Gender Parity Collaborative: A Year in Review

2023 was a big year for the HBA’s Gender Parity Collaborative (GPC). Join us in taking a look back at some of the highlights. And remember: In 2024, the GPC is evolving into the Gender Equity Think Tank (GETT), building on the successful executive-level convenings the GPC has been known for, with a heightened emphasis on action and accountability.

New people and partners

Over the summer, the GPC welcomed its new leader, Marsha Anderson, who shared her personal career journey and what it meant to her to be stepping into this role. At the fall summit, Anderson introduced the GPC’s new data partner, BCT Partners, whose CEO, Dr. Randal Pinkett described his firm’s approach to data-driven DE&I. Members also heard from new HBA CEO Mary Stutts on multiple occasions. 

Executives’ “aha” moments - in their own words

“People really let their guard down,” Nada Obeid of Amgen told us, describing her experience at GPC meetings. Obeid emphasized that despite this openness, no one shares proprietary information. Rather, the focus is on gender equity, health equity, and the overall health and wellbeing of staff; conversations center on “solving problems, aligning, and seizing opportunities.”

Speaking of seizing opportunities, Devray Kirkland of Cardinal Health shared how being part of the GPC not only validated his experiences as a DE&I leader, but also exposed him to new ways of thinking that fueled the company’s innovation around ways to support women.

Similarly, Carol Montandon of Johnson & Johnson told us that so much of what her colleagues learn from the GPC gets pulled into their Women’s Leadership and Inclusion (WLI) group, a global employee resource group (ERG) whose mission is to develop, empower and help women advance in their career. For example, the GPC’s focus on accelerating the advancement of women of color informed WLI’s own programming. As Chris Nuss[2]  of Sanofi shared, knowing that fellow members are always looking for new ways to push equity forward keeps him focused on innovating, too. 

Conversations we’re having

Reckoning with issues facing women of color in the workplace was a theme of the GPC’s Spring Solutions Summit. For the executives gathered from member organizations, a big topic of conversation was the fact that one third of all women of color are ready to leave the workplace by next year. The group witnessed just a few of the stories behind this alarming data point with a screening of Arise Firebird, a film that Olubolajimi Okubanjo created after leaving her 20-year career working in a range of leadership roles for Fortune 100 companies. We followed up by interviewing Jimi on LinkedIn, and later in the year, she screened Arise Firebird at the HBA’s annual conference, to rave reviews.

The true nature of allyship was also a topic that the GPC focused on this year. At our Summer Solutions Summit, Conrod Kelly, MBA, managing director of MSD Chile, spoke about how driving real change means having allies who are willing to risk their own comfort, safety, and status to ensure that someone else experiences equity. He also shared how he got his organization to achieve gender pay equity over the course of a single, three-hour meeting. In response to the World Economic Forum's projection that we are over 100 years away from gender parity, Kelly says, "That just screams lack of leadership." 

The power of words to combat (or perpetuate) bias also emerged as a theme. As Aida Sabo of Parexel shared at the spring summit, “What we name things matters for people to feel included and welcome.” Later in the year, guest speakers Jackye Clayton and Kieran Snyder of Textio highlighted how the language used in performance reviews reveals bias, with serious implications for talent retention and business results. At the Global Council Meeting in November, Iris Melendez, ACC and Janine Ting Jansen of Organon also shared some of the ways in which they’re innovating to make their talent recruitment process more inclusive. 

We can’t wait to see how the conversation continues in 2024.