Paradigm for Parity® CEO Spotlight Series: Margery Kraus
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 Margery Kraus, Founder and Executive Chairman, APCO Worldwide, who reflected that “as leaders, we have a responsibility to cultivate a workplace environment where marginalized groups can build their careers with both equitable workplace policies and emotional support.”
1) What motivated your company to join the Paradigm for Parity® coalition?
As the world’s largest majority-women owned communications firm, we’ve always been deeply involved in projects that center around the advancement of women and their economic independence, and are proud to say that championing the progress of women and girls globally is a part of APCO’s DNA. It’s a mission we share with P4P. As APCO’s founder, and a grandmother of nine, achieving gender equity for current and future generations has been a personal and professional passion for me for a very long time. We’re proud to partner with and be one of the founding signatories of P4P, and use our global network, including employees and clients, as advocates for empowering women in the workplace and achieving true gender equity.
2) What role can/should CEOs play in leveling the playing field for marginalized groups, including women and people of color, in the workforce?
As leaders, we have a responsibility to cultivate a workplace environment where marginalized groups can build their careers with both equitable workplace policies and emotional support. At APCO, we work to help our clients be Catalysts for Progress in our global society and, in North America, work internally through our Accelerate What’s Right initiative to play our part in ending structural racism. To do that, an organization’s mission, values, ethics and business goals must align, and leadership on all of these pieces come straight from the top. However, the solution to achieving this vision may not be readily known, and likely makes some employees slightly uncomfortable, but we have to push forward and create an environment where people feel comfortable enough to speak up and know that on the other end of that conversation, there’s someone listening that will act on an idea or feedback.
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?
The phrase “you can’t have a successful business in a failed world,” has always stuck with me. Gender equality is a collective commitment and shared responsibility, and part of being a good business is being a positive contributor to society — this mandate is especially important with regards to advancing women across the globe. After all, women constitute a critical part of our economy, and their participation in the workplace is necessary to achieving global economic recovery over the coming year and beyond. In the U.S. alone, women-owned businesses generate $1.8 trillion a year. The business community must continue to create both equitable opportunities for women-owned business to thrive, and for women to hold senior leadership positions in any organization. This means that even as women leaders, we have a profound responsibility to take a sober look at our own organizational cultures, identify any discrimination present, and address it.
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?
Promoting inclusion and gender equity will always be a business imperative internally at APCO, in our pro bono efforts and our advisory work for clients. At APCO, we provide regular trainings and educational opportunities, and empower staff to drive the creation and management of employee resource groups that represent the intersectional identities and experiences of women at APCO, such as Parents, LGBTQ+, Women in Leadership Resource Group and LatinAPCO.
I also believe policies and practices that support moms and caregivers more broadly are good for society and good for business, especially after the pandemic’s substantial impact on these groups. APCO and Marshall Plan for Moms partnered to launch a playbook for companies that lays out 10 key policies and practices employers can implement to help create more mom-friendly and inclusive workplaces especially as so many organizations consider their “return to workplace” strategies.
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?
According to the National Women’s Law Center, female participation in the workforce has dropped 57 percent. To me, this makes step four, “basing career progress on business results and performance, not
on presence,” even more vital than before. From serving clients to embracing diverse perspectives, it’s never really been a question of work-life balance for me. It’s work-life integration. We make a significant effort to incorporate valuable life experience into our workforce, and I know I bring the lessons I learned from motherhood to work every day. Caregivers should be able to take time out of the workforce and re-enter the workforce on a flexible basis to continue to build their careers, while meeting personal obligations. I’m excited for what the future of work might create for us as society to get better at blending work and family life in a way that benefits women, instead of adding to their burdens.
Margery Kraus is the founder and executive chairman of APCO Worldwide, a global consulting firm headquartered in Washington, DC, and specializes in public affairs, communication and business consulting for major multinationals. She pioneered one of the industry’s earliest practices in corporate responsibility and the development of public/private partnerships. Prior to starting APCO, Margery assisted into the creation and development of the Close Up Foundation. She is chairman of the board of the Women Presidents’ Organization and a trustee of the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, Institute of Public Relations, and American University.
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.
