Eliminating Glass Ceilings: Employer Best Practices for Achieving Equity in Promotions

The course, presented by Craig Leen and Kathleen Parker, partners and attorneys at K&L Gates, will take a comprehensive look from a legal perspective at eliminating glass ceilings for women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals, with a particular focus on achieving equal employment opportunity in promotions to executive and management-level positions. The course will discuss compliance with applicable legal standards, along with best practices to help exceed those standards.

Learning Objectives:

1. Provide an overview of legal standards established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Executive Order 11246, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act as they relate to promotions to executive and management-level positions

2. Discuss statistics demonstrating the underrepresentation of women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals in executive and management-level positions, as well as the contribution of this underrepresentation to persistent pay gaps

3. Identify best practices to achieve equal employment opportunity in promotions, including larger promotion pools, mentorship programs, employee resource groups, succession planning, effective DEIA programs, centralized assignment systems, equitable leave policies, promotion pathways, and professional development opportunities