Artificial intelligence and machine learning are everywhere.

Written by: Christie Coplen, consultant, Spencer Stuart, and member of AutomotiveNEXT

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning continue to capture headlines and spark questions about the future of work, the type of leaders required, and the potential implications for organizational culture.

AI and machine learning are already everywhere. Airlines and other organizations that rely heavily on planning and logistics have been using AI for a long time. The same goes for large manufacturers, financial services firms, and even utilities. Do you use Google? It’s built on machine learning relevance.

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Lack of diversity is a complex problem. So where do you start?

Written by: Christie Coplen, consultant, Spencer Stuart, and member of AutomotiveNEXT

We’re all familiar with the numbers. Study after study finds greater numbers of women “disappearing” at each successive level of most organizations. According to a study by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company, by the time women reach the SVP level, they hold just 20 percent of the line roles that are the most likely to lead to the C-Suite. That number dips to 16 percent for women in automotive and industrial manufacturing. Ethnic and racial minorities also are underrepresented at all levels of leadership. Research has found that of executives one to three levels below the CEO, only 8 percent were Asian males, and black and Hispanic leaders of both genders combined constituted less than 7 percent.

The sheer scale of systemic change required to make meaningful progress in diverse representation in leadership roles can seem overwhelming. A question I hear often is: “Where do we begin?” Here are some practical steps senior leaders and their organizations can take now to improve diversity and inclusion.

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Intentional Invisibility

Written by: Joan Hart, Vice President, Corporate Program Management & Process Excellence, ZF Group and executive committee member, AutomotiveNEXT.

Visibility is a good thing, right? Harvard Business Review points out the challenges women face when visible and three reasons why some women choose to stay out of the spotlight:

  • Avoiding backlash in the workplace
  • Finding professional authenticity
  • Parenthood pressures

https://hbr.org/2018/08/why-women-stay-out-of-the-spotlight-at-work

What will it take to maximize the potential of all employees and realize this closing comment? “To achieve workplace equality, we need to redesign organizations — not the women who work in them.”

In the meantime, there are some things women can do to help drive needed change. Lean In shared ideas on how women (and, frankly, all employees) can support each other to overcome biases. https://leanin.org/tips/workplace-ally

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

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Men Overestimate How Much They’re Helping The Women They Work With, Says New McKinsey Report

Written by: Elizabeth Griffith, Director of Engineering – GM Global, Faurecia Interiors, and chair, AutomotiveNEXT.

As a woman leader, I have always found it important to share information – particularly statistics. This article published in Fortune continues to analyze gender parity discrepancies – 70,000 survey respondents from 222 companies comprising more than 12 million employees. Of significance is the accompanying article by Sheryl Sandberg stressing how much more work needs to be done. Please read and share your thoughts.

Excerpt:

‘Women account for 47% of entry-level employees, but only one-third of senior managers and one-fifth of C-suite executives. For women of color, the drop-off is even steeper. Women of color hold 17% of entry-level positions, but just 8% of senior manager jobs and 3% of C-suite roles.

It’s not driven by the pipeline — women have earned more college degrees than men for more than 30 years — or by the desire to put careers on hold to raise children. Fewer than 2% of women surveyed plan to leave the workforce to focus on family, according to the report.

In an op-ed about the findings for The Wall Street Journal, Sheryl Sandberg argues that in order to move closer to gender parity, we need to realize how much work remains to be done.

https://amp-timeinc-net.cdn.ampproject.org/c/amp.timeinc.net/fortune/2017/10/10/women-in-the-workplace-2017

Written by: Elizabeth Griffith, Director of Engineering – GM Global, Faurecia Interiors, and chair, AutomotiveNEXT.

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