Roadblocks, Hurdles, and Glass Ceilings: The Female Executive - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Roadblocks, Hurdles, and Glass Ceilings: The Female Executive Perspective

Kendall Conroy Undergraduate Student, Renewable Materials and Sustainability Oregon State University

• Dr. Eric Hansen

Society of Wood Science and Technology International Convention Curitiba, Brazil 2016

Background

• Gender diversity and financial performance are positively

correlated

• The North American forest sector is well-known for its lack of

diversity.

Gender discrepancy

• f U.S. companies’

TMTs on PWC’s global list of top 100 pulp paper and packaging companies

Previous Research

• Previous research: “Does Gender Diversity in Forest Sector

Companies Matter?”

• Findings: gender diversity in top management teams has a

statistically significant, positive impact on company financial performance¹

• 1. Hansen, E., Conroy, K., Toppinen, A., Bull, L., Kutnar, A., & Panwar R. 2016. Does Gender Diversity in Forest

Sector Companies Matter? Can J of For Res. (In Review).

Scatter Plot of Percentage Female Members and Company EBITA

Project Objectives

• Investigate the experiences of female executives working in

North American forest sector firms

• We hope to develop insights that can help improve diversity in

the forest sector

• Eliminate roadblocks and hurdles for females
• Provide advice for young females entering the industry

Sample

• Participant Criteria:
• Female executive
• United States based company
• 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers top 100 pulp, paper, and packaging

companies

• Convenience sample, assuring representation from various

specialties and geographies

• Sample Size:
• We anticipate sample size consisting of 15 executives
• Will continue interviewing until data saturation.

Methods

• Emails/phone calls to recruit potential subjects
• Interviews done in-person, or on-line
• Audio recording/extensive field notes taken during interviews
• Audio recordings transcribed
• Qualitative data analysis to identify commonalities among

respondents

Interview Questions

• How would you describe the general atmosphere within your

company/industry with respect to females in the workforce?

• How do you think your presence as a female executive impacts

the performance of your company?

• Are there advantages/disadvantages to being a female

manager within the sector?

• What advice would you have for young females entering the

industry?

Preliminary Findings

Female Executive Perspective

Progress the industry has made Advice for females entering the industry How the industry can improve Industry negatives Company diversity efforts Female Executive Insights

Industry Negatives

“We can count on one hand how many women leaders there are in the manufacturing facilities” “…it just doesn’t necessarily conjure up in your mind that it would be an industry that would have a lot of opportunity for women”

Negative Experiences

“I thought you wouldn’t want that job because you are pregnant”

Progress the Industry Has Made

“The company 30 years ago was very male dominated at the time… I think not only has the company evolved, the industry has evolved, and the general demographics of the workforce…” “…I’ve seen a shift of more women in management over time”

Company Diversity Efforts

“…program called [ ] it starts in 4th grade and gets people interested in math and science and see that it is fun” “…we have tried to partner them with somebody that is a little bit above them as a mentor”

Personal Diversity Efforts

“I go talk to classrooms at [ ] university because it is important for people to see female executives and to learn more about our industry…” “…so now I’m in HR because I want to make sure we’re doing the right things as a company and thinking of gender equality”

How the Industry Can Improve

“We need to make sure we’re bringing a diverse workforce in the front door” “…being visible, having people see female executives…” “Having females at the senior leader level has helped pave the way for other people to go ‘oh wow you CAN do that’ ”

How the Industry Can Improve

“…think about how companies develop talent, and if you’re working to develop talent for people who have maybe 5-7 years of experience, well if you’re female, that’s right in the time of their lives where they’re starting to have families, and a lot of times we’re asking people to move… we need to think differently about that…”

Advice for Females Entering the Industry

“Being female might help you get your foot in the door but you still have to be able to deliver and add value to the organization and compete for those next roles, just like anyone else would”

Female Executive Insights

“…if you really want to be successful and compete globally, you need to have a diverse management team that can help you be successful in all different types of environments” “…women do tend to manage a little differently than men… different isn’t necessarily better or worse, but what I always find is that having a mixture brings you to better decision making…”

Conclusion

• Diversity makes top management teams more competitive
• To increase diversity we need to make sure we have diverse

candidates in our hiring pools

• Young females need to see female executives and learn more

about the opportunity for them in our industry

• The forest industry is in a time of transition, making this an

ideal time to recruit a workforce with greater diversity

Thank You!

Please visit my poster Tuesday evening for more information. Kendall Conroy ConroyK@oregonstate.edu