My husband and I have recently become enthralled with Netflix'sHouse of Cards series with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright playing,initially, the House majority whip and his outwardly devoted wife.But you know from the start they have bigger plans.

Through media leaks, backstabbing and arm-twisting of his wifeand colleagues, Spacey's character, Frank Underwood, becomes vicepresident of the United States. His wife, Claire, realizing he'snot actually going to help her with a project for her clean waternonprofit, makes a deal with the devil, a lobbyist who formerlyworked for Frank, to get the job done. She's two-faced and twistingplenty of arms herself. My husband loves Frank Underwood'scalculated cunning. Claire: She's a bitch.

What evokes that visceral reaction that he admires Frank'sstrategic ruthlessness but Claire should be eviscerated for it?Evolution? Culture? My husband is not a sexist. Just like many ofyou, he's a good person. He can handle me, and I'm certainly nodamsel in distress. He'll even tell you I can handle a jigsaw andparallel park better than him. Still subconscious double standardsexist.

The credit union community is more gender diverse than manyindustries. Filene Research Institute released a study, Womenin Leadership: Obstacles and Opportunities, earlier this year,which states that two-thirds of CEOs at credit union with less than$50 million in assets are women. However, in the $100 million to$500 million range, the figure is only 20%, and at more than $500million, the stat is just one in eight credit union CEOs are women.Globally, male CEOs dominate credit unions of all sizes. Thenthere's this directly from the April report: Women comprised only41% of credit union senior staff in 2012 despite making up 70% ofthe credit union workforce in the United States.

The reasons for this vary. Certainly many women make legitimatelifestyle and family decisions that they feel they can't or don'twant to balance with a career. Filene's April 2014 study noted thatfewer women aspire to senior management. But it also found thatemployers push men and women in stereotypical directions that leadwomen to areas of the business that are not considered seniormanagement track departments.

The statistics don't need to move closer to 50-50 out of a senseof fairness. Diversification is not an equal rights issue, but a businesscontinuity issue. Continuity in the sense of prosperity and thefact that there will not be enough qualified Gen X men to fill thespots vacated by those who will be retiring over the next decade.According to a University of California-Davis report, among the 400public companies in California, the top 34 firms with the greatestgender diversity at the senior management level earned three timesmore revenue and 50% higher profit than the average company in thestudy.

In order to move toward greater equality and prosperity, we mustacknowledge and educate. Part 2 of Filene's research series iscoming out next month, Credit Union Women in LeadershipInternational Research Series Part 2: Attributes and Challenges.Filene is hosting a colloquium to discuss the results of the next survey on June19. As of this writing the event had 68 registered attendees, onlyfour of who are men and one is a professor the University ofSouthern California where the event will be held.

Women's issues are not just women's issues. They are yourbusiness issues, your daughters'and your wives' issues. It can be uncomfortable for men to addressthe issue of gender. I applaud the men at Filene like Mark Meyerand Ben Rogers tackling this issue. Some male executives might beafraid of saying the wrong thing so they play ostrich, but Fileneand the handful of men attending their colloquium are forging aheadto better understand the future of the workplace, leadership andhow it can improve credit unions.

As Rogers commented, “If you're not aware of what the data says,then it's easy to put it aside.” If it's not in your lifeexperience, it's easier to turn a blind eye.

I grew up in a lily-white town, and I'm uncomfortable discussingrace. I make myself do it when appropriate. Maybe more thanoccasionally, I stick my foot in my mouth, but I learn from eachexperience. Being uncomfortable is how you grow. Now shove yourfeet into some Jimmy Choos so you can keep them out of yourmouth.

Sarah Snell Cooke is publisher/editor in chief of CU Times.She can be reached at [email protected].