Susan Bulkeley Butler is the founder and CEO of the Susan Bulkeley Butler Institute for the Development of Women Leaders and the author of two books, “Become the CEO of You” and “Women Count.” She was hired as the first woman professional at Arthur Andersen in 1965, and in 1979 went on to be named the first woman partner at the firm (subsequently known as Andersen Consulting and is now Accenture).

HOUSTON WOMAN: Please tell our readers a bit about your book, “Women Count.”

SUSAN BULKELEY BUTLER: “Women Count” is a call to action for all women.  It is my manifesto for breaking down the last barriers women have in business and society. My purpose is to have women join the conversation, find their passion and  realize the ways, through the eyes of others, they can make the world a better place for themselves and other women (and men).  I believe I am bringing other authors’ voices together with my passion to present how we women have gotten to where we are today, how we need to work together to bring “equality in sight” in this next decade and, by doing this, how we can make the world a better place for everyone.  And, provide an approach for making this change happen. 

HW: The subtitle of your book, “Women Count: A Guide to Changing the World,” is a bold one. What changes are you suggesting?

BUTLER: August 26, 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the right to vote for women, my vision is a world where women’s skills, strengths and experiences  are more important than ever before. Women and men are partners in changing the world. Ideally, we see significant movement toward “all people are created equal.”   

HW: Where do we most need to see change happen? 

BUTLER: Change needs to happen in two ways — from the top-down and from the bottom-up of an organization. Leaders need to strive to have the most qualified people on their teams, which include both women and men, in nearly equal percentages.  For instance, when I ask someone about the percentage of women in their organizations they may well say, over 51 percent.

Then, when I ask about women in senior leadership positions, it is usually a very small percentage of the team, maybe only one woman. And if there are women (in those positions), they are usually in human resources, marketing and finance. Women, as well as men, need to be groomed to be leaders at all levels, including at the very top leadership positions.

HW: What are the first steps to increase the numbers?

BUTLER: The first step is to begin the conversation.  We need to get women excited about making change happen and to believe  they can do it. I ask women, “If you would change the world what would you do?” The passion of the young women who started Campus Mentors for Kids was to change the world for under-represented children. They started this organization to get young children excited about going to college, and then help them figure out how to get into college. Lives of “zillions” of people are being changed by this program. Second, women need to do more to get more women to the top of organizations. We need to support one another, develop and promote women on our own teams, be their advocates and help them get the visibility they need to become leaders. We need to fill the pipe-line of qualified women partnering with men to change the world to be a better place. We need to be woven into the fabric and culture of every organization. And, it starts with us filling the pipeline to the top.
 

HW: Why is now a good time to begin this change?

BUTLER: There is really no better time than now. Women make up nearly 50 percent of the workforce and are in 18 percent of the top leadership positions. More than 50 percent of the col-lege graduates  are women who have undergraduate and graduate degrees. Women are making 95 percent of the financial decisions, and four out of 10 moms are the primary breadwinner.

Leadership opportunities are growing every day. Men are becoming more involved with their families, and women have more freedom to pursue their interests in careers, public service, philanthropy and many other areas.Conversations over the past two years have included this question:  “Would we be in the current economic situation if there had been Lehman Brothers and Sisters, instead of just Lehman Brotherers?  One answer is that with more “sisters,” we would have reduced the corrosive gambling culture that dominated the trading room. It has been reported that with more women leaders, businesses would be less ego-driven, more responsible and more cautious. Women are better communicators, better listeners and [generally] better consensus-builders. The decisions...made would be different.

HW: How can women who are not in the workforce help bring about global equality?

BUTLER: All women need to be engaged in the “Decade for Women,”  to further enhance equality for women. This is not only for  women in business, public service or philanthropy, but for all of us. [We need] to ensure our daughters and granddaughters have the same opportunities as anybody else. Some would say the women of today are completing what Susan B. Anthony and the National Woman’s Suffrage Association thought they were getting when women got the right to vote — equality for all women.

HW: What do you mean when you say this is the “Decade for Women?”

BUTLER: Beginning with the launch of “Women Count”  on August 26, 2010, conversations will begin…conversations with men and women who will change the world.  People will see the impact of women on themselves and on other women — hopefully around the world.  This is the decade when women will continue to “on purpose”  make change happen for themselves, for their communities and for their daughters and granddaughters.