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PricewaterhouseCoopers

What

This case study is about the global Gender Advisory Council at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The firm acknowledges that its success is dependent upon a diverse set of talentedv people and it believes that six people with different ideas are more valuable than sixty people who all think the same. Women represent half of its global workforce at the recruitment level, and 15% of its partnership, a number which continues to increase each year. Although great progress has been made to help women climb the corporate ladder, it acknowledged that more needed to be done. To address this, in 2006 it formed the Gender Advisory Council (GAC), an international group of 14 senior male and female leaders from a variety of key and strategically significant countries who actively work to improve the representation of PwC women in the workplace. Geographies represented by the GAC include the UK, US, China, India, Canada, the Netherlands, Central and Eastern Europe, Malaysia, South Africa, France and Australia, but advice, support and GAC resources are available to all staff in all countries. The GAC provides a one-stop shop to assist with  opportunities for global collaboration, for example, PwC in Canada reproduced a UK mentoring scheme and its Indian offices are creating a version of an Australian worklife balance programme.

Why

The Council was founded by the global CEO in order to focus on the retention and attraction of female staff and to increase the number of women in leadership roles. It is also tasked with ensuring that the firm’s clients see it as a leader in this field. The GAC has formal objectives around raising awareness of the business case and current state of play and around researching, identifying and recommending specific actions. It also defines accountability and recommends measures to sustain progress and success.

 

How

The GAC has benefited from powerful and engaged leaders. For example, it is sponsored by the global CEO who attends the group’s meetings and conference calls. He frequently features the GAC and accompanying business issues as a topic in his global communications with the firm’s leaders and people and regularly speaks on the importance of gender as a business issue in his internal and external communications.

The GAC started by commissioning a gender data report on 24 key territories, to help it understand the figures, the patterns and the local issues. Country specific recommendations around the use of targets and change management actions were produced, communicated and measured. The GAC has been responsible for many new initiatives. It created an internal global database for the wealth of in-house and external material published on the topic of gender diversity. Externally, it has created a website, www.pwc.com/women and thought leadership blog, the Gender Agenda, to showcase its credentials and expertise. The GAC was responsible for the research and publication of a report, the “Leaking Pipeline”, which included advice and guidance to women and leaders, in addition to a toolkit for assisting colleagues who wish to create and sustain a network for women. The Council was also responsible for the production of a 27 minute global thought leadership  film, which looks at the world in 2050 and how a focus on gender diversity can increase productivity and deliver business benefits.

Pricewater House Coopers LLP

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Gender Advisory Council
Contact: Cleo Thompson, Programme Office Leader,
Gender Advisory Council
Email: cleo.thompson@uk.pwc.com

 

 

 

 

Impact
  • In 2006 women made up 12% of its partners; the number is now 15% and on target to continue increasing.
  •  It now has two female members of its highest global leadership team.
  • In many countries, the rate of maternity returners has increased to approximately 95%, an increase from 89% in 2006.
  • An increase in promotion rates meant that women made up 29% of new partners in 2008