22 | A ROADMAP TO GENDER PARITY AT ALL CAREER STAGES No matter what Sheri Rhodes, chief technology officer at Western Union, recognizes the importance of senior policies you have, leaders inspiring their younger colleagues through sponsorship: “I’ve been fortunate to have if your senior had sponsorship—from both men and women—throughout my career. I have the responsibility team doesn’t to model that behavior and to be an advocate for change.” demonstrate that While female role models are crucial, both men and women should serve as sponsors and behavior, it won’t mentors to ensure that women build the diverse networks they need throughout their careers. permeate through If sponsorship and networking groups involve only women, Karen Peetz notes, they can “un- the rest of the firm. wittingly be viewed as some kind of fringe effort. It’s a best practice to have heterogenous groups, with men involved as mentors, coming to programs, and demonstrating their support.” Jenny Johnson, Beyond formal programs, companies should monitor the quality of and access to sponsorship Franklin Templeton for both junior and senior-level women. For example, a best practice is to send out an annual Investments sponsorship survey to identify sponsors and candidates for sponsorship, so that gaps can be identified and addressed early. 3. Eliminate bias in reviews and promotions. Reducing bias in reviews and promotions would likely boost the lagging promotion rate for entry-level women and help to alleviate senior-level women’s sense that their gender has hindered their advancement. This perception is not misplaced: as noted earlier, entry-level women in financial services are 24 percent less likely than their male peers to be promoted, versus 18 percent of women overall. It is therefore especially important for the financial services industry to address the biases— often unconscious—that are holding back female talent. While 79 percent of companies in the financial services sector offer unconscious bias training, only 18 percent require it. Uncon- scious bias training must tackle not only gender, but race, sexual orientation, and other forms of bias. This is particularly critical given the double bias women of color face. Such training can increase inclusiveness for all people. Effective intervention requires going beyond merely helping individuals recognize bias to providing them with the tools to address bias head on, particularly in high-stakes situations like hiring, performance, and promotion discussions. A commitment to addressing unconscious bias needs to come from the top to be effective. Jenny Johnson, president and COO at Franklin Templeton Investments, confirms, “No matter what policies you have, if your senior team doesn’t demonstrate that behavior, it won’t perme- ate through the rest of the firm. From the CEO down, we encourage everybody to take uncon- scious bias training, and then we track the number of people who do it.” 4. Give employees the flexibility to balance work and family. Our interviews have highlighted the common perception that the financial services field is less conducive to work-life balance; in fact, challenges in balancing work and family are the num- ber one reason senior-level women do not strive to become a top executive. To address this, financial services companies must find ways to offer more flexibility in the workplace. Flexibil- ity programs are common across the financial sector: currently nearly 90 percent of financial services companies offer extended maternity and/or paternity leave, and 92 percent offer flexible work policies. However, our research shows that women—especially senior-level women—fear that partaking in flexibility programs may hinder their advancement.