Women in leadership

Published in

IEEE Women In Engineering , VIT

6 min readMar 28, 2021

Why should we encourage more women to become leaders, and how can we do so?

If women ran every country in the world, there would be a general improvement in living standards and outcomes.
-Barack Obama, former President of the United States

Women consist of 40% of all employees, but only 6 percent of CEOs. In corporate India, women hold 17% of board positions but just 11% of leadership roles. Women outnumber men in college, accounting for 55% of undergraduates, have higher grade point averages, and drop out at a lower rate than men. Nonetheless, as of 2020, women held only 7.4 percent of leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies.

Women do not necessarily face significant barriers to entering the workforce, but they do face numerous challenges when it comes to moving up the career ladder.

According to a 2019 report, women’s representation drops by 20% from entry-level to manager, 10% from manager to senior manager, 12% from senior manager to vice president, 13% from vice president to senior vice president, and 19% from senior vice presidents to C-suite executives.

These women are well-educated, talented, and as hardworking as their male counterparts. So why is there this huge discrepancy?

According to studies, ideas of what constitutes leadership, such as ambition and directness, are deemed “masculine.” But those same leadership qualities in women are often perceived negatively. If men are ambitious, women are termed aggressive. If men are frank and honest, women are harsh and insensitive. Women have to tread on a very thin line. Too assertive and goal-oriented, they risk being called rude and aggressive. Too empathic and they are deemed unfit to be leaders.

Both affinity bias and gender bias hinder women’s advancement in the workplace.

Affinity bias is the natural, instinctive preference people have to associate with and provide support for people who are like them. Men are more likely to include other men in team meetings and discussions. Women are typically considered for career-enhancing assignments only after their male counterparts. They are asked to join important teams less often than men.

Gender bias is the belief that men are better at leadership and difficult negotiations than women.

Social factors play a role in the decline of women in senior positions as well. Women, for example, take on more family responsibilities than men. Women’s careers are also harmed by the need for maternity leave and absences to care for sick children. Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, things have only gotten worse. In today’s Zoom-driven world, women are taking on a disproportionate amount of work as well as childcare, cooking, and housework.

Furthermore, social differences between men and women stem from their childhood. Males are encouraged to lead, compete, and take risks earlier in life than females.

As a result, men have more opportunities to develop these skills, which may help them succeed in positions of leadership.

Women and men have different perspectives on the term “leadership.” In contrast to men, who are career-focused and seek to maximise their financial return from work, women see work as an integral part of their overall life plan. As a result, they are more likely to approach their careers in a self-reflective manner and value factors such as coworker connection. Women are capable of balancing professional and personal leadership roles. It is easier to approach a female leader with a personal request or a sensitive question. Women make great leaders because they take the time to listen rather than reacting immediately. Communication is regarded as one of a woman’s strongest abilities. Female leaders are more likely to attend to the personal needs of their followers and are more open to new ideas and criticism.

Having women in positions of leadership will help to close the gender wage gap. According to a 2014 Pew Research survey, women in leadership positions are better at providing fair pay and benefits to other women too.

In fact, recently published research related to the coronavirus provides evidence to show that countries with female leaders performed better on two significant counts; a lower number of positive Covid-19 cases and a lower number of Covid-19 related deaths. In New Zealand, Prime minister Jacinda Ardern has been widely praised for successfully controlling the pandemic in New Zealand. The country of 5 million has counted just 25 deaths and managed to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Ms. Ardern’s success is the latest data point in a widely noticed trend: Countries led by women seem to be particularly successful in fighting the coronavirus. This trend has also been seen in Germany, led by Angela Merkel, which has had a far lower death rate than Britain, France, and Italy. Finland, led by Sanna Marin, has had less than 10% as many deaths as nearby Sweden and Tsai-Ing-wen, the president of Taiwan, has successfully been able to control infections through contact tracing and isolation measures.

Kamala Harris made history by becoming the first female — and the first woman of color — to be elected Vice President of the United States. This is a significant achievement for women, demonstrating that we, too, can reach great heights. Kamala Harris has an empathic, authentic communication and leadership style that exudes what we call ‘executive presence.’

As a result, we see that women are capable of bringing new skills and perspectives to the table, and, more importantly, can bring out the best in other team members. All of these qualities are essential for a leader.

So, how can we encourage more women to aspire to positions of leadership?

Having a strong role model or mentor can make a significant difference. When women identify with a potential role model, they can envision themselves following in her footsteps, which influences their career choices. A strong network and support group can also be extremely beneficial. This will allow them to hone and polish their written and verbal communication skills, as well as earn professional certifications.