Case Studies
The Business CaseGender equity in the workforceErnst & Young strives to make a difference by helping people, clients and communities achieve their potential. A commitment to inclusiveness is integral to accomplishing this. Since the 1980s, over half of the new hires at the Big Four professional services firms have been women. But the firms still faced a significant problem: high turnover among experienced professionals, especially senior-level women. This was disrupting the continuity of client-service teams, reducing productivity and raising recruitment expenses. Valuable talent and organizational knowledge was being lost.
As a first step, Ernst & Young created a dedicated team reporting directly to the Chairman to promote gender equity and women's advancement in 1995. From there, a strategic focus on gender developed, with programs that address the range of networking and development needs of professional women. Being flexibleErnst & Young's Chairman frequently talks about the importance of flexibility and encourages a flexible workplace culture. This flexibility is a key ingredient to help retain both male and female staff. Flexible hours, seasonal schedules, telecommuting, compressed workweeks – or just the successful practice of routine, daily flexibility – have proven critical to the retention of top talent at the firm. Web-based tips and tools help employees think through creating appropriate flexible work arrangements. The type of flexibility that people at Ernst & Young need differs by age and staff level. According to Lisa Portnoy, Managing Partner of Ernst & Young's San Jose office, "The number of people on formal flexible work arrangements increases at the manager and senior manager level." Lisa explains that this is partly because as women get older, they start families and have a greater need for these more formal flexibility options to balance new roles. Opportunities aboundErnst & Young's Career Watch program develops partner and principal pipelines by engaging local leaders in career development and progression of high-potential women and minorities. "The program tries to make sure women get the right opportunities, because statistically and historically [these groups] have not had the same set of experiences or mentoring as others," explains Lisa who used to be a Career Watch champion. In addition to Career Watch, the firm also has a mentoring program that pairs high-potential up and coming women leaders with members of the Executive Board of the organization, which includes the company's senior leadership to provide coaching and career advice. The program currently operates in the US, Canada, Europe and Central and South America. Pathway to Meaningful Partnerships© is another innovative gender program. It is a course designed for female senior managers and new partners and principals to improve communication, presentation and sales skills. It also prepares participants for the transition from senior manager to partner or principal. Each participant receives two additional hours of individual coaching and quarterly newsletters reinforcing the coursework. In addition to encouraging high-potential women, Ernst & Young promotes networking among all female staff. The Professional Women's Networks are local groups designed to provide career development and foster knowledge exchange. With more than 75 networks globally, women are given the opportunity to meet, expand their networks and build relationships. These activities include forums and seminars, networking dinners, book clubs, guest speakers, skill-building sessions and community engagement activities.
Knowledge is keyAwareness is another critical component of Ernst & Young's approach to diversity. The organization helps staff understand biases that can impact individuals' daily decisions. "We have diverse staff from all different backgrounds, and our implicit associations based on our own background and experiences can lead to unintended biases," says Billie. To educate senior and mid-level executives on the role that implicit associations play in everyday actions, Ernst & Young has worked with Dr. Mahzarin Banaji, a professor at Harvard University. In her presentations to senior executives, Mahzarin illustrates how people's minds and emotions work in social interactions and at a subconscious level. She has presented to hundreds of Ernst & Young leaders, and the organization continues to roll out her presentation to others. Leaders within the communityIn addition to supporting its own female staff, Ernst & Young encourages women's leadership in the community. The company recently launched Winning Women, a program to foster relationships, build networks and provide growth opportunities to women entrepreneurs. Currently operating in the US, this program merges Ernst & Young's support of entrepreneurs with efforts around women's advancement. Participants receive personalized business advice from Ernst & Young professionals and its network of established entrepreneurs, executives and advisors. Education sessions and mentoring on relevant industry and business practices are also available. Complementary to Winning Women is a new initiative called Pathways to Prosperity, which is led by the US State Department and which Ernst & Young is deeply involved with. This program educates women entrepreneurs from many countries on how to expand their markets and create networks, and pairs them with an executive in a US-based company to serve as a mentor. Ernst & Young also assists women-led microenterprises in poor nations. The organization works with Kiva.org, which facilitates microlending by connecting entrepreneurs in need of a loan with individuals who want to contribute loan funds via the Internet. The vast majority of Kiva.org borrowers are women. Ernst & Young is helping Kiva.org increase the transparency of its microlending process through advising on procedures such as checking a borrower's identity, the loan amount, term of the loan and the amount of the investment.
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Ernst & Young decided to do something about it. "Ernst & Young spent a tremendous amount of time recruiting and training our female staff members, but many felt they could not advance to the top ranks for a variety of reasons – for instance, those who felt they needed to leave the firm to start a family," noted Billie Williamson, Partner and Americas Inclusiveness Officer at Ernst & Young. "It was clear that we needed to focus on developing a workplace culture where people could reach both their personal and professional goals."
These findings are not lost on Ernst & Young. Global Vice Chair Beth Brooke is a powerful advocate. After an admonition from a friend, she was moved to action. "My best friend told me I had a big global platform, and that I should be using it to do more to advance the state of women. That was a real wake-up call," Brooke says, "since I thought I was doing a lot." Since then, she has taken the call to lead change for women to a new level, being named one of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women by Forbes three years in a row. 
