Aspire - Leadership for the future

M.A.D. Women: Ethics Meet Profits as Women M.ake A. D.ifference

Gone are the days of anything goes in business. Ten years of Enron, Worldcom and the banking crisis have shown us that. Even in this economic downturn, no longer is the sole purpose of business to make money. New research from behavioral science shows that altruism rather than avarice is taking over as the primary motivation in business. In this socially-responsible 21st Century, it is the new Conscious Business Movement at the forefront of innovation, particularly for companies led by women and corporations with predominately female workforces or customers.

For the past six years, Aspire’s annual survey of senior women across the world has shown that people working in corporations, particularly women, want to make a difference. They want to feel that they are doing work that is not “just about the money”. The new dinner party question, “What’s your TBL?” is not referring to a fashion fad but instead talking about ‘Triple Bottom Line’ – Profits, People and Planet. People want to contribute to something more than themselves and women especially are often particularly passionate about making a difference to women and girls. But they want to do more than just give a donation; they want to really get involved by giving their skills.

“Conscious business means shining awareness on every area of your work,” explains Fred Kofman, co-founder and president of Axialent, an international consulting company specializing in leadership development and teamwork. “In recognizing the needs of others and expressing your own—in seeing the hidden emotional obstacles that may be holding your team back—in making good decisions under pressure—and even in delving into such "spiritual" questions as ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What is my real purpose here?’”

Women at the forefront

Women are at the forefront of the Conscious Business Movement. The late Dame Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, is one of the movement’s pioneers. Her business plan included grassroots community collaborations and a strict adherence to making products using all natural ingredients. She was also a great advocate against animal testing and for women’s rights.

Anne MacCaig, chief executive of Cafédirect, is another example. Her work earned her the Triodos award last year for the best female-led ethical business in the UK.

The Cooperative Group is another company that aims to put people before profits. The company has a largely female workforce and client base and operates a number of programs for young people, as well as programs to tackle climate change and global poverty.

Recently, Aspire joined forces with the Cooperative Group and Reclaim, a leadership and mentoring project for young people, to facilitate an empowerment workshop for 20 young women from disadvantaged communities. Speaking after the workshop, Melissa Rainey, Community Liaison Officer for Urbis which houses the Reclaim project said, “It was great to see girls who had low self esteem speaking out and feeling confident in the group to share their ideas. All the parents have commented on the improved confidence levels of the girls when they returned home.” See case study >> 

Similarly, Aspire worked with Centrica, an energy company, to prepare its women leaders for a charity fund-raising mountain trek. Lynne Turner, Director, Financial Control, Centrica, said of the event, “It was awesome! Everyone was very engaged and enjoyed meeting and getting to know each other and sharing their emotional journeys. I enjoyed seeing them ‘come alive’ as people with comments like ‘this is very different from the kind of leadership development stuff we do in the office’. I genuinely believe it will make a difference to the experience of the trek and what people will take out of the challenge ultimately.” See case study >> 

This year, I started the Aspire Foundation with an aim to improve the lives of one million women and girls by 2015. I started the foundation to give women like you a way to give something back and I'm proud to say that so far we have had a positive impact on more than 85,000 women and girls, and we are going strong. Our mentors are senior women working in large corporations who are giving an hour a month—pro bono—to women working in nonprofits that work for the support and advancement of women and girls all over the world.

Making business sense

Being a conscious business makes business sense too. When the advancement of women at work has slowed to a snail’s pace, this may be an answer to retaining women in the workplace. Research shows that Generation Y women (born mid-70s to early 2000s) and Baby Boomer women (born 1946 to 64) are particularly motivated by social consciousness. (Not so much for Generation X women for whom work/life balance is a huge priority especially as this generation of women have children later and are looking after older parents.)

When women feel that their company is making a positive difference to the world, they are more motivated. When they are more motivated, they perform better, are less stressed and manage others more effectively. Everyone wins!

It may also be an answer to finding new female customers and employees. According to The Third Billion, research from Booz & Co., a global consulting firm, there are one billion or more women who are about to “participate more fully in the mainstream economy.” The research concludes that “investment in women's enterprises in developing countries yielded greater long-term benefits to the economy as a whole than investment in male-owned enterprises.” Among other reasons, this is because women tend to reinvest in their own communities because of their desire to improve the lives of their own children.

Corporate social responsibility and corporate foundations are not a new idea. What is new is that these corporations are directing resources specifically at women and girls because it's proven that, in doing so, they are able to extend the reach of their businesses to new customers and talent bases. Focusing on the Third Billion about to enter the workforce, companies are acknowledging a key source of talent and customers for the future.

Both Goldman Sachs and Nike have started programs aimed at supporting and advancing women and girls globally. According to The Nike Foundation, evidence shows that bolstering girls’ health, education and prosperity will build prospects for her family and her country’s economic prosperity. When 10 percent more girls go to secondary school, the country’s economy grows by three percent.

Another example is the Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women programme. According to them, “it is a five-year investment to provide 10,000 underserved women around the world with a business and management education. It operates through a network of more than 70 academic and non-profit partners to develop locally relevant coursework for students and to improve the quality and capacity of business education.”

In fact, so important is the Third Billion that other big companies like Google are said to be building talent recruitment plans around its potential. The Booz & Co. research report goes on to say, “The creativity of the Third Billion may provide the world with an unprecedented resource for driving economic growth and improving the quality of life over the next decade. Reaping this demographic dividend will not be easy, and it may require much social and legal change. But that change has already begun in many places, and it will spread to many more. For leaders, the next step is to recognize the value of this population of women, and the contribution they can make.”

At Aspire, we see the importance of the Third Billion too. That's why we got started—to empower the women who are working already to empower other women—it's our ripple effect. Here's what some of the women participating in The Aspire Foundation mentoring program are saying:

"Aspire's work across the senior leadership team at Women for Women International will undoubtedly have an immediate and lasting impact on the work that we do. It is accelerating the progress of the organization towards achieving our strategic and operating goals - adding directly to our ability to serve some of the most socially excluded women survivors of conflict in the world."
-Andree Simon, President, Women for Women International

“My big realisation was how much personal development we've been lucky to get in the corporate world because we have the budgets for it and it’s great to be able to share some of that (as well as our experience). It also reinforced my view that I would get as much out of it as a mentor by being challenged on some of my assumptions about ‘how the world is’ and by asking myself ‘Now how do I do that?’ or ‘How could I do it better, if I was my own mentor?’ A great start and very exciting to be part of a global collaboration of women!”
-Lynne Turner, Director, Financial Control, Centrica, PLC

“I love my career with BT and have always wanted to be more involved with a charity without quitting my job! The Aspire Foundation provides the perfect solution to give small, manageable chunks of time every month to mentor amazing women. It’s a win:win – they get our experience, network, challenge and support; We get an opportunity to make a difference and hone mentoring skills.”
-Jane Swift, Programme Director, BT Retail, Next Generation Products

If you are like the women described in this article or the more than 150 mentors and mentees who are currently part of the Aspire Foundation's mentoring program, we ask you to join us in our campaign to improve the lives of one million women and girls by 2015. To become a mentor or a mentee, visit: http://www.theaspirefoundation.org and fill out an application today.

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