Kellie A. McElhaney
Lecturer | Founding Director, Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership | Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES
Leading expert on equity fluent leadership, value-creating strategies of diversity and inclusion, and corporate social responsibility.
Areas of Expertise (8)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Value-creating Strategies of Diversity and Inclusion
Equity Fluent Leadership
The Gender Wage Gap
Gender Equity
Corporate Social Responsibility
Women in Leadership
Conscious Inclusion
About
Kellie McElhaney is on the Berkeley Haas faculty as a Distinguished Teaching Fellow and the Founding Director of the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership (EGAL).
Launched in November 2017, EGAL's mission is to educate equity fluent leaders to ignite and accelerate change. Equity fluent leaders understand the value of different lived experiences and courageously use their power to address barriers, increase access, and drive change for positive impact. McElhaney helped develop the equity fluent leadership concept and teaches it across the country and around the world.
In 2003, McElhaney founded the Center for Responsible Business, solidifying corporate responsibility as a core competency and competitive advantage for the Haas School. Haas was rated #1 in the world for corporate responsibility by The Financial Times. She received the Founder and Visionary Award at Haas in 2013 for this work.
McElhaney wrote a book entitled "Just Good Business: The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Responsibility and Brand." She writes case studies of companies who are investing in women and equity-fluent leadership (Wal-Mart, Gap, Inc., Boston Consulting Group, Zendesk), and conducts research in the area of equal, pay, conscious inclusion, equity fluent leadership, and value-creating strategies of diversity and inclusion.
McElhaney consults and keynotes for Global 1000 companies and organizations all over the world on her areas of expertise, and has a TED talk. She is the mother of two incredibly strong teenage daughters.
Multimedia
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Education (3)
University of Michigan: PhD, Higher Education (Business Cognate)
Ohio University: MA, Organizational Behavior/Management
University of North Carolina: BA, Political Science, English
Links (4)
Honors & Awards (9)
Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business 2019
Honored by the San Francisco Business Times May 2019
California Management Review Case of the Year
"Eliminating the Gender Pay Gap: Gap Inc. Leads the Way" 2017
Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching
2012-2013
Founder & Visionary Award
Center for Responsible Business 2013
Aspen Institute and the World Resources Institute’s Faculty Pioneer Award
2005
“40 Under 40” leaders racing ahead of their time by the East Bay Business Times
2004
Finalist in Fast Company‘s Fast 50 list
2004
MBA Teaching Excellence Award, UMBS
Nominated 2001, 2002, 2003
Outstanding GSI Teaching Award
The University of Michigan 1997
Selected External Service & Affiliations (11)
- 2018 – present Empower Her, Advisory Board
- 2018 – present, Gender Equity Diversity Subcommittee of the University of California Athletics Board
- 2017 – present, Closed Loop Fund, Advisor
- 2016 – 2018, Orrick, Women's Leadership Council, Chair
- 2014 – 2017, Outotec, Sustainability Advisory Board, Finland
- 2014 – 2018, Sedgwick Women’s Forum Advisory Board
- 2014 – 2017, Pacific Community Ventures, Board
- 2013-2017, Dow Chemical Company, Sustainability Advisory Council
- 2013 – present, Sierra Global Management Board
- Advisory Board, Haas Socially Responsible Investment Fund, Atalanta Capital, SustainAbility
- Sustainability Advisory Council, The Dow Chemical Company
Positions Held (2)
At Haas since 2002
2017 – present, Founding Director, Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership, Haas School of Business 2008 – present, Faculty, Institute for Business and Social Impact, Haas School of Business 2002 – 2017, Adjunct Associate Professor, Haas School of Business 2008 – 2012, Margo N. Alexander Faculty Fellow in Corporate Responsibility, Haas School of Business 2002 – 2008, John C. Whitehead Faculty Fellow in Corporate Responsibility, Haas School of Business 2002 – 2009, Executive Director & Founder, Center for Responsible Business, Haas School of Business 1994 – 2002, Managing Director, Corporate Environmental Management Program, University of Michigan Business School 1993 – 2002, Adjunct Professor, University of Michigan Business School 1992 – 1993, Visiting Professor, Sichuan International Studies University 1991 – 1992, Adjunct Instructor, University of Cincinnati 1989 – 1992, Fifth Third Bancorp
Visiting Positions
2013 – 2014, Management Institute of Finland 2010 – 2014, Visiting Professor, EADA, Barcelona, Spain 2006 – 2014, Visiting Professor, Kenan-Flagler School of Business, UNC Chapel Hill 2007, Visiting Professor, Institut d’Administration des Enterprises, University of Poitiers, Poitiers, France 1992 – 1993, Visiting Professor, Sichuan International Studies University, Sichuan, China
Media Appearances (15)
Why philanthropy plays an important role in gender equality
The San Diego Union-Tribune online
2021-08-09
The Gates Foundation has committed $2.1 billion over the next five years to advance gender equality with a focus on economic empowerment, family planning and health, and accelerating women in leadership. Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership, said one priority would be efforts to get more women elected to public office, because they are more likely to focus on childcare and equal pay.
Promoting a culture of equity in the #MeToo era
Faculti online
2021-07-23
Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender & Leadership at Haas, discusses how companies need to combine increased awareness of gender equity with the corporate policies and procedures required to solve problems.
Women make up a dismal percentage of all American CEOs. That's a huge financial problem — but there's a way to fix it.
Business Insider online
2021-06-30
Companies with women CEOs or top executives perform better, S&P Global and McKinsey research shows. "I hate that we have to make the data-based case that there is a strong return on investment for having women in leadership. I hate it because nobody has ever asked me to prove the data-based case for hiring white men," said Lecturer Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership.
Nike’s dominance in track and field draws scrutiny over influence, gender equity
The Oregonian online
2021-06-23
Virtually every major executive and organization in track and field—among them, USA Track and Field, and its president, Vin Lananna, and World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, and former USATF head Craig Masback—either has, or once had, some strong connection to Nike. “You think about all they’re supporting—the jobs, the kids, the futures, and it’s a tough situation because, yes, they are doing good things,” said Kellie McElhaney, director of the Center for Equity, Gender & Leadership, who teaches about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the corporate world at Haas. “But any time any one organization is so deeply dependent on one source, whether it’s a person, or a company, it’s a dangerous model.”
Innovation and Impact at ICAM
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business online
2021-04-13
Berkeley Haas has made an effort to diversify case studies by creating a compendium to discover how many business cases are discussing DEI, no matter what the primary topic. Researchers at the school found that, of the 236 cases that were categorized as focusing on diverse protagonists, 84 percent were about gender, 29 percent about ethnicity, and 5 percent about age. Furthermore, the cases that featured nonwhite protagonists frequently reinforced racial stereotypes by presenting these businesspeople as “rare unicorns,” said Lecturer Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership.
Meet Ankur Jain, The Under 30 Founder Tackling Some Of The Biggest Challenges Facing The Millennial Generation—Like Rent Relief Amid The Pandemic
Forbes online
2020-11-30
The founder of real estate startup Rhino has a plan to raise $16 billion for rent relief by freeing up tenants security deposits and allowing them to instead pay a monthly insurance fee. Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender & Leadership, commented on whether the plan is too good to be true. "Too many times, strategies to serve low-income communities are designed by high-income individuals in a vacuum, without a clear sense of actual needs and desired solutions from the community members," she said.
How to Identify — and Fix — Pay Inequality at Your Company
Harvard Business Review online
2020-11-03
A pay equity audit is the best way for companies to make sure they're paying their employees fairly. But some companies are afraid to collect the data, said Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender & Leadership at Haas. "It’s the fear that they are going to find a problem and have to fix it. But isn’t that how you manage a business effectively?"
At Berkeley Haas, The Hard Work To Balance B-School Cases Is Underway
Poets & Quants online
2020-08-03
Founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership, Distinguished Teaching Fellow Kellie McElhaney, along with associate director Genevieve Smith, has taken on the important task of making sure that business school case studies reflect the diversity of real life. They’re building a library of diverse cases—but it's not easy, said McElhaney. “You think you’re going to do a little job and then you realize it’s huge," she said.
Solid8's CEO Michael Lofthouse resigns after racist video
San Francisco Business Times online
2020-07-12
Michael Lofthouse, CEO of consulting business Solid8, is stepping down after being caught on camera making racist remarks to an Asian family celebrating a birthday at a Carmel restaurant. "I think it will be extraordinarly difficult for him to recover in the U.S. He may want to go back to England where he came from," said Distinguished Teaching Fellow Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership. "It won’t be surprising to see his customers, employees, vendors, and investors leave him."
Big brands abandon racial stereotypes
KTVU online
2020-06-18
Aunt Jemima pancake products will be renamed because the brand's 120-year depiction of an African American woman is "a stereotype," according to a company spokesperson. Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender & Leadership, said that companies resist change because brand is tightly linked to share value. However, she said that it's time for companies to make a deeper commitment to inclusion and listen to their employees.
Companies Send Message in Support of Nationwide Protests
Voice of America online
2020-06-01
CEOs and business leaders usually stay quiet during protests like those currently spreading across the country, but this time seems to be an exception. "I am shocked by the number of executives who have spoken up for the first time," said Distinguished Teaching Fellow Kellie McElhaney, Founding Director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership.
Coronavirus Pandemic Worsens Gender Pay Gap
Newsy online
2020-03-31
Some 45% of women have had work hours cut or been laid off, compared to 35% of men, during the pandemic. "We see women who are making the extraordinarily difficult choice of reducing hours, taking a temporary leave, and even quitting in some cases, which is obviously going to disproportionately affect their pay," said Distinguished Teaching Fellow Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership.
Cincinnati passes bill giving renters alternatives to security deposits
NBC online
2020-01-25
Cincinnati has passed legislation that requires landlords to offer alternatives to the traditional lump-sum security deposits. "Housing is the most significant barrier and factor in the rich-poor gap that we have, and I think this law is getting to the root of the wound as opposed to putting a Band-Aid on," said Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender, & Leadership.
#MeToo is necessary. It’s also freaking men out
Boston Globe online
2020-01-09
Since #MeToo took hold, a new type of leadership conference that teaches men how to be better allies to women in the workplace has begun gaining popularity. The general sentiment at the one I attended as a journalist last fall was contrition. After all, women have always trailed men in salary and promotions, despite decades of leadership conferences designed to teach women to take a seat at the table.
Momentum Builds For More Women On Boards
Forbes online
2019-12-10
California requires publicly-held companies headquartered in the state to have a minimum of one woman on their boards by the end of 2019 and two by 2021. "It’s unfortunate that California had to legislate giving equal opportunity on boards to the 52% of the population who are women, but the alternative of simply waiting for companies to catch up to reality was no longer tenable," said Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership.
Selected Papers & Publications (8)
Promoting a Culture of Equity in the #MeToo Era: Moving Beyond Responding to Gender-Related Workplace Issues to Tackling Root Causes
Harvard Business Review
Kellie A. McElhaney, Genevieve Smith, Margi Goelz
Case Study March 2019
Eliminating the Gender Pay Gap: Gap Inc. Leads the Way
Harvard Business Review Case Study
Kellie A. McElhaney and Genevieve Smith
2017
Ernst and Young: Gender Balanced Teams Produce Higher Business Returns
Berkeley-Haas Case Series
Kellie A. McElhaney
2015
Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative
Harvard Business Review
Kellie A. McElhaney
2014
The roadmap toward effective strategic social partnerships
Deloitte Insights
John Mennel, Tina Mendelson, Kellie A. McElhaney, Bill Marquard
2013
Women Create a Sustainable Future
Center For Responsible Business
Kellie A. McElhaney & Sanaz Mobasseri
2012
Designing Sustainability at BMW Group: The Designworks/ USA Experience. Strategic Sustainability: The State-of-the-Art in Corporate Environmental Management Systems
Harvard Business School
Kellie McElhaney, Michael W. Toffel and Natalie Hill
2005
Teaching (2)
The Value of Equity Fluent Leadership
MBA 292, UGBA 192
Business Solutions for Global Mega Trends
EWMBA/EMBA 296
Social