until the end of 2012 a Managing Director at UBS based in Zurich, Switzerland where she is responsible for ensuring the successful implementation of global projects which are complex and require significant cross functional collaboration. An Australian Chartered Accountant, and a graduate of both the Swiss Finance Institute Executive Programme, Banking, and the IMD High Performance Boards Programme, Lisa is a strong professional having gained over 30 years work experience in Australia, USA and Switzerland. Lisa is fluent in Swiss German, enjoys skiing and golfing with her family and is passionate about enabling individuals to achieve success. Married to a working dad, Lisa and her husband are both having it all when it comes to career and family. They are not reading as much as theyd like, or playing as much golf as they plan to when the kids have better handicaps, and they gave up date nights long ago, but doing it all is a way of life for the whole family, and both of them firmly believe that if each family member has the chance to be the very best they can be, that in turn is beneficial for every other family member. The home team is in that sense no different to the office team each playing to his strengths. Lisa has recently redefined her version of doing it all and it remains to be seen whether trying to grow a business is less time consuming or indeed more flexible than her previous leadership role. Nevertheless, with the support of her family and friends, Lisa is investing that time and is totally excited about her potentially more fulfilling executive coaching future.
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Research Paper Assessment

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Reflection further thoughts

Bibliography Profile of author

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

Can women have it all?

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