Critical Mass

Today I woke up to a "Breaking News" text message that NBC had fired "The Today Show" anchor, Matt Lauer due to accusations of "inappropriate sexual behavior" from multiple women.  At the same time, Minnesota Public Radio fired long-time radio personality Garrison Keillor (creator of the show, "A Prairie Home Companion") for similar allegations.    There have been a number of famous men in the last few weeks whose careers have ended due to allegations of sexual harassment or improper conduct.  I suspect that there will be more to come.  We seemed to have reached a "tipping point" where this kind of behavior is no longer tolerated - it is about time.

I read a very interesting article in Time magazine by Jay Newton-Small entitled, "What happens when women reach a critical mass of influence" based on her recently published book, "Broad Influence."  I would encourage all of you to take a look - it really is quite amazing.  Newton-Small claims (and she provides a number of examples to back her point) that an organization's tolerance for sexual harassment ends abruptly when women comprise between 20% to 30% of the organization (i.e., there is a "tipping point" at about 20-30%).  For example, when there were at least 20 female Senators, the U.S. Senate reformed the Pentagon's sexual harassment policies.  When 25% of Hollywood producers were women, the so-called "casting-couch culture" of Harvey Weinstein was brought to an unceremonious end.  When one-third of the White House press corps were women, a number of media moguls were accused of sexual harassment (see Fox's Roger Ailes, among others).  The 20% to 30% tipping point appears to apply to racial and ethnic diversity as well.  Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision to desegregate schools in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education, sociologists recommended that a "critical mass" of minority students should be introduced into schools.   

If 20% of the workforce is a "critical mass", we have a long way to go, especially with regards to racial and ethnic diversity.  There is no question that we are better and stronger through diversity.  As former President George H.W. Bush (who, incidentally, was also recently accused of inappropriate behavior) said:

We are a nation of communities...a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.

It really is a beautiful metaphor.  We are a "nation of communities" but unfortunately, we don't always act that way.  Perhaps we can only become like the "thousand points of light" when we reach that "critical mass" of 20-30% diversity in positions of leadership.  We will only reach that "critical mass" when we are deliberate and explicit with our diversity goals.  As leaders, we need to place individuals from different backgrounds in positions where they have the opportunity to grow and develop.  We need to provide the mentorship to assure their success.  It has to start somewhere, and now seems to be an opportune moment.  Please help build that "critical mass" so that we can all reach our greatest potential.