The Importance of Gender Diversity in Leadership

Steve Adubato goes One-on-One with Michellene Davis, Esq., President of Executive Women of New Jersey & Former Executive VP & Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of RWJBarnabas Health, and Laurence Downes, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of New Jersey Resources, to discuss the importance of diversifying leadership teams, specifically to see more women in critical leadership roles. Michellene and Laurence also share ways organizations can actively empower their female employees.

6/6/18 #2147

Excerpt:

"We're honored to be joined by two great friends, Michellene Davis, President of Executive Women of New Jersey and also Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer RWJBarnabas Health, and Larry Downes, Chairman and CEO of New Jersey Resources, and also the Honorary Chair of an event, May 9th, it is? Absolutely. Salute to the Policy Makers, May 9th, Executive Women of New Jersey's premiere event, where we really have a chance to recognize a foundation of women's leadership in corporations across the state of New Jersey. It's a big deal. By the way, we're doing this on the 26th of April, right before, this will be seen after. Yeah. Mm hmm. Why are you the honorary...? You're doing this for the second time? That's right. It's... Because? First of all, it's a great organization. That's obvious. But I think we're trying to accomplish two things that evening. First of all, we're celebrating the progress that we have made for women in terms of business, getting on boards of directors, but probably more importantly, we are recognizing that we still have a long way to go. And the event is a way to really draw attention to that. So... Can we do...? Michellene, because I've done leadership development at your place, and at your place, and we talk leadership all the time. Having a man of this stature, a guy that's actually so involved in this organization matters because? Oh my goodness. Steve, I say this all the time, because if women got into a room and continued to talk about how great it would be for us to advance in business, you know, we'd really just be singing in the same choir, but in order to have an ally like Larry, who has leaned in more than just a little bit, he's literally been willing to utilize the premiere platform that he sits upon, in order to raise this issue, to speak to other individuals like himself, other CEOs, other individuals, who sit in that corner office, and get to make these decisions. Hmm. It has been absolutely tremendous, and he has been a wonderful honorary chair. By the way, the First Lady gonna be there? Yes she is. And we are just delighted... Will have been there, by the time this airs. Go ahead. Oh yeah. Well we are just delighted and honored that she will be there for a lot of reasons. I think the message that she'll be delivering to the group..."