F8 NY THE NEW YORK TIMES, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019
ADVERTISEMENTBusinesseshavebeenworkingfordecadestoadvancegenderequalityintheworkplace.Yet,at
mostcompanies,progresshasbeenslowandtheresultsremainstubbornlydisappointing.
Whathaschanged--forthebetter--inrecentyearsisthenatureofthediscussionaroundtheissue
andtheconvictiontoaffectmeaningfulchange.Thereisanincreasingcommitmenttogreater
transparency,combinedwithanevengreaterwillingnesstoadmitwherewearefallingshort.
AtCiti,we’vepushedourselvestobecomfortableaboutbeinguncomfortablewithnotjustthe
statisticsbutthesocialandculturalforcesthatproducedthem.Wearebeingforthrightaboutour
data,whatitmeansandwhatneedstobedonetomeetourgoals.
Anotherchangeinthedialogueis,ontheotherhand,concerningnotjusttome,buttoany
businessleaderlookingtodrivechange.Someareraisingconcernsthatincreasingthefocus
ondiversityandinclusionrunscontrarytotheideaofcreatingatruemeritocracy.Thosewho
havelongenjoyedprivilegesassociatedwithbeingpartofthemajority,perhapsnotsurprisingly,
questionwhatitmeansforthemiforganizationsputtheirfocusonadvancingwomen.
Itbenefitsnoonetohaveinconsistentstandardsofevaluationandrewardswithinthesame
organization,andIknowourfemalecolleaguesbelievethattoo.Whatweallwantisafairand
levelplayingfieldthatrewardsthebestideasandhardestwork,andanenvironmentthatactively
seeksoutadiversityofperspectives.
Thebestresultswillnotbeachievedintheabsenceofastrongcommitment,comingfromthe
top,toequalpayforequalworkandequalrepresentationinpositionsofseniority.Thiscannot
beachievedifourcolleagues,nomattertheirpositionwithinanorganization,don’tworkinan
environmentwheretheyfeelliketheybelongandarefreetocontributetheirtalentstoreachtheir
fullpotential.Advancinggenderequalityrequireshonesty,transparencyand,attimes,discomfort.
Itmeanswehavetoembracetheviewthat,aboveall,thisisnotazerosumgame.
Thisisachallengeweneedtotackletogether.It’sabouttime.
MikeCorbat,CEOCitigroup
women’sissue.
It’snotjusta