Blog

6 Ways This Year’s Catalyst Award-Winning Initiatives Are Disrupting The Default (Blog Post)

March 26, 2015

I couldn’t be more excited to celebrate Chevron’s US-based initiative, The Chevron Way: Engineering Opportunities for Women and Procter & Gamble’s Everyone Valued, Everyone Included, Everyone Performing at Their Peak™ at today’s Catalyst Awards Conference and Dinner!

Though they’re from two very different industries, this year’s Award-winning initiativesshare a strong commitment to cultivating diverse talent. Championed by CEOs who understand that profound change requires intentional action, programs like these are what help move women forward.

Below are 6 ways these companies are disrupting the default this year. Take a look and get inspired! Your company’s initiative could win next year’s Award.

  1. Fill the pipeline. Chevron partners with major colleges and universities, as well as with professional organizations and community programs, to attract women and diverse employees. The company also works with local middle school, high school, and community college programs to encourage girls and students in underserved communities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
  2. Set the tone at the top. All P&G managers are evaluated partially on their ability to cultivate diverse talent—and all business-sector and functional leaders report directly to the CEO on women’s advancement. If you have to report to the CEO about something, you’re going to make it a priority.
  3. Hold people accountable. Most Chevron employees are evaluated in part on their commitment to diversity. That means nearly every single employee at Chevron is responsible for promoting diversity—and personally invested in doing so.
  4. Be flexible. P&G offers comprehensive flexible work options, including career-path flexibility, short- and long-term reduced-hour arrangements, dual-career couple benefits, and leave benefits, including a unique sabbatical program in which all full-time employees with at least one year of continuous employment are eligible for up to three months of leave every five years.
  5. Put family first. Chevron also offers truly innovative work-life programs, including a job-share program and a dual-career couples program that helps support and strengthen family relationships by taking bothspouses’ careers into consideration.
  6. Keep women safe without holding them back. When building its manufacturing plant in Hyderabad, India, P&G worked with the local government to change a law to allow women to work night shifts in safety. In India, women employees are offered private bus service to work.

Chevron and P&G aren’t just making it easier to be a woman in the oil & gas industry or a plant worker in India. They are making it possible for employees of all backgrounds to live AND work in the 21st century. It’s time for more organizations to step up and follow their lead!

The views expressed herein are solely those of the guest blogger and do not necessarily reflect those of Catalyst. Catalyst does not endorse any political candidates. The post and the comments are presented only for the purpose of informing the public.

Deborah Gillis

Former President & Chief Executive Officer

Growing up in a tiny village in rural Nova Scotia, far from any center of power, Deborah Gillis was inspired by a group of women who successfully advocated for gender equality rights to be included in the Canadian constitution. As a result, her high school debate topic was, “Be it resolved that women earn the same as men.” And so began a career dedicated to giving everyone equal opportunity to succeed. Her early work in the public sector focused on social justice policy issues: employment equity, anti-racism, and LGBTQI rights. As a consultant and practice leader for two global professional services firms, she advised clients on strategies for aligning talent and business priorities, and championed initiatives to mentor women. Then as a candidate for elected office, Deborah first truly understood the power of role models to inspire girls and young women. That experience and surviving breast cancer motivated her to seek out more deeply meaningful work. Deborah found it at Catalyst, a global nonprofit that works with some of the world’s most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women. Joining in 2006 as Executive Director of Catalyst Canada, she became Chief Operating Officer in 2012, and then President and CEO in 2014. In her time as president, she put her passion to work as a tireless advocate, opening doors for other women so that we can change the world—one fair, diverse, and inclusive workplace at a time. A recognized thought leader and global influencer, in 2016 Deborah was named as one of Canadian Business magazine’s 10 most influential Canadians, and that same year she received the Foreign Policy Association Medal. Most recently, in 2017, Deborah accepted an honorary Doctor of Laws honoris causafrom Cape Breton University for dedicating her life’s work to advocating for women’s rights and equality. She serves on the Board of Governors of St. Francis Xavier University.