Paradigm for Parity® CEO Spotlight Series: Jennifer McCollum, Linkage
The Paradigm for Parity® coalition CEO Spotlight Series showcases the CEOs who are transforming the culture within their companies to advance women of all races, backgrounds and ethnicities.
This week we are pleased to feature Jennifer McCollum, CEO of Linkage, who shared insights on how her company is prioritizing diversity and inclusion to create an environment where all women can thrive.
1) What motivated your company to join the Paradigm for Parity® coalition?
At Linkage, our aspiration is to change the face of leadership, by impacting leadership effectiveness and equity in organizations globally. It is perfectly aligned with Paradigm for Parity’s mission to address the corporate leadership gender gap, and we do that through our programs designed to work with executives, sponsors, and women leaders to impact individual development for women and organizational culture, talent systems and executive commitment and action. We are proud to join 130+ other organizations committed to the 5-Point Action Plan, which we believe will help create a world where women of all races, cultures and backgrounds will have equal access to leadership positions. It takes all of us.
2) What role can/should CEOs play in leveling the playing field for marginalized groups, including women and people of color, in the workforce?
We know from our latest Linkage research that executives — and CEOs at the helm — play the most critical role in driving the perception of inclusion at organizations. We have countless interviews in our white paper where inclusion was destroyed because executives were not perceived to be equitable, welcoming, and fair. What does it look like when executives lead by example? They are curious and self-aware; they take feedback; they acknowledge mistakes; invest the time to get to know their people — their values, aspirations. And they engage in courageous conversations. The CEO is responsible for creating the conditions for inclusion to thrive. As it relates to gender equity, the CEO should lead the way on four dimensions: 1) Executive Action; 2) Culture; 3) Talent Systems; 4) Differentiated Development Opportunity for Women Leaders.
3) What do you consider to be the benefits of leveling the playing field for women in the workforce for your company and society as a whole?
Research shows that when women are well represented at the top, companies are 50% more likely to outperform their peers, with increased effectiveness and employee retention. Beyond that, senior-level women have a vast and meaningful impact on a company’s culture. They are more likely than senior-level men to embrace employee-friendly policies and programs and to champion racial and gender diversity: Over 50 percent of senior-level women say they consistently take a public stand for gender and racial equity at work, compared to roughly 40 percent of senior-level men. And they are more likely to mentor and sponsor other women. Finally, when comparing how men and women rate themselves on inclusion, women rate
themselves modestly more inclusive than men rate themselves. However, all other raters perceive women to be much more inclusive than men. So having more women in leadership isn’t just good for business, it also models for all leaders to be more inclusive by their example, extending their impact into society.
4) How is your company advocating for, lifting up and supporting women of color in your workplace? What has made the biggest difference in advancing all women in your company?
For over 20+ years, our Linkage team has partnered with organizations globally to assess, develop, and advance women into greater positions of leadership. This work is more important now than ever before, especially when you consider the differential impact that the COVID crisis has had on women in the workforce, and especially women of color. With 5 million jobs lost to women since the start of the pandemic, women’s participation in the workforce is the lowest it has been in 30 years. As we work to reverse this alarming trend, we know women leaders perform better, stay at their companies longer, and advance in their careers when organizations address four critical dimensions: Executive Action, Culture, Talent Systems and Differentiated Development Opportunity for Women Leaders.
5) When you look at the Paradigm for Parity® coalition 5-Point Action Plan, is there one step that you think is most critical to ensuring that women of color have the same opportunities for advancement as their colleagues?
The final point on the action plan is to “identify women of potential and give them sponsors, as well as mentors.” We are seeing in our work to advance women leaders that we need to help organizations shift their sole focus from identifying, developing, and mentoring women toward an equal focus on identifying and developing sponsors. Effective sponsors are people in positions of power and influence who are committed to creating opportunities, championing the leader’s career, advocating for the leader, and providing air cover so that the leader can take risks. This is especially important for all women, but especially women of color who may not have had the same access to sponsors, who are generally in the white male majority of executive leadership today.
Jennifer McCollum is CEO of Linkage, Inc., where she oversees the strategic direction and global operations of the Boston, MA-based leadership development company. With a mission to “Change the Face of Leadership,” Linkage has dedicated 30 years to improving leadership effectiveness and equity in hundreds of organizations globally.
Jennifer has 20 years of experience building and leading businesses in the leadership space. Prior to Linkage, Jennifer spent a decade growing businesses within Korn Ferry and Corporate Executive Board (CEB), now Gartner. At CEB, she led product management within the leadership division, driving innovative solutions that helped organizations select, develop and place leaders at all levels. She also ran CEB’s Leadership Academies business, which developed more than 30,000 professionals in 2,100 companies throughout 50 countries and grew revenue at a 97% combined annual growth rate across five years.
Previously, Jennifer served as CEO of IntraVision, a leadership consultancy she founded and grew over the course of eight years. She worked with public companies, start-ups, associations and nonprofits. Her passion is creating vision, executing strategy and managing cohesive teams toward aspirational goals, with a special focus on supporting women in leadership roles.
About Paradigm for Parity®
The Paradigm for Parity® movement is a coalition of business leaders dedicated to addressing the corporate leadership gender gap. The coalition is made up of CEOs, senior executives, founders, board members, and business academics who are committed to achieving a new norm in the corporate world: one in which women and men have equal power, status, and opportunity. Our ultimate goal is to achieve full gender parity by 2030, with a near-term goal of women holding at least 30% of senior roles.
