Why is it that women leaders are so few and far between, and why are we not trying harder to get more women into leadership positions?
In my opinion, the reason some of us are more comfortable putting our faith and trust in male leaders is because we have been taught to do so.
My school principal was a man (even though most of my teachers were women), the Vice Chancellor at my university was a man and now most of the people I report to are men. Maybe we are just not used to female leaders – but that is not an excuse.
Perhaps we have not normalised leadership behaviours for women.
Personally, I like working under the leadership of a woman; in fact, I prefer it. I find that female leaders are less likely to judge emotive behaviour as a weakness and more likely to respond in a productive way.
In a study conducted by The Harvard Business Review, it was found that women scored significantly higher than men on most of the leadership competencies measured in the study. However, they noted that only 4.9% of Fortune 500 CEOs and 2% of S&P 500 CEOs are women, with numbers declining globally.
The reason for this?
The study found that “for centuries, there have been broad, cultural biases against women and stereotypes die slowly. People have long believed that many women elect not to aspire to the highest ranks of the organization and take themselves out of the running (though recent research disputes that). Lots of research has shown that unconscious bias plays a significant role in hiring and promotion decisions, which also contributes to the lower number of women in key positions.”
Change starts by actively and thoughtfully changing the narrative.
Before entering the workplace, I was often told that women bosses are intimidating, hard to please, moody and are prone to ‘drama’. As a young woman, I am just tired of these clichés, finding it offensive and untrue.
I believe we should start by creating leadership positions for women, promoting women into leadership positions when these become available. We can ensure that leadership positions are filled, perhaps giving women first option in the spirit of equal opportunity. We should create nurturing environments for women where they can grow, and find support and guidance for their leadership goals and ambitions.
Having female managers is essential in the workplace. It should be mandatory.
As women, we also have a long way to go in terms of trusting and believing in ourselves, stepping up when an opportunity presents itself. We have so much to offer each other, such as serving as a confidante and sounding board to other women needing support and upliftment.
Let’s take a step towards supporting the success of women.
Let’s start by supporting each other.
Author: Winona Randell, BBM Law