Our perceptions of women in leadership are skewed

Welcome to Simply Diversity. This bimonthly letter breaks down key diversity concepts and explains how you can apply them... simply. There are plenty of terms heard ‘round the Internet as we prioritize diversity, inclusion and belonging in everything we do. This newsletter explains what these concepts are, why they’re important, and how to practice them.?

Women are leaders.

Notice my verb choice: not women can lead, but women are leaders.?

It’s not semantics, it's perception.

Break it down:?

That subtle verb choice can mean the difference between hiring a woman to an executive role or keeping her stuck in middle management!

Women still face many barriers when it comes to entering leadership positions. And after celebrating International Women’s Day yesterday, I’ve been thinking about what we can do to make leadership more inclusive for women.

First we have to ask, why are women (and women of color in particular) still underrepresented in executive-level leadership positions, like the C-suite and boardrooms??

Unconscious bias plays a huge role.

Take a moment to reflect on past candidate interviews for leadership positions at your company, and consider the traits you associated with the women who expressed interest in leadership. Did you think:

• I like her potential but she’s too direct.
• She could be good, but does she have "executive presence"?
• I'm not sure she has the personality we are looking for.?

Men are usually rewarded — in the form of promotions, higher earnings, and recognition — for being bold, confident, and charismatic. Yet when women display similar traits, we tend to unconsciously interpret them with a negative slant: She’s too much. Too direct. Her personality is too strong.?

We don’t take a negative view of women leaders on purpose — this is how unconscious bias works (and socialization)! Fortunately, we can bring attention to our knee-jerk reactions and interpretations. With awareness and practice, we can change our unconscious gender bias.

Do Something Different:?

It bears repeating in different words: unconscious bias is not your fault, and playing the blame game helps no one and nothing. While it may not be our fault, we can’t use that as an excuse. We each have a responsibility to address our unconscious bias, personally and collectively.?

My Unconscious Bias course is a place to start:

Whether you take it as an individual, with your team, or with a group of friends, Unconscious Bias will help you remove barriers to women’s leadership, as well as address a slew of other biases that hold back the success and growth of your company.

Another step is to slow down . When you’re hiring for a leadership position, slow down to notice if you catch yourself saying, “I’d like to hire the woman, but...”

That “but” is an important piece of data!

Consider if your reasons not to hire or promote a woman includes her perceived lack of experience or her background from a different industry. Now, apply those same concerns to male candidates. Does your opinion change?

Another step is to investigate your corporate environment and culture. Consider, “what are we doing that might be contributing to a woman feeling uncomfortable on the team? Could we be making her feel excluded or undervalued?”?

It’s also a question you could post to individual women on your team (if you have a psychologically safe workplace).?

There are a lot of books, articles, workshops and more geared toward helping individual women succeed at work. But equipping individuals isn’t a full solution. We need to change the environments where we work as well, to ensure that people of ALL genders have what they need to lead.

PS Today’s issue is about women. We recognize gender isn’t binary and we are working to create equity for everyone, including those whose identity does not fit into the social gender constructs of “man” and “woman”.?

PPS I was named among LinkedIn’s Top Voices for Gender Equity in 2022! You can check out the full list of 15 leaders here .

About Stacey Gordon and Rework Work:

Stacey Gordon is Executive Advisor and Diversity Strategist of Rework Work where she and her team coach and counsel executive leaders on DEI strategies for business, while offering a no-nonsense approach to unconscious bias education for the broader employee population. Stacey’s unconscious bias course was the most popular course on LinkedIn Learning platform in 2021 and it has also been translated into multiple languages. Stacey is also the founder and host of the Rework Work Community , a free diversity, equity, and inclusion learning and practice space for professionals. You can find Stacey’s book, UNBIAS: Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work , at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, and wherever books are sold.