Despite half the global population being women, less than half of leadership roles are held by females. Unfortunately, this disparity increases with women of color.
A 2022 McKinsey’s Women study shows that even today females are under-represented in leadership roles. The biggest obstacle they face in their progress towards assuming senior roles is the first stage of being promoted from entry to managerial level. Known as “broken rung”, it is a major issue with organizations around the globe.
Currently existing women’s leadership development is in itself broken and females lack opportunities to rise to senior positions. The women’s leadership development programs are inadequate in providing females the opportunity to get started.
Importance of women leadership development
Women leadership programs are designed to offer leadership abilities and opportunities to the participants. The primary goal is to encourage gender equality and foster an inclusive organizational culture, particularly in senior roles to enhance decision-making.
Reducing gender inequality is not only important for businesses but is crucial for the entire world. A report published by Goldman Sachs & JBWere showed that between 1974 and 2019, Australia’s economic activity increased by 22% as more women participated in the workforce. Another report by McKinsey Global Institute found that increasing gender equality may grow the world economy by approximately $12 trillion. Therefore, incorporating robust women’s development programs is necessary for organizations.
As more women assume leadership roles, companies enjoy the following advantages:
- Improved recruitment as diversity and inclusivity will attract talented personnel
- Higher retention rate among women with 94% of employees being more likely to stay for longer durations
- Enhanced business productivity; organizations in the top quartile of gender equality are 36% more likely to outperform their competitors
- Positive work culture thereby increasing job satisfaction and employee engagement
- Better decision-making driven by diverse perspectives and innovative thinking to face challenging situations
Barriers to Women’s Leadership
Even as recently as 2016, there were only 37 women in management positions compared to 100 men in similar roles. Some factors that contribute to this glass ceiling and broken rung include:
- Even when women have the same qualifications, men will advance in their careers due to gender bias
- A McKinsey 2022 Women in Workplace report stated that a meagre 21% of women in C-suite roles were white due to racial bias
- The majority of women are likely to be caregivers, which may limit the time, energy, and efforts they can invest towards advancing their careers and assuming leadership roles
- Men are generally more assertive than women making it difficult for females to be recognized impacting their confidence and self-promotion
Steps to make Women’s Development Programs Effective
1. Acknowledge and Confront Bias
Fortunately, today systemic biases faced by women in the workplace are getting their deserved attention. Deloitte research shows that about 80% of employees want to work in inclusive organizations. The first step to making women leadership development programs effective is to ensure the entire company recognizes the importance of such initiatives. Proactive organizations encourage and expect women to be their true selves and set a stage where females can deliver their best without any bias.
2. Encourage Developing the Appropriate Leadership Style
Despite over 80% of leaders changing various aspects of their organizational policies for greater flexibility, women’s development programs are often old-fashioned and rigid. According to Gartner, almost 90% of human resource leaders consider soft skills like adaptability, authenticity, and empathy to be important. Unfortunately, less than 30% of leaders have these human skills. This disconnect can be effectively overcome with the right women’s development program. The training must re-evaluate the meaning of leadership in the organizations and embrace different leadership styles to allow participants to recognize their style and focus on developing the soft skills to be successful in senior roles.
3. Emphasize Inclusion Education
LinkedIn research shows learning is more effective in groups (86%), group participants are more successful when they learn together (91%), and learning creates belongingness (92%). Therefore, communal learning is essential and emphasizing on inclusion education every day is crucial. The objective is to ensure active interest in the new women’s leadership development program across the entire organization.
4. Develop a Formal Structure for Promoting Accountability
To make a women’s leadership program more effective, it needs to be planned and well-organized. Companies must develop the desired goals of such training programs. The next step is to develop a step-wise plan for women to achieve these goals. The program must assign clear deliverables to be completed during the program duration. Schedule checkpoints and review overall progress to promote accountability. This ensures everyone is on the same page and understands their roles to support women’s development.
Women are still at a disadvantage where leadership is concerned even when they comprise half the workforce. This makes women’s development programs an important initiative to reduce this gap between men and women in leadership roles.
Empower Your Future Leaders with Pragati Leadership explore how our customized women’s leadership development programs can drive success. Contact us today to learn more.
