If the Acting VP Interim solution is effective, Joyce should come away from the experience either having proven herself and earning the promotion, or with a better appreciation of the demands of the VP position and how they affect family life.  Either way, by having a written performance evaluation from the mutually agreed upon three person panel, she will have measurable evidence of how the decision was made and should feel fairly treated instead of discriminated against.  Ultimately, it will be evident by whether or not she decides to file a lawsuit.  Carl should benefit from it by experiencing firsthand a female’s capabilities in a top management position.  By observing her performance for the one month interim period, he should gain a greater insight to expand his idea of women’s roles in the workplace.  We will know if this is effective for him by comparing how objectively he evaluates her interim performance to the other two panel members’ objective evaluations, and also whether or not he continues to promote females in the company each year.

In order to determine how effective Carl’s ongoing training is, he should have continuing experience with professional women, in and outside of his workplace, so that he obtains more information to break his gender schema. The key to improving the accuracy of Carl’s perception of women is that he takes the objective seriously and that training is ongoing. It may be efficient for Carl to go on these types of externships on an annual basis in order to see different types of women in their daily lives and how they interact with pressures of professionalism. A minor measure to see if the solution is effective is to see the manner in which Carl approaches future interviews with female personnel and how he regards women in the workplace on a daily basis. The measurability of Carl’s training and also Joyce’s temporary advancement to Vice President will be evident during the panel review session for Joyce’s acceptance or rejection. During this time, the two other panel members will not only evaluate Joyce, but they will evaluate each other’s evidence to their personal decisions. This includes making sure that every candidate had an equal chance at obtaining the position, free of bias and discrimination. At this time, if Carl’s perceptions still seem to be hindered by the fact that Joyce is a woman, the other two panel members will make an executive decision as to having him removed from the panel, and therefore voting on Joyce’s employment amongst themselves.  As added incentive and a second way to measure Carl’s commitment to diversity, his annual bonus could be tied to his efforts to promote diversity.  Some of his measureable efforts could include promotion or formal recognition for outstanding achievement/performance of minorities and women, holding organized meetings, trainings, seminars on diversity awareness, or establishing a mentoring program.
