044: Moving from Gender Diversity to Gender Balance

Episode 44: Moving from Gender Diversity to Gender Balance
Guest: Avivah Wittenberg-Cox

Welcome back and thank you for joining me again for this week’s episode of Women Rocking Wall Street. I have really been looking forward to this chat, ever since I read my guest’s content in the Harvard Business Review.

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox is a prolific speaker and writer. As CEO of 20-first, Avivah works with top management teams from international companies to identify opportunities to create more balance within their organization, primarily around gender and culture. Having active, strategic debates with the executive team is a constant occurrence for Avivah. This helps the teams understand what the gender topic is and how best to lead a more “gender bilingual” organization.

If gender balance isn’t established within an organization from the start, it’s not usually going to happen naturally. It takes three things to create balance: leadership, culture shift, and systems that are supportive and adaptive to the 21st century. Changing the balance within an organization is fairly simple. Most companies become frustrated with their lack of success when trying to create gender balance. Therefore, the executive team is open to suggestions and advice on where and how to move forward – which is where 20-first comes in.

Avivah recommends we stop using the phrase ‘gender diversity’ because it frames the females as one diversity among many. By using the term ‘gender balance’, we’re helping create a movement that has been occurring throughout the 21st century. It's now gaining some strong momentum which will positively impact businesses and relationships.

To learn more about Avivah and to find resources on how to promote gender balance, visit 20-first.com.

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