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I #ChooseToChallenge equity in the workplace. I believe that an equitable workforce is the best value-driver for your business.
It is crucial to champion the elevation of women, in both a personal and professional context, everywhere in the world. I don’t just say this as a husband, a son, a father of two daughters and a brother of two sisters. I say this as a business leader.
This month we celebrated women everywhere in honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. But it cannot be a day or a month – businesses need to make this a full-time priority. A company that celebrates diversity – differences in backgrounds, experiences and perspectives – will find that it enjoys a more connected workforce, one that solves problems more effectively and delivers better outcomes for its clients and other stakeholders.
We’re on a journey towards gender equality, and we have a lot of work to do. However, there are some bright spots: I am proud to be part of a European Executive Committee that is more than 40% female. I benefit every day as a member of a team made up of so many women – intelligent, capable leaders whose innovation and tenacity drive the Communications strategy of the world’s largest asset manager.
We cannot allow fear of failure to hold us back. The prize is too great, and the duty – not only to our female colleagues but also to our shareholders – is too weighty. We need to run at this – HARD! As Carla Harris, Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley, told us last week at our Women’s Initiative Network IWD event, “Fear has no place in your success equation.”
Celebrating International Women’s Day at BlackRock
BlackRock’s Women’s & Allies Initiative Network (WIN) engaged thousands of colleagues through a photo challenge that brought to life the theme of International Women’s Day, #ChooseToChallenge.
Employees from around the globe posted pictures and shared what they chose to challenge. For every photo, BlackRock made a donation to the Malala Fund. As a result, BlackRock donated $50,000 to the nonprofit that is helping to break down barriers to education for the 130 million young girls out of school today. Here is what some BlackRock colleagues will do to create an inclusive world.
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As we prepare for International Women’s Day on March 8, I had the incredible opportunity to engage with three senior BlackRock leaders – all women – on the day’s theme #choosetochallenge. Here are their interesting answers to my questions along with empathy and lessons for us all.
Choose To Challenge is a call to confront bias, discrimination, and stereotyping. How have you chosen to challenge and called out situations in the past? What are you doing to create a better environment and a better future?
“Choose to challenge is first and foremost about the everyday moments. It’s about being present, alert and questioning when something could be better. This can be smaller things like reviewing the proposed speaker line-up for an event. It’s being conscious of whether the panel is diverse – and challenging it if it’s not. The same holds true for meetings: looking at participants and questioning whether others should be added to provide diversity of perspective and thought.”
– Sarah Melvin, Managing Director and Head of BlackRock’s UK Business
“I have been actively challenging bias my entire life. As an Arab woman, there are countless stereotypical expectations that I have continuously confronted over the years – from attending MIT (“Why would you go to MIT? That institution is not for women.”), to a career in investment banking and eventually heading investment banking in the Middle East at Morgan Stanley (“You can’t go into investment management. That industry is for men…and particularly not the Middle East!”), to balancing my rigorous job and raising a family of four boys (“Surely you will resign or take on a part time role now that you have children.”). The way that I have chosen to challenge each of these situations is by fighting them through my actions and demonstrating that I am capable of not only achieving these goals but also excelling at them.”
– May Nasrallah, Non-Executive Chairman and Senior Advisor for the Middle East
“In the data and technology space, I am often in meetings with all men. Once, as we were talking about a conference, a male colleague referenced an ‘extremely thought-provoking’ presentation given by ‘quite a witty girl.’ (Mind you, she is an award-winning data scientist.) I said simply, “You mean quite a witty woman, not girl.” He corrected himself immediately, and we went on with the discussion. He called me afterwards to apologize and explain that he did not mean any insult. I explained to him how referring to a woman as a girl may seem innocent enough but is a micro-aggression that negatively impacts perceptions of women. I also asked him if he would ever refer to a male award-winning data scientist as a ‘boy,’ and he could not fathom it. So, I think we both learned good lessons that day. Mine was to speak up in the moment. And his was that he should never refer to an adult woman as a girl! Ever!”
– Tiffany Perkins-Munn, Managing Director and Head of the Research, Analytics, and Data team for Global Marketing
It’s important to really dig deep into the opportunities side of this topic as well. How have mentors and sponsors at BlackRock helped you identify and pursue opportunities?
How will you #choosetochallenge?
BlackRock is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer in compliance with the U.S. federal contractor program. We are committed to equal employment opportunity to all applicants and existing employees, and we evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity/expression), sexual orientation, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religion, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. View the EEOC’s Know Your Rights poster and its supplement and the pay transparency statement.
BlackRock is committed to full inclusion of all qualified individuals and to providing reasonable accommodations or job modifications for individuals with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation/adjustments are needed throughout the employment process, please email Disability.Assistance@blackrock.com. All requests are treated in line with our privacy policy.
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