Lorraine Hariton

Lorraine Hariton President & CEO at Catalyst Inc. New York, New York Connect Connect with Lorraine Hariton Catalyst Inc. Harvard Business School See contact info 500+ connections A leader in technology, entrepreneurship, and partnering, Lorraine has spent 25 years in leadership positions in Silicon Valley, including as CEO of two venture-backed start-ups, before being appointed by President Obama as Special Representative of Commercial and Business affairs at the US Department of State. During her time at the State Department, Lorraine established The Global Entrepreneurship Program, the WECREATE program for women entrepreneurs, and the Secretary’s Council on Women’s Leadership. Most recently, she was instrumental in creating the New York Academy of Sciences’ Global STEM Alliance and its 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures program, a global mentoring initiative for girls. Lorraine has also served on several boards of organizations committed to the advancement of women in the workplace, including the Stanford Clayman Institute for Gender Research, UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change, and Watermark. She has a BS in Mathematical Science from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard. Read Lorraine’s full profile here Read Lorraine’s full profile here Show less Show less of Lorraine’s summary Highlights Reach out to Lorraine for... Joining a nonprofit board. Message Lorraine Articles & activity 3,212 followers How Employers Can Fix the Pay Gap Once and For All Lorraine’s profile photo Lorraine Hariton Published on LinkedIn In my recent travels throughout the UK and Canada, and back home in New York, one subject keeps coming up: the pay gap between women and men. Twenty-three years ago, when the United States had its first Equal Pay Day, women were paid 74% of what their male counterparts made. That number has barely budged, with women earning, on average, 80% in 2017. So, it might surprise you to learn that I am optimistic about the prospect for change. At Catalyst, we are hearing from more and more global companies that they feel the need to take strong action to tackle the pay gap—if only because if they don’t, legislators will require it. An Emerging Trend: Pay Transparency Laws During my trip to the UK, I spoke with several corporate leaders about the Equality Act, which requires companies with more than 250 employees to publicly disclose salary information. The government is betting that publishing pay data will force companies into action and will empower employees to press for greater pay equity. Germany also recently passed a law that lets women and men who work for companies with more than 200 employees learn the salary of co-workers in the same job. And, in 2018, Canada introduced pay equity legislation for the federal jurisdiction, requiring employers to examine compensation practices and ensure that women and men working in federally regulated workplaces receive equal pay for work of equal value. Back in the United States, some companies are getting candid about their pay gaps too. Citigroup recently revealed that median pay for women was 29% less than it was for men in the company. Why publish such data? The reason is simple: they understand that you can’t improve what you don’t measure, and they are setting goals for improvement. Bloomberg’s 2019 Gender-Equality Index, which lists global companies that voluntarily share gender diversity data and practices, has more than doubled in size in the span of a year. And at Catalyst, 62 CEOs have now joined Catalyst CEO Champions For Change—a two-year-old initiative that entails sharing data on women’s advancement so we can collectively measure and report progress. Pay Inequity is Bad for Business The bottom line: More companies are stepping up because they know that it’s not just the right thing to do; it’s good for business too. In the era of #MeToo, when gender issues are in the spotlight, employees, investors, and customers are increasingly expecting companies to walk the talk. They also know that companies that embrace diversity and inclusion will be more successful at attracting talent. And, they know it won’t be long until companies that fail to address fundamental inequities are left behind. So far, the United States hasn’t adopted pay transparency regulations but that could soon change; a federal judge recently ordered the Trump administration to reinstate a 2016 initiative requiring companies to report how much they paid workers based on gender and race. Advocates of this initiative (including Catalyst) believe that collecting this data will encourage employers to correct pay disparities. Whether the Trump Administration will appeal the ruling is unclear, but what is very clear is companies should get off the sidelines. More than 40% of US mothers are sole or primary breadwinners; getting paid equally is a basic right. Many years of research show that organizations can close the pay gap if they do the following: Conduct internal pay equity studies/analyses. You can’t fix what you don’t measure. Implement a “no negotiations” policy for men and women; studies show that when women negotiate for higher salaries, people react more negatively than they do when a man asks for more money. This directly contributes to the wage differences between women and men. Publish salaries or salary bands, along with explanations, and facilitate discussions to ensure lines of communications are clear and honest. Evaluate recruitment, promotion, and talent development systems for gender bias. Gap Inc. took these measures and became the first Fortune 500 company to publicly disclose and validate it pays men and women equally for equal work. (Which is why, in part, Gap won the Catalyst Award in 2016.) For years, there has been broad consensus that women should be paid equally. Now, it is time for employers to back that up with policies proven to eradicate the gap. Those who don’t may soon find they no longer have a choice. 23 Likes 4 Comments Like Comment Share See all articles No alt text provided for this image We're so thrilled to have Stacey Bain join Catalyst! #CatalystCommunity Lorraine shared this 1 Like See all activity Experience Catalyst Inc. President & CEO Company NameCatalyst Inc. Dates EmployedAug 2018 – Present Employment Duration10 mos LocationGreater New York City Area Catalyst is a global nonprofit working with some of the world’s most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women. Founded in 1962, Catalyst drives change with pioneering research, practical tools, and proven solutions to accelerate and advance women into leadership—because progress for women is progress for everyone. This position is effective September 1, 2018. UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change Advisory Board Member Company NameUN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change Dates EmployedSep 2017 – Aug 2018 Employment Duration1 yr LocationGreater New York City Area The GICC is a dynamic partnership between UN Women and key representatives from the private sector, academia and nonprofit institutions focused on developing the innovation market to work better for women and to accelerate the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Wiki Education Foundation Member Board of Directors Company NameWiki Education Foundation Dates EmployedAug 2014 – Aug 2018 Employment Duration4 yrs 1 mo LocationSan Francisco Bay Area Transnational Strategy Group Senior Advisor, Global Business Partnerships Company NameTransnational Strategy Group Dates EmployedJul 2014 – Aug 2018 Employment Duration4 yrs 2 mos LocationWashington D.C. Metro Area Responsible for developing business partnerships globally. banner_finished_final10-2 banner_finished_final10-2 New York Academy of Sciences SVP Global Partnerships Company NameNew York Academy of Sciences Dates EmployedMar 2014 – Aug 2018 Employment Duration4 yrs 6 mos LocationGreater New York City Area Leading global partnerships for the Global STEM Alliance, an initiative of The New York Academy of Sciences bringing together government agencies, corporations, educational institutions, and nongovernmental organizations to increase the number and diversity of students in the STEM pipeline.... See more Wave Systems Corp. Board of Directors Company NameWave Systems Corp. Dates EmployedMar 2014 – Jan 2016 Employment Duration1 yr 11 mos LocationLee, Mass Leader in Data Security, Governance/Nominating and Compensation Committees US Department of State Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Company NameUS Department of State Dates EmployedSep 2009 – Feb 2014 Employment Duration4 yrs 6 mos LocationWashington D.C. Metro Area She was responsible for State Department outreach to the business community, commercial advocacy and global entrepreneurship efforts. She works with US embassies around the world to ensure that support of business is a priority and has been instrumental in establishing entrepreneurship as an important foreign policy tool. She has repres... See more Xeolux Consultant Company NameXeolux Dates EmployedMay 2005 – Aug 2009 Employment Duration4 yrs 4 mos Consultant at Rubiconsoft, Televerde, Echelon Industries include smart grid, intelligent street lighting, demand service for retailers, direct marketing for high tech, distribution of music on the internet and energy management. Beatnik Chairman of the Board Company NameBeatnik Dates EmployedJan 1999 – Aug 2009 Employment Duration10 yrs 8 mos LocationSan Mateo, CA IODA Director Company NameIODA Dates EmployedMay 2006 – Jul 2009 Employment Duration3 yrs 3 mos Board Member Apptera President and CEO Company NameApptera Dates EmployedJun 2003 – Dec 2004 Employment Duration1 yr 7 mos LocationSan Bruno, CA Apptera provides highly configurible packaged speech applications for the call center. Under my tenure we shipped the first commercial product, signed marquee customers including Bank of America, Telstra, Coles Myer, raised $8 million in venture capital and signed Scansoft, Intervoice, Qwest and Convergys as resellers. Beatnik, Inc. President and CEO Company NameBeatnik, Inc. Dates EmployedJan 1999 – Jun 2002 Employment Duration3 yrs 6 mos LocationSan Mateo, CA President and CEO •Raised $40 million in venture capital in two rounds of financing led by Mayfield. •Grew company from 10 to 125 people. •Acquired Mixman, $3 million music creation software company.... See more NCD EVP Company NameNCD Dates EmployedSep 1993 – Jan 1999 Employment Duration5 yrs 5 mos LocationMt View, CA VP of Marketing, VP of Business Development, SVP Marketing and Development, EVP, Sales, Marketing and Development Verifone Director Strategy and Planning Company NameVerifone Dates EmployedSep 1992 – Sep 1993 Employment Duration1 yr 1 mo LocationRedwood City, CA Developed strategic plan. ROLM Executive Company NameROLM Dates EmployedJan 1986 – Sep 1992 Employment Duration6 yrs 9 mos LocationSanta Clara, CA Director Call Center Product Marketing, Branch Manager Executive Assistant to VP Sales Manager Pricing Practices, IBM Sales Manager Company NameIBM Dates EmployedJul 1977 – Jan 1986 Employment Duration8 yrs 7 mos LocationSan Francisco Bay Area, New York Maraketing Manger, Sales Rep, Regional Sales Rep. American Airlines Computer Programmer/Analyst Company NameAmerican Airlines Dates EmployedJul 1976 – Jun 1977 Employment Duration1 yr LocationGreater New York City Area Worked in Operation Research Deparment. Developed a fuel allocation model Show fewer experiences Education Harvard Business School Harvard Business School Degree NameMBA Field Of StudyBusiness Dates attended or expected graduation 1980 – 1982 Stanford University Stanford University Degree NameBS Field Of StudyMath Science Dates attended or expected graduation 1974 – 1976