Doing Our Part to Achieve Gender Parity in the Workplace

WICT DC Baltimore

Today is International Women's Day and this year’s theme is #BeBoldForChange, which calls for a more gender-inclusive world in the workplace and beyond. And that’s exactly what the internet and television world has been working towards and continues to prioritize. Maria Brennan, President & CEO of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), gave us the lowdown on the strides the industry has made in achieving gender parity, and why we need organizations like WICT to recognize and encourage women to take on leadership roles in the companies across our sector.

Every two years, WICT produces the PAR Initiative survey (underwritten by the Walter Kaitz Foundation), which sets out to evaluate the status of women in cable in regards to: Pay Equity; Advancement Opportunities; and Resources for Work/Life Integration. For 2017, WICT is partnering with the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Cable (NAMIC) and has already deployed the survey out into the field. “We are always optimistic [with the results] because this is an industry that allows us to go into their organizations and lets us measure all of these areas. That puts our industry in very rare air,” said Brennan, referring to the difficulty in getting this kind of data from other industries. “With those results, we can implement and institute stronger gender diversity and inclusion tactics.”

Each survey period also helps to shape future questions and address new issues to look into for the next survey, added Brennan. Aside from the questions the survey has asked historically, a new portion of the survey this year will focus on women millennials. “We’re at this unique period in time where we are on the verge of having five distinct generations in the workforce,” said Brennan. This new section aims to help organizations gage how quickly these younger generations are entering and exiting the cable workforce.

Overall, the survey hopes to answer the following question: How friendly is this industry to women? The good news is that it’s a great story to tell, said Brennan. The last survey found that women constitute about 34 percent of the workforce, and at the executive and senior level, they constitute 32 percent. While the goal is to always aim higher, these statistics are already higher than national averages.

“What we want to work on over the next five years is to keep raising women up to that clout level,” said Brennan. And Brennan thinks that a 50-50 makeup is achievable in those clout positions by 2030. “Because when you have women and people of color at the top, then you will likely see more women and people of color being hired,” she further explained. “So we do think gender parity is achievable, particularly if the companies continue to participate in surveys like PAR and take to heart the results of their score cards and the recommendations that come out of that in regards to their practices.”

If it’s any indication of where the industry is headed in terms of gender parity, WICT itself has hit some major milestones in recent years. In 2016, the organization broke the 10,000-member glass ceiling for the first time, and its chapters continue to expand. Currently there are 21 chapters nationwide, with two more that will launch later this year, one being a new international chapter. “That’s helping to feed the overall need for continuing education and networking at the local level so that women don’t have to leave their office to ensure they are lifelong learners,” said Brennan.

WICT is also expanding its technology sector base, as it continues to see a lot more women enter the industry with STEM backgrounds, and technology companies sending its women employees to WICT’s programs.

But Brennan clarified that WICT’s goal isn’t necessarily to grow the organization: “The aim is to work with our companies to achieve gender parity, knowing that if that happens then WICT will grow organically. We want to see gender diversity and inclusion grow, so we too will grow.”

The PAR survey results will be presented by WICT and NAMIC during Diversity Week in New York City this September.

Header image from WICT's DC-Baltimore Chapter The State of You 2017 Event