With the resignations of senior female leaders and a widening gender pay gap, Goldman Sachs’ recent history shows that a quota-driven approach to the promotion of women cannot succeed, writes chief executive of AM Bank and leadership consultant Dr Nahla Khaddage Bou-Diab.

At an initial glance, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives might seem good for the workplace: they level out representation, ensuring perspectives, backgrounds and cultures are all present within any given firm. For the uninitiated, these programmes seem to modernise organisations, moving them away from the outdated, arcane structures that have remained in place for decades.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. They’re damaging and need to be re-evaluated. At its core, DEI is synonymous with quotas. And, anytime you impose a metric – another metric, that is – you’re simply placing another barrier that talented staff have to confront.

For women, this is incredibly challenging. After all, no matter their credentials, experience, or qualifications, women already face an uphill battle: organisations have ultimately not been designed for them, but for men. The day they step foot into an office, women are immediately thrown into environments that will constantly try to hold them back. They enter survival mode.

Read more at: https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/want-more-female-leaders-ditch-quotas-and-shake-up-your-culture/