International Women's Day

On the eve of  International Women's Day, I had the opportunity to speak to the inaugural gathering of HollyFrontier Corporation's WiE event (Women in Energy) at its corporate headquarters in Dallas. A local gathering of over 100 employees, combined with satellite offices connected via technology, resulted in 800+ members of the HFC family who tuned in for a conversation about Diversity and Inclusion.

 

The great thing about this event was that it wasn't just women who attended. Men and women, from all levels of the organization, representing different ethnic and national backgrounds, from across the company's North American footprint (and possibly the Netherlands if recent Sonneborn acquisition members joined) engaged in listening, learning, and participating in a dialogue about Unconscious Bias -- a topic which is critical to understand if we are ever to make progress in the D&I arena.

 

The presence of Unconscious Bias is the result of two primary forces that make us who we are; (1) How we are raised (including our environment and family structure) as well as (2) Our life experiences (education, religion, travel, work environment, interactions). Understanding how these factors contribute to the manner in which our brains store and organize our thoughts is critical to mitigating the personal impact of biases we bring to the workplace every day. We are unable to go back in time and change how we are raised, but we can certainly create life experiences that expose us to different people, places, and perspectives to help us raise our game of inclusivity.

 

Talking through examples of Affirmation Bias, Confirmation Bias, and Attribution Bias gave the audience context for many of the behaviors that we experience every day.  These biases can often explain why some people seem to have greater fortune in their careers than others. Our propensity to identify with those who share demographic makeup, agree with our political viewpoints, or resemble those who we are accustomed to seeing in various roles all play into the absence of true meritocracy in the workplace. Further discussion about Likeability Bias and Maternal Bias brought focus on some disadvantages that women, in particular, have on the job -- the tradeoff between being "competent" and being "nice", and the assumptions that are made regarding women who are mothers or in childbearing years.

 

Holding an event that involves participation of a wide cross-section of an organization broadens the conversation about Diversity and Inclusion, and truly addresses the primary goal of any such endeavor; that of building talent in a company. I am witnessing a new chapter in the D&I journey. It's no longer just about senior management commitment to D&I. The past 30 years and subsequent lack of progress demonstrates that showcasing companies and CEOs who say the right things doesn't move the needle in the corporate world. The new movement is grassroots. It recognizes that change can only occur if the ownership of meritocracy belongs to the entire organization. Identifying examples of Unconscious Bias and holding one another -- all colleagues -- accountable for its presence and impact is key to creating a truly inclusive workforce.

Comments

[Terry Mattison]

Outstanding event!

[Sharolyn Headroe]

Excellent presentation Anna and very well received by our attendees.

[Colleen Stevenson]

Anna, thank you for your talk at WiE. I was in Mississauga Ontario where we had a very good turnout. Thank you for joining HFC Board and look forward to your Leadership of this company.

[Sue Asuncion]

Thank you so much for speaking at this event! It was a great presentation overall by the WiE group, and I really appreciated the openness and personal stories shared by all the speakers. Their willingness to be vulnerable and share personal stories really made an impact on me, and I hope on others who participated in the event.

[Cara Whitesel]

Great event. Look forward to more to come.

[Suann Partlin]

Loved this type of communication within our company. Being a woman of "60"ish I have seen a lot of so call change for women in upper management. Even though I was in upper management in the 90's thru 2000's it was a struggle to be not only heard but taken seriously.
I really enjoyed Anna's presentation.
I look forward to many more years at HollyFrontier and look forward to seeing my grandchildren thrive in the future of diversity.

[Anna Catalano]

Thanks so much...I really enjoyed participating in the event. Thanks to all who organized and attended!

[Regina Navarro]

Great event! Your message was powerful and uplifting. Thank you for being an incredible role model for women. Your leadership and accomplishments are an inspiration to us.