Why aren’t more women in leadership roles and what can be done to address this?
I recently came across research which investigated the reasons so few women have achieved leadership roles in 33 of the US’s largest multilateral institutions. Just over 12% of leaders are/have been women with only 10% of women heading Fortune 500 companies.
The researchers studied 913 women leaders from 4 female-dominated industries; HE, faith-based non-profits, law and healthcare, so industries where you might expect more women to be found in leadership positions. They found that there’s always, seemingly, a reason why women are “never quite right” for leadership roles.
As women we are used to frequent criticism for so many things that our default position is likely to be to take it seriously, that there must be some truth in it and work to make improvements. If you’re raising an eyebrow at this statement just think how much money the beauty industry alone makes from preying on our insecurities. How many other women reading this have recently spent money on some product or other (guilty as charged) guaranteed to fix wrinkles/dry skin/oily skin. And yes, I fell for the new No. 7 miracle serum hype.
This extract from the study made me stop and think:‘….our research reveals that the problem lies elsewhere. Virtually any characteristic can be leveraged against a woman in a discriminatory fashion. Such criticisms often relate to facets of women’s identity in an overt or subtle way, such as race, age, parental status, attractiveness and physical ability.’
The researchers called this “we want what you aren’t” discrimination. They ‘revealed 30 different characteristics and qualities of an identity that emerged as points of criticism creating barriers to women’s success. The clear message to women is that-whatever they are- they are “never quite right.”‘
See the study for the full list of characteristics. The most pernicious was age. Women were seen as either too young/too old to lead. Women who were parents were assumed not to be able to take on more responsibility; those without were expected to shoulder more. Single parents were perceived not to be capable of handling more important matters. Pregnancy too, was an issue; women might not return to work or be seen to take work as seriously. Women of child-bearing years may not be promoted as they might later need maternity leave ‘should’ they have children at some point.
Women of colour could feel invisible and were not necessarily assumed to be in senior roles. There were discrepancies in the way illnesses were handled. Women were subject to a range of misperceptions and disrespect; degrees were not from the “right” schools. Introverts were not seen as leaders- and extroverts were viewed as ‘aggressive.’
What’s the solution? “Flip it to test it”
There is nothing wrong with women- women don’t need fixing! The researchers suggest that to tackle and prevent sexist criticism, leaders need to change the behaviour of those who feel they are justified in their actions. They suggest asking whether these statements would be said about a man:
- He needs to smile more
- Men are going to have kids and not want to work
- Since Larry has prostate cancer, he can no longer fulfil his job duties
If it’s not acceptable to say about a man, it’s clearly not acceptable to say it about a woman.
Career development
Women are far more likely to receive subjective, negative feedback which is vague and focuses on such things as communication style, dealing with politics, developing resilience and building confidence. For men the focus is on leveraging power and politics, being assertive and displaying confidence. No surprises for guessing which behaviours are rewarded. And thus the status quo remains.
Reframing the narrative
For organisations to nurture female staff and significantly improve organisational capital, the researchers propose that the message “we want what you aren’t” is changed to “we want what you are.”
Call to action
All staff involved in Annual Reviews, Recruitment and Selection and participating in leadership training from the top of the organisation down should be made aware of this study and of the pernicious inequality such assumptions and behaviours can have, on both individuals and the organisation. Behaviours need to be challenged if changes to gender equity are to be made. Awareness is the first stage to change. Be an ally; if you overhear others speaking in ways where female staff are being critiqued subjectively-challenge it.
In my next post, I’ll explore other actions leaders can take to nurture and grow female talent.
Report authors: Amy Dheil, PhD, Leanne M. Dzubinski, PhD, Amber L. Stephenson, PhD.
