Navigating Culture - February
Country Navigator
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Welcome to Country Navigator’s February newsletter. We need to talk about fairness and equity.
Although the number of women in top executive positions worldwide is the highest it has ever been at 32%, women in senior positions are still seen as a surprise. If it was normal to see women in charge, we wouldn’t be still reading ‘’first woman’’ and ‘’first woman of color’’ headlines. If their success wasn’t still seen as 'against all odds', it would not be treated as a spectacle, but as something too common to make the front page.
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WHAT ARE THE ODDS? WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
This month alone, we saw two powerful and successful women step down from their positions. Jacinda Ardern stepped down from her role as New Zealand’s prime minister, saying she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job. And two weeks ago, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, shared she’s leaving the company to "start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I'm passionate about".
And these are only the most recent examples.
McKinsey reports women leaders are leaving their companies at the highest rate ever seen, drained from burnout trying to navigate microaggressions and people questioning their competence while doing (often unrecognized) support work for their employees.
Even when women do get a seat at the table, they are still expected to show both stereotypical masculine traits like directness and competence, while also showing feminine qualities, such as warmth and empathy toward others.
If we don’t act now, we risk losing decades of progress toward gender equity and normalizing woman leadership.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?
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Commit to bringing leadership diversity?
It won’t happen on its own. The leadership gap has existed for too long and selection criteria often favor people who have more experience at the executive level - who are primarily men.
Challenge stereotypes and unconscious bias. Take a good, unbiased look at your selection process and make sure it focuses on ability and expertise. Question comments that are made about women or men’s appearance and likability, rather than their skills or ability.?
Upgrade your definition of a good leader
Challenge the traditional idea of a good leader as authoritative, competitive and direct and stop training women to reach leadership positions by demonstrating the same traits. Women have been excelling at social skills, empathy and self-awareness which have been shown to be key traits that make leaders more effective.
Treat women leaders not as show pieces, but as qualified and capable?
It has never been about women’s abilities but about the environment and fairness. Give them equal pay and be an ally by amplifying their voices, sharing your knowledge and asking for their input and presence. Emphasize and scrutinize their talent and ability, not gender.
And don’t forget that women leaders like Jacinda Ardern are acting as role models and they are sending young women and girls a message that ‘’...you can be kind, but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused. And that you can be your own kind of leader – one who knows when it’s time to go”.
And if we don’t start making changes - they will keep leaving.
Join us on March 9 to celebrate International Women’s Day as we ask four senior leaders to give their insight into the challenges and successes of the journey to inclusive, fair leadership cultures.
Don’t miss the opportunity to join the discussion - register here.
Newsletter author:
Ana Vukovic, Intercultural Consultant at Country Navigator