How To Motivate Women To Exponentially Increase Their Leadership Roles In The Future
Research reveals small but significant differences in the way men and women are perceived in leadership roles. In many areas of society, men have long dominated leadership positions.
A lot of female activists say that this dominance is especially apparent in business, where female members of boards of directors and corporate executives had been scarce. However, this information is somewhat outdated as over the past three decades, women have been increasingly taking up leadership roles as over 21 fortune 500 companies are led by female CEOs.
What qualities do women show that are needed in a business:
Two experiments were conducted in order to investigate the effect of expression intensity on gender differences in the recognition of facial emotions (Hoffmann H, Kessler H, Eppel T, Rukavina S, Traue HC, 2010). The research concluded that women are better at recognizing subtle facial expressions, even when these expressions are showed very briefly. This skill is especially useful in recruiting positions as they allow to judge which candidate is the best to hire.
An influential review of 162 studies revealed that women showed a more democratic/participative leadership styles and less directive/autocratic styles than did their male counterparts (Eagly AH, Johnson BT, 1990). This makes them more approachable and somewhat easier to work, which is needed when building a positive team atmosphere.
So how do we get more women in leadership roles?
- A key step toward achieving gender balance in leadership is for women in power to advocate for more female representation in all sectors, thereby starting a virtuous cycle of influence.
- Set clear, numerical goals. Multiple European countries, like Germany, have passed laws requiring 30–40% of board seats to go to women. This would increase the number of women in leadership roles quickly, as it wound now be a required standard.
- Women don’t need to drop everything and launch a company to have a bigger impact on the professional world. They can start by being more assertive in their current offices. Women should feel confident to speak up and participate in open debate with their colleagues and superiors.
