Unknown: So one thing I'd like to start off by
talking about is how your employer supported you
in rising through the ranks and what was most
helpful.
Samantha Rist: I've had several employers, but
maybe unlike some individuals, I started my career
in oilfield services. So I worked a couple decades
for a company called Schlumberger. And I think a
number of ways that you don't necessarily realize,
you realize when you're starting out that you've
been supported. But I think because I was very
curious, open to different challenges. those
opportunities were open to me just like every
individual in the organization. But I'd say
there's probably a crossroads as, as a female as a
working female, that I have found over the years,
and especially now I'm an HR that usually happens
between the five and eight year working mark, um,
we kind of look around and and realize, or
contemplate, am I going to? Do I want to get
married? Will I get married? Will I have children?
And what kind of effect is that going to have on
my career? It isn't a daily thought process. But
when I did find my partner, and we did get
married, we actually happen to be married seven
years before we had children. And then at that
point, I was able to take the time off to spend
with my two girls spend with my children, and my
husband really enjoying that time off. And I was
able to, clearly you have nine months to get
ready. But there were conversations before that on
then what my job would be after I returned, I
happened to change positions, both during my time
in Schlumberger, after I had children. So it was
just very commonplace, it didn't feel extra
special. And I felt like I had the support to map
out those aspects of my career.
Unknown: Definitely. And, of course, statistics
that have been getting a lot of attention lately
are about how more women than men have left the
workforce. Due to the pandemics effects, including
having more to manage at home. What programs do
you think HR companies can put into place to
support women?
Samantha Rist: You know, I'm an advocate that we
should have in place, family policies, right, that
and might changing, the trend of my thinking has
changed over time. And because these are very
centric, to working, in essence, mothers, that's
what you're asking, or working partners, and the
burden of certain aspects being done, you know,
the, the adulting part of life in terms of getting
the groceries and cleaning the house, but family
friendly policies that then support, getting those
things down from taking just even flexible time
off to complete items. But also, I think that I
wouldn't say burden because there's social norms,
but part of that discussion has to be occurring at
home in terms of how are those things balanced? So
I think aspects of even parental leave regardless
of how you bring someone into your family, whether
it's through birth of a child, through surrogacy
through adoption, then equalizing time off so that
both individuals can spend time you know, forming
a bond and bringing, it's never normal after you
have a child but trying to then find your feet to
not feel overwhelmed on all fronts. Definitely.
Unknown: And on the whole, men still out earn
women. What policies do you think business and HR
leaders can implement to change this
Samantha Rist: um, whether it's policies or good
hygiene practices for an organization, but when
total rewards reviews are being done, then it
always makes sense and it should be completed an
equity review. And so you have to look at the
population across many demographics to understand
if there is bias in terms of what has occurred in
the past, and then how those biases can be
corrected. And certainly pertaining to all aspects
of pay, whether it be based variable or equity
Unknown: and a LinkedIn report of found that women
apply to 20% fewer jobs than men. To what extent
can HR do something about that? And what concrete
steps can HR take to change that?
Samantha Rist: Um, I think it starts with
recruiting. And I think these are well understood
statistics that that you are quoting. And it's, I
wouldn't say it's easy, but it's appropriate to,
in a way, stack the deck up front, because
research says that if I have five candidates, and
I say, Okay, I'll have one woman out of the five.
If I actually have two women out of the five, I'm
increase the odds that I will hire that diversity
candidate than if I only had one. So part of it is
just do i have i thrown the net large enough that
the pool of candidates, I'm showing a hiring
manager, right, that I've vetted, that I know are
qualified, it goes without saying that the bar has
to be where it needs to be for the role that
you're hiring for. But if I can fill that
pipeline, with appropriate, diverse set of
candidates and not just one Z's, then I've
increased the odds that I can bring in its optical
diversity, what we're looking for is diversity of
thought. And we know there's different ways to
hardwire that in. And then clearly, that's one
part of it. The other is creating an environment
where there is equity, and there is inclusion. And
I think the end of the spectrum is blogging. So I
might have optical diversity around the table. But
am I truly soliciting? in how we run meetings? How
we're asking for input and feedback? Am I truly
soliciting multiple perspectives, where and I'm
listening to those perspectives, and I'm valuing
those perspectives to have a better business
outcome. And that in itself is a very long
journey.