Glass Walls

Glass Walls

We ought to stop kidding ourselves about “glass ceilings.” The real problem is “glass walls,” and women (and minorities) don’t seem to get it.

Organizations have promoted women and minorities into the donjon, the inner sanctum, but only in areas of limited access. The promotions take place in human resources, finance, legal, and a few other outliers, interstitial areas of relatively little consequence. When you show me a woman or minority heading up sales, manufacturing, marketing, R&D, and/or operations, I’ll be more impressed.

If there is a minority woman in a meeting of “the senior team” in a client, I’ll bet dollars to donuts that she heads human resources and will usually collect my share of donuts. This is the dead rat under the table that no one wants to talk about. These “glass walls” prevent talented and diverse people from leading major areas in organizational America.

Occasionally, you can find a general counsel who went on to become the COO or CEO of the company, and sometimes the CFO will similarly ascend. But it’s rare. And finding a human resources executive vice president who became COO or CEO is like trying to find a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the Amazon rain forest—theoretically possible, but not worth searching for.

The same holds true for boards of directors, which will feature minorities and women to meet public demands or accreditation requirements, or community standards. But the likelihood is that these individuals will not be the chair, will not head the audit committee, will not serve as chief of the compensation committee, and will usually have to be content with, well, being present.

Don’t point out the exceptions, they only prove the rule. We ought to stop kidding ourselves that we’re making progress with diversity by changing the name of a “manhole cover” to “service cover,” or referring to hurricanes by both male and female names. This is superficial nonsense. (There is a speaker or two actually spouting this inanity. I’m “child-free” not “child-less” she admonishes. I guess that makes me “child-burdened.”)

We’ll only benefit from true diversity when we stop limiting advancement and allow all people, based on abilities, to serve in all capacities. A good start would be to start rotating all those heads of human resources into key line leadership positions effective immediately.

Any takers?

© Alan Weiss 2007. All rights reserved.