The decision to leave my last employer after nearly eight years was a tough one. It was and surely remains one of the best enterprise companies I have worked for; the challenges were invigorating and I adored my boss. So even if there was a great opportunity with a burgeoning business on the books, why would I leave?
Not to mention, while the allure of moving outside my comfort zone and stepping into a brand new gig at BOLD was strong, it was also clear that being the new kid on the block would come with its own type of struggle.
Did I really want the stress of building out a new team at this point in my life? Wasn’t work-life balance something to trump my own personal ambition? Shouldn’t I opt for the kind of security that comes with large enterprise businesses?
Trying to go to sleep that night was a challenge. My daughter saw my bedroom light on and came in to say goodnight. She sensed something was weighing heavily on my mind, and I quickly shared all of my (conflicting) thoughts with her. She listened intently and said, “No man would even think twice about taking this great opportunity. It is everything you said you wanted. Why wouldn’t you go for it?”
And with that simple question posed by my 17-year-old daughter, I knew that I had done a good job of shaping one person in the next generation of female leaders – and it was just the beginning.
Why the Gap Exists
Yes, great strides have been made in the workplace for women, but there is still so much more to be done in terms of bringing more gender balance to the C-levels and into the boardrooms. Studies show a significant gap in the number of female leaders – just 14.2% of the top five leadership positions at the S&P 500 companies are held by women. At the same time, women-led companies are shown to perform better than those led by men, up to three times better according to one study. Clearly, putting more women in leadership roles should be a given, but that isn’t always the case.
Thankfully, the advent of social media and other online tools has helped usher in a fourth wave of feminism that, among other things, has instigated more and more conversation about gender equality in the workplace. There are countless academics, activists, and even celebrities explaining why a group that makes up slightly more than half of the US population and that earns more than 60% of the nation’s undergraduate and master’s degrees is still underrepresented in business.
From my perspective though, when I had my checkpoint prior to joining BOLD, I encountered head on what I believe is one of the many hurdles that women face. More specifically: we’re taught to be happy in supporting roles, and we often off-ramp and exit the career superhighway to care for children, parents, and even spouses.
My decision was to stay on the proverbial train, but so many women opt out. Just consider the recent example of Christi Shaw, U.S. country head and president of Novartis, who recently stepped down to care for her ailing sister.
Even those who keep their nose to the grindstone often experience a slower career progression than their male colleagues. Why? The reality is that women are more often than not the main person balancing work responsibilities with home and family duties. This juggling act becomes increasingly more difficult, and at some point a woman’s career becomes less important than the quality of her own and her family’s life.
Not to mention, those who don’t have a family are still victim to the restrictive attitudes and uneven expectations that keep women in secondary workplace roles.
Why Women Are Needed in Leadership
All of this contributes to a landscape in which women are underrepresented in leadership – which is very unfortunate since, as mentioned earlier, women-led companies are proven to perform better. More specifically, in a report published by MSCI ESG Research in November 2015, companies that had strong female leadership generated a Return on Equity of 10.1% per year versus 7.4% for those without (on an equal-weighted basis).
In a nutshell, business outcomes are superior when women are part of the executive and board ranks.
What’s more, on a soft skills level, women also bring a mindset of flexibility as leaders. This comes from the fact that women are more likely than men to have been in situations requiring flexibility, which means they are more likely to institute the kind of flexible work policies shown to be highly effective in retaining talent and building loyalty.
Leveling the Field
So, we know the benefits of having women in leadership roles, and we’re starting to understand why there is such a gender leadership gap. The biggest question, though, centers on what we can do to fix the problem.
And while it goes without saying that evening out the gender pay gap, redefining our notion of flexible working hours, and providing management training that looks to support gender equality are non-negotiables, there are also smaller, simpler steps that each one of us can take.
This is where I think back to my daughter’s all-too-perfect words of wisdom. There are many things women can do to help advance their careers and prep themselves for leadership roles.
First is to have a strong support system, in the form of relatives or mentors to provide guidance and encouragement along the way, a spouse or partner who can serve as your biggest cheerleader, or a network of friends that can push you forward when you most need it.
Secondly, don’t be afraid to ask for help, whether it’s taking care of the kids or assistance at work. Though as women we often think we can handle everything that comes our way, that isn’t always the case.
Thirdly, women need to stick together in the workplace, something that doesn’t traditionally happen. We all know about the ‘old boys club’ and how men will look out for each other; women need to do more of that.
The lack of women in leadership roles is clear, but so is what can be done about it. Understanding why this challenge exists and taking the steps to provide female employees with the support, opportunities, and flexibility to nurture their careers alongside their families is key to creating an equal workforce and ensuring the general 50-50 split of the population extends all the way to the boardroom.
Finally, every woman can and should be a role model for other women in the workforce. And sometimes, as in my own case, it is the young person that will serve as a reminder of how important it is to stay true to what it is we want as ambitious professionals, regardless of our gender.