or sponsoring relationships out of
fear of what others might think. A study published by the Center for Work-Life Policy and the
Harvard Business Review reported that 64 percent of men at the level of vice president and above are
hesitant to have a one-on-one meeting with a more junior woman. For their part, half of the junior
8
women avoided close contact with senior men. This evasiveness must end. Personal connections lead
to assignments and promotions, so it needs to be okay for men and women to spend informal time
together the same way men can. A senior man and junior man at a bar is seen as mentoring. A senior
man and a junior woman at a bar can also be mentoring … but it looks like dating. This interpretation
holds women back and creates a double bind. If women try to cultivate a close relationship with a
male sponsor, they risk being the target of workplace gossip. If women try to get to the top without a
sponsor’s help, their careers will often stall. We cannot assume that interactions between men and
women have a sexual component. And everyone involved has to make sure to behave professionally
so women—and men—feel safe in all settings.

At Goldman Sachs in the late 1990s, management committee partner Bob Steel recognized this
perception problem and came up with an admirable solution. The father of three daughters, Steel told a

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training class that he had a “breakfast or lunch only policy” with employees because he felt
uncomfortable going out to dinner with female employees and wanted to make access equal. Sharon
Meers worked at Goldman at the time and said Steel’s decision caused a bit of a stir, but she thought
his candor was heroic. Anything that evens out the opportunities for men and women is the right
practice. Some will get there by adopting a no-dinner policy; others may adopt a dinner-with-anyone
policy. In either case, we need practices that can be applied evenly.

Many companies are starting to move from informal mentoring that relies on individual initiative to
more formal programs. When taken seriously, these formal mentorship/sponsorship programs can be
remarkably successful. Structured programs also take the pressure off junior women from having to
ask the difficult “Are you my mentor?” question. One study showed that women who found mentors
through formal programs were 50 percent more likely to be promoted than women who found mentors
9
on their own. The most effective formal programs help educate men about the need to mentor women
and establish guidelines for appropriate behavior. These programs can be a great way to help ※※文※檔※共※享※與※在※線※閱※讀※
normalize the senior man/junior woman model.

Official mentorship programs are not sufficient by themselves and work best when combined with
other kinds of development and training. Deloitte’s Leading to WIN Women’s Initiative is a good
example. Deloitte had already established a program to support female employees, who still remained
underrepresented at the highest levels of the company. This prompted Chet Wood, CEO of Deloitte
Tax, to ask, “Where are all the women?” In response, Deloitte launched a leadership development
program in 2008. The program targeted senior women in the tax division who were close to
promotion. The women were assigned sponsors, received executive coaching, shadowed members of
the executive committee, and took on global assignments. Of the twenty-one members of the inaugural
group, eighteen have since been promoted.

As helpful as these formal programs can be, they are not always offered, and in some situatio