JANUARY 2019
12 Actions You Can Take to Advance Women at Work
Last month we shared our wishes — and yours — for what you’d like to see for women in the workplace in 2019 and beyond. But while wishes are nice, action is what gets results. Inspired by your wishes, we decided to compile 12 Actions You Can Take to Advance Women at Work.
1.     Speak Your Truth
Research shows that when we can’t bring our whole selves to work it negatively affects our health as well as our performance. Whether it’s the Emotional Tax levied on Asian, Black, and Latina women (and men), the persistent sexual harassment that goes unreported (or worse, swept under the rug), or simply just unconscious bias that keeps women earning less and not receiving access to hot jobs , if we don’t speak up, nothing will change. 
2.     Help Other Women
Being a mentor , or better yet a sponsor , is proven to not only help others, but also help the career of the person doing the mentoring and sponsoring. Check out all the amazing resources we have on these topics (including the difference between them) and start 2019 helping someone while also helping yourself.
3.     Eliminate Bias Before It Can Even Start
Unconscious bias is real, and sadly it’s prevalent in almost all hiring and promotion processes. But your organization can eliminate its likelihood with some simple steps, including nameless resumes.
4.     Engage Men as Champions       
In the era of #MeToo , women need male allies more than ever. But many men are also extremely wary of helping women now. So how can you engage male champions? Encourage your male friends, family, and colleagues to join MARC , support men’s engagement with this list of action steps , and show them actions they can take to further foster an inclusive workplace. 
5.     Become a Champion For Change
Catalyst CEO Champions For Change is a group of global CEOs who’ve pledged to take action by advancing women leaders to all levels in their organizations. For two years in a row, these companies have outpaced their global peers. Encourage your CEO to become an inclusive leader in 2019.
6.     Pledge to Be an LGBTQ+ Ally
Imagine not being able to keep a photo of your spouse on your desk. Or the frustration you might feel constantly being called by a pronoun you don’t identify with. This infographic offers ways you can be a true ally to the entire LGBTQ+ community and create an inclusive and welcoming workplace environment for everyone. 
7.     Become an Inclusive Leader
Increasing diversity and inclusion in organizations is not just about “doing the right thing”—it is essential to success. The more included employees feel, the more innovative they report being in their jobs.
Take our quiz to find out if you are an inclusive leader.
F ind out what you can do everyday to become more inclusive. 
8.     Put Yourself in Someone Else’s Shoes
Being an other takes an emotional toll. It’s hard to explain to people what it’s like to not feel like everyone else. Try to imagine being on the outside, either racially, ethnically, gender-wise or because of your sexual orientation. This infographic can help you understand how hard it is to feel differently than everyone else and hopefully will open up discussion with colleagues and co-workers who aren’t the same as you. 
9.     Increase Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards
Diverse boardrooms are good for business, yet most countries have very low representation of women on boards.  Here are some resources, tools, and tips you can use to get yourself on a board, increase your own board’s diversity, and sponsor a woman to board service.  
10.     Flip the Script
Even with the best intentions, we can say or do things that are offensive and hurtful. Our suite of Flip the Script tools can help you take action by using words that create inclusive environments where people feel that they are both valued and they belong.
11.     Become a Better Communicator
Now more than ever, we are going to school, working, and living in communities with people who think, look, and have beliefs different from our own. Catalyst’s free online course will teach you how to successfully bridge divides in order to find common ground.
12.     Learn From Failure
If you’ve never failed, you’ve never tried. Learning from our mistakes goes a long way toward preventing them in the future. This blog post highlights some failures from Catalyst staff and how they were able to turn mistakes into opportunities for intentional interaction and inclusion.
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Final Thoughts
History isn’t just history; history is today. History is being made right now, and we must make it in the image we need to achieve equity, celebrate diversity, and lead with inclusion. If we stand up now, we can articulate what we want the future of work to be. - Lorraine Hariton, President and CEO, Catalyst
Catalyst CEO Champions For Change
About Catalyst CEO Champions For Change
Women make up about 51% of the US population, earn 60% of all master’s degrees, and control or influence more than 70% of consumer spending. Yet only about 5% of CEOs are women, 26.5% of executives and only about 21% of board seats are held by women in the S&P 500. Learn more.
Catalyst: Workplaces That Work For Women
© 2018 Catalyst, Inc.