Increase Women in Leadership

This case study explores how bias continues today in supporting women in leadership roles.

Summary

More [people] than ever before, believe that women have an equal opportunity to attain leadership positions. Nonetheless, those feelings haven't been enough to drive significant changes in actual advancement. Biases are still a barrier. To break them down, organizations must develop "their approach to gender parity and create structures and systems that work for women and men." (Mattleson, 2023). Today, more women are reaching the top of the leadership ranks. "These are hard-won achievements, but they are dominated by the fact that women remain acutely understated in the middle management tiers, endangering the prospects for a healthy channel of future women leaders." (Mattleson, 2023). This is worrisome, and not just for women. When organizations create systems enabling individuals to thrive, the entire organization flourishes. Gender equity and inclusion are net gains for the business as a whole. It's not just the right thing to do—it's the smart thing. Real change and benefits only come when organizations build systems to embed and sustain necessary behaviors, accountability, and action. Organizations need to be willing to go beyond well-intentioned but basic measures that aren't going deep enough fast enough.

The additional stressors affecting women became impossible to ignore. More than any other event in our lifetime, the pandemic fostered a growing awareness of women's unique challenges in advancing their professional careers. Throughout 2020, women left—or were forced to leave—their jobs in record numbers. The figures were breathtaking. In the US alone, 5 million women, a generation of talent, were suddenly sidelined. (Mattleson, 2023). The fear was that it might take decades for women to recover what they had lost.

Importantly, when the pandemic was at its peak, the number of organizations "setting targets for equal representation of women tumbled from 66% to 48%." (Brown, 2023). Reinstating this measurable practice is gaining more favor in 2023, but the percentage of organizations doing it today is only two percentage points higher than it was four years ago, indicating that, “hard-won gains requiring focus and commitment are not easy to claw back and grow.” (Mattleson, 2023). Setting representation goals for women can be controversial, which may account for some organizations' reluctance to adopt them. "Complacency could be setting in. Or it could be a fear of backlash." (Parmelee et al., 2023). Yes, organizations have done a lot to raise gender equity awareness in the last two years, but that alone is not enough for meaningful progress.

Ethical Analysis

Parity "feels" close but is getting farther away. "In 2019, people across industries said it would take 54 years to achieve gender parity in leadership." (Parmalee et al., 2023). They say it's possible in 10 years, perhaps due to the greater emphasis on women-focused diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. (Parmelee, et al, 2023). But the optimism is opposed by the facts, "which show a significant hollowing out of women in the middle management tiers, putting future leadership fulfillment in jeopardy. At the current rate of change, gender parity remains decades away." (Mattleson, 2023). Measuring true profitability requires taking a long-term perspective. "A long-term perspective is a more balanced view of profit maximization that recognizes that the impacts of a business decision may not manifest for a longer time." (Byars & Stanberry, 2018).

The most destructive structural barriers are invisible. Unconscious biases continue to permeate the workplace, "with only 41% of male managers agreeing that their organizations' leadership believes that women with children are just as dedicated to their jobs as women without children." (Brown, 2023). The attributes perceived as critical for leadership also remain gendered—men are expected to be results-oriented, and women are people-oriented.

The cost of doing nothing is getting more expensive. More organizations recognize that enabling gender equity and inclusion is good for business. Organizations with gender equity leaders report 19% higher revenue growth than others. (Mattleson, 2023) Overall, not enough companies act as if their sustained growth might be contingent on it. And, "with nearly a third of women saying they may leave their jobs this year," attracting and retaining top female talent will only get more complicated. (Hupfer, et al, 2023)

How gender equity is positioned must also change: It's not a women's issue; it's an organizational one. (Mattleson, 2023). Leaders need to quantify the economic gains from righting gender imbalances and adjust strategy, moving from well-intentioned pronouncements to specific gender-representation goals, directives, and metrics. Sponsorship must also evolve quickly so that emerging leaders can receive the coaching, opportunities, and support needed to let their talent shine. (Hupfer, et al, 2023). Given the persistence of unconscious bias, organizations must adapt training, going beyond static approaches to "embed experiential learning and allyship at all levels." (Mattleson, 2023).

Recommendations

When discussing gender parity in leadership, focusing on the most senior roles is common. There are fewer of them, and they are visible and easy to quantify. It's no wonder we saw a bump of women on executive boards and in the C-suite—if representation is mandated, it's usually for these top positions. The situation is much more challenging to endorse measures that tackle gender parity across the entire leadership sector.

Actions to take

Ask women what they need. Organizations need to gather much richer intelligence on women's work experience in the early and middle career stages, which takes multiple forms—from regular pulse surveys and periodic interviews or check-ins to sentiment analysis of employee posts on social media. Leaders can use this data to design the types of support that can be the most helpful. "This way, backing and resources won't be lost on initiatives that miss the mark." (Brown, 2023).

Shift biases with experiential learning. Beliefs are changing, but behaviors are not so much. Awareness training is a first step but a check-the-box exercise for many. What can be far more impactful is experiential learning. This can include shadowing, role-playing, one-on-one coaching, and reverse mentoring to show employees, especially managers, the many ways gender biases present. Walking in someone else's shoes often triggers empathy to motivate different responses.

Ask why, then ask why again and again until you uncover the root cause for inaction. Commit to the journey. There may be various reasons why an organization hasn't progressed much in advancing women. By engaging in an honest accounting of the barriers, organizations can go beyond surface answers and keep the focus on change. Terry Fry at Cadmus says companies should ask themselves a simple question: "Why?"—and keep pressing. (Mattleson, 2023). "By about the fourth or fifth 'why,' we usually get at the real root cause." It's these "aha moments" (Mattleson, 2023) that can help teams conclude it's worth the investment in time, effort, and resources to alleviate barriers and biases with a sense of urgency—and resolve to take the actions that can make a real difference, such as setting representation goals, establishing meaningful metrics, promoting sponsorship, and holding managers and executives accountable.

Now is the time to drive progress by reimagining leadership tracks, improving pay transparency, and setting representation goals. It is time to challenge deeply entrenched biases and to ask women, specifically and directly, what they need to thrive as leaders. According to Lewis (2001), "The New Testament, without going into details, gives us a pretty clear hint of what a fully Christian society would look like." In Revelation 7:4-17, tribulation will always test a leader's commitment. (Maxwell, 2018). Inequality does not always make a leader more committed, but it reveals their commitment. Unless leaders remain committed, hope alone will not move the needle on women's advancement, but it can inspire the bold and decisive actions that do. God raises leaders to correct and direct. "John describes two remarkable "witnesses" whom God will raise as leaders during the Great Tribulation." (Maxwell, 2018.) Those who practice humility are the leaders who recognize that they cannot lead people any further; there they stand themselves.?

References:

Brown, S. (2023, April 25). Women in leadership: Separating optimism from reality. FM Magazine. https://www.fm-magazine.com/news/2023/apr/women-leadership-separating-optimism-reality.html

Hupfer, S., Mazumder, S., & Crossan, G. (2023, June 8). Rise of women in tech leadership. Deloitte Insights. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/women-tech-leadership.html

Lewis, C. S. (2001). Mere Christianity. HarperOne.

Mattelson, M. (2023, March 1). Women in leadership. IBM. https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/report/women-leadership-2023

Maxwell, John C. (2018). NIV Maxwell Leadership Bible (3rd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan

Parmelee, M., & Codd, E. (2023). Women @ work 2023: A global outlook. Deloitte. https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/work/content/women-at-work-global-outlook.html