When Boston Consulting Group Chairman of the Americas Steven Gunby asked Senior Partner Sharon Marcil to reinvigorate the firm's recruitment, development and retention of women, she responded instinctively. "I did a rigorous diagnosis in conjunction with [Gunby] and our CEO, and we discovered the core issues and the core opportunities on the recruiting and retention side," Marcil explains. "Once we understood that, we developed a very strong implementation plan to drive the changes through the line." Marcil runs BCG's North American Women's Initiative exactly as she conducts consulting engagements for her clients as the head of the firm's head of global packaged goods. The internal program's outcomes also resemble the outcomes BCG produces for clients. From 2004 to 2006, the number of women at BCG in the Americas increased 35 percent. And the firm, thanks in part of the initiative's success, was recently named to Working Mother's lists of the best companies to work for.
The initiatives surpassed Gunby's objective of restoring BCG to its traditional leadership position in the profession related to attracting and retaining talented women. The firm boasts several firsts on that front, including the first female partner, and has produced numerous female business luminaries, including PepsiCo Chair, President and CEO Indra Nooyi. The firm wasn't suffering form a lack of female talent, but Gunby says he had the sense that the firm had perhaps rested on its laurels.
"I was interested in moving back to our previous leadership position," says Gunby, who credits Marcil with doing just that. Yet Marcil redirects credit to firm at large. "It's not my success," she says. "I helped architect the plan, hone the messages to women and lead the initiative, but most of the success has been driven by the heads of our offices and our recruiting communities. There are so many great people in BCG who are committed to the initiative."
While she brings to bear the full force of her consulting tool set on the internal program, Marcil also invests an emotional commitment grounded in her appreciation of the firm's culture.
"I've always felt, within the context of BCG, that I could do almost anything," says Marcil, who happened to make partner in 2000 while on maternity leave with her second child. "Whether it involved trying a new internal responsibility or branching out into something new with a client relationship, I've always been terrifically well supported."
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.