Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers

CEOs who prioritise gender diversity—by establishing aspirational targets for the share of women in leadership positions, demanding a diverse pool of candidates for senior positions, and creating mentoring and training programs—are often met with resistance. They and their businesses invest time, resources, and goodwill in initiatives to create a more robust pipeline of upwardly mobile women, but little actually transpires.

The problem with these leaders’ approaches is that they don’t address the often fragile process of coming to see oneself, and to be seen by others, as a leader. Becoming a leader involves much more than being put in a leadership role, acquiring new skills, and adapting one’s style to the requirements of that role. It involves a fundamental identity shift. Organizations inadvertently undermine this process when they advise women to proactively seek leadership roles without also addressing policies and practices that communicate a mismatch between how women are seen and the qualities and experiences people tend to associate with leaders.

A large body of research demonstrates that for women, the subtle gender bias that endures in organisations and society disrupts the learning cycle that is at the core of becoming a leader . The pipeline issue requires very different solutions from those businesses currently use. Although necessary, conventional high-potential mentoring and leadership education programmes fall short. Our research, teaching, and consulting reveal three additional steps that businesses can take to increase the likelihood that women will feel confident in their leadership abilities, be acknowledged as such, and ultimately succeed.

Becoming a Leader

People develop a sense of purpose and internalise a leadership identity to become leaders. It takes time to internalise a sense of oneself as a leader. A person can demonstrate leadership by taking deliberate action, such as calling a meeting to rekindle a dormant project. Other people may support or oppose the action, encouraging or discouraging further assertions. These interactions influence the person's perception of himself or herself as a leader and convey how others judge the person's suitability for the position.

As a person’s leadership capabilities grow and opportunities to demonstrate them expand, high-profile, challenging assignments and other organizational endorsements become more likely. Such affirmation gives the person the fortitude to step outside a comfort zone and experiment with strange behaviors and new leadership skills. An absence of affirmation, however, diminishes self-confidence and discourages him or her from seeking developmental opportunities or experimenting. Leadership identity, which begins as a tentative, peripheral aspect of the self, eventually withers away, along with opportunities to grow through new assignments and real achievements. Over time, an aspiring leader acquires a reputation as having—or not having—high potential.

By working toward objectives that are consistent with their personal values and further the common good, effective leaders cultivate a sense of purpose. This enables them to see what is possible beyond the current situation and provides them with a compelling reason to act in spite of their own fears and insecurities. Because they are willing to take chances to further shared objectives, these leaders are viewed as genuine and trustworthy. They encourage commitment, bolster resolve, and assist colleagues in discovering greater meaning in their work by tying people to a more significant cause.

For women, integrating leadership into their core identities is particularly difficult because they must establish their credibility in a deeply divided society over whether, when, and how to exercise authority. It is implied that women are not suited for leadership roles by practises that equate leadership with traits that are more typical in men. In addition, when leadership opportunities present themselves, strong men support and sponsor other men because it's human nature to gravitate toward those who are similar to oneself. Amanda's story serves as an example of how a woman's leadership potential can sometimes manifest itself in less traditional ways, such as by being receptive to client needs rather than adamantly stating one's opinion. But there aren't many strong women.

Despite a lack of discriminatory intent, subtle, “second-generation” forms of workplace gender bias can obstruct the leadership identity development of a company’s entire population of women. (See the sidebar “What Is Second-Generation Gender Bias?”) The resulting underrepresentation of women in top positions reinforces entrenched beliefs, prompts and supports men’s bids for leadership, and thus maintains the status quo.

The three actions we suggest to support women’s access to leadership positions are

(1) educate women and men about second-generation gender bias,

(2) create safe “identity workspaces” to support transitions to bigger roles, and

(3) anchor women’s development efforts in a sense of leadership purpose rather than in how women are perceived.

These actions will give women insight into themselves and their organizations, enabling them to more effectively chart a course to leadership.