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31 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP 4 tips to ensure female talent stays amid the pandemic By Kelly Gooch A s many companies have moved employees to- ward working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains to be seen how the trend will ultimately affect their ability to keep female talent. In an article for Harvard Business Review, Colleen Ammer- man, director of the Gender Initiative at Boston-based Harvard Business School, and Boris Groysberg, the Rich- ard P. Chapman professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, assess the move toward re- mote work and whether it will benefit women. A paper by a group of economic experts argues the ef- fects of the public health crisis may essentially promote gender equality in workplaces and provide more oppor- tunities for working mothers seeking flexible arrange- ments. While Ms. Ammerman and Mr. Groysberg hope this occurs, they said they are unsure that will be the case because barriers to women's career progression are now magnified. To "prevent the careers of your women em- ployees from becoming collateral damage during this crisis" the authors said, they recommend that companies: 1. Stay aware of bias against working mothers. Wom- en could potentially be viewed as less competent when their caregiving role is visible. Pay attention to this bias as more women work from home and ensure an environ- ment where that bias is not accepted. 2. Reduce pressure. Acknowledge and accommodate childcare needs and other challenges working parents are facing amid the pandemic. At the same time, make priorities and business needs clear. 3. Ensure gender equity with virtual meetings. Do not leave women and their viewpoints out of virtual meet- ings. Before and during these meetings, ensure every- one who should have input is included. 4. Include women in digital spaces. Do not exclude women from virtual events. This involves reminding people to share their views with everyone during a virtual meeting and including women in other digital spaces, such as spe- cial Slack channels and FaceTime happy hours. n 8 common missteps women face in negotiations By Molly Gamble M ore than 80 percent of CEOs and other executives leave money on the table when negotiating. Women have an even greater challenge: Research indicates a backlash effect causes them to hold back. ese findings come from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where several professors have closely studied the dy- namics women leaders face at the negotiation table. Research shows that male evaluators penalize female candidates more than male candidates for starting a negotiation. Leigh ompson, PhD, J. Jay Gerber professor of dispute resolution & organizations at Kellogg, suggests this backlash effect possibly stems from broad- er gender stereotypes. Men are seen as having agency to pursue their own professional goals while maintaining professional relationships. Women, on the other hand, oen face a perceived trade-off between the two and don't have the same luxury of doing both. Here are eight common missteps women should avoid during these high-stakes conversations: 1. Overlooking a negotiation opportunity. Many negotiations un- fold in an ambiguous, informal way without much notice. It's not as though you'll receive a calendar invitation for a negotiation with your board next ursday at 2. Kellogg thought leaders urge women to take advantage of these less clear-cut moments. "Most negotiations are not as highly scripted as buying a house, buying a car or meeting to dis- cuss my salary," Dr. ompson said. "ey are about other things in my life that can have a big impact on my subjective well-being." 2. Asking for permission to negotiate. Women should initiate nego- tiation more oen. "One of my rules is never ask, 'Is this negotiable?' because that's a yes or no question," said Dr. ompson. "It's easy for people to say, 'No, it's not. Next question.'" 3. Going to bat harder for your team or friend than yourself. Wom- en behave more like the prototypical man when negotiating on behalf of someone else, said Dr. ompson. "I tell women that even if they have to imagine negotiating on behalf of their team, their retired self or a future child, that is going to help." 4. Making a feeble offer. No feeble offers! Make firm offers that are clear and specific, said Vicki Medvec, PhD, Adeline Barry Davee pro- fessor of management and organizations at Kellogg. "It's like going into the department store, and you see a sweater that has a snag. If you go up to the counter and say, 'Can you take something off ?' you're not going to end up with nearly as much as if you go to the counter and say, 'Can I have this for 50 percent off since it has this snag?'" 5. Making an unreasonable offer. is can strain your relationship with the negotiator, and rare is the negotiation where the relationship doesn't matter. "We want to make sure that we make asks that are very bold, but not ridiculous," said Dr. Medvec. "We want to make sure we are building rationale for the offer." 6. Going off the cuff. Without a script, you'll still talk of course — just about what the other party wants and needs. Prepare to have the con- versation you want to have. 7. Making a first offer with no room to concede. You want to con- cede. "When you concede, the other side will feel like they're winning. ey'll be more satisfied, and you look more flexible and cooperative," said Dr. Medvec. 8. Setting negotiation terms that don't communicate anything about your differentiators, or the things that make you a better choice than a competitor, according to Dr. Medvec. "I always say that if you're not differentiating, you're commoditizing. I'll ask people what they want to accomplish in a negotiation, and they'll talk about max- imizing price or value, building a relationship or getting more busi- ness. But differentiating your product or service is critical to achieving those objectives. It's the lost piece." n