The emergence of women’s leadership has become pivotal in today’s corporate world. From leadership roles to senior managers, female leaders can manage every role on the corporate ladder.
When we look into politics as a profession, names like Angela Merkel, Kamala Harris, and Jacinda Ardern are well-known global female leaders whom the entire world knows. The number of women leaders in every sphere is increasing for sure. But, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
For generations, we have discussed female leadership while focusing primarily on male leadership experience and ignoring the inequalities in the workplace between men and women. Global female leaders continue to overcome persistent gender biases in the workplace and have often emerged as transformative role models. Their arduous ascent to the top enables individuals to develop extraordinarily while motivating others. This provides no room for debate or skepticism regarding the need for more women in leadership positions.
The Reykjavik Index for Leadership, a yearly study that analyzes how men and women are evaluated in terms of their qualifications for positions of power, revealed that confidence in women leaders has decreased significantly over the previous year. It is the first fall in this metric since 2018, when Kantar Public, a data and advice firm for public policy, began collecting data.
Women in Leadership Position Statistics
According to a survey undertaken by the Australian economist Conrad Liveris, there are more CEOs named Andrew than female CEOs. In other words, there were more men than women with the same first name leading Australia’s 200 largest companies.
Another survey by aauw.org revealed that just 7.2% of Fortune 500 CEOs in the United States are women, and women hold only 25% of C-suite positions in the top 1000 corporations. These numbers demonstrate that the total number of women leaders in the business sector is negligible compared to that of men.
In G7 nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the USA), which represent half of the world’s GDP, 47% of respondents said they would be “very comfortable” with a woman serving as CEO of a large corporation in their country. This is down from 54% a year earlier.
Women in National Parliaments and Executive Government Positions
The percentage of women leaders in national parliaments has increased from 11% in 1995 to 26% in 2017. Only 21% of government ministers were women, with only 14 countries having achieved 50 % or more women in cabinets. With an annual increase of just 0.52 %, gender parity in parliamentary positions will not be achieved before 2077.
Rwanda (61%), Cuba (53%), Nicaragua (53%), and Mexico (50%)are the handful of countries where women leaders have an occupancy of at least 50% in parliament.
If you take Europe in the picture, only 15 European countries have at least 40% of politicians in their parliaments. This number goes down to 5 when you take Latin America, Africa, and the Caribbean into the equation. This number is just 1 for Asia and the Pacific.
Need to Promote Female Leaders in 2024
Creating an environment conducive to the development of women leaders’ abilities is vital. Despite several efforts to elevate women and place them in positions of authority, the global representation of women in such roles is rather disturbing.
The absence of gender equality in leadership roles not only impedes growth in every field but also has a significant negative impact on the global economy. Therefore, it is necessary to promote women’s leadership. Companies require the greatest leaders, which cannot be met if women are excluded from the recruitment pool. Statistics indicate that women in leadership roles have not yet attained their full potential.
Here is how to promote more women participation to have more global female leaders in 2023.
Also Read: 10 Innovative Employee Engagement Initiatives You Should Try
11 Ways to Promote Female Leaders in 2024
Show support through real actions, not just speech
The most essential factor for women in the workplace is the presence of other female leaders. This will encourage them to believe that success is possible. Additionally, their supervisors play a key role. They should provide structured support for them, such as enrolling them in a leadership program. Often, theory and practice do not go hand in hand. It is crucial that this support be genuine and more than just words.
Don’t undermine their efforts
Give them decency and respect. This may seem obvious, yet coworkers, supervisors, colleagues, and even direct reports are frequently ready to minimize and denigrate the efforts of women. It is time to correct that. Blind performance and goal evaluations are methods for reaching this objective. The second method is to assist teams in becoming more sensitive so that they are more welcoming of ambitious, competitive female managers.
Stop prejudices against working mothers
We can focus on eliminating prejudices against working mothers. We have frequently witnessed the biases and assumptions made toward women’s job objectives following motherhood. A hiring manager initially assumed I wouldn’t be interested in a global position since many have young children. Working with strong women is as normal as working with anyone else.
Try to understand their needs
To aid female business leaders in the workplace, we must initially comprehend their needs. It is the responsibility of leadership to comprehend what motivates these women and how their current roles contribute to their satisfaction outside of work. There is an excellent chance for managers to assist their team in answering the question “What do I want?”.
Allow women to speak at the table
You must ensure that women are part of the company boardroom meetings. It will make them feel heard and supported. It is normal for women to be interrupted or denied the opportunity to express themselves. Facilitators can assist by establishing ground rules for respectful meeting behavior, utilizing hand-raising, and inviting minority group speakers to offer their perspectives.
Equal compensation & flexibility In the workplace
Pay them equally, and do not prevent women from advancing in their careers because of family obligations. Offering more flexible schedules that fit both personal and professional obligations would be of great assistance in achieving these goals.
Be proactive during the hiring process
Across numerous industry verticals, it is usual to observe that the highest-achieving, most recognized, and top-tier leaders are typically seasoned experts who have learned and developed their talents over the course of their careers. This is accomplished through good training and years of professional experience. Therefore, campus recruiting can aid in the early recruitment of skilled female personnel. It is essential to take such measures to alter these dynamics.
Promote executive mentoring
By allocating female business developers to critical initiatives that increase their visibility within the leadership teams, recognition plays a significant role. Introduce them to C-suite executives inside your firm who are eager to serve as mentors and facilitate their development into future C-suite leaders.
Also Read: How Engagedly Makes Goal Management Easy
Educate your entire workforce about diversity
The participation of employees from diverse backgrounds should be essential for all teams. It is crucial to use inclusive language and have an open dialogue about how the team feels. By promoting a respectful and inclusive environment, leaders should also ensure that their teams receive comprehensive diversity training.
Arrangements for self-care
Employers should create provisions for women’s self-care. Chevron, a worldwide oil business, provides on-site fitness and self-care facilities at its global locations. Employees are able to take care of themselves during the day without leaving the office. This allows women to achieve balance and maintain their health. It motivates women to assume greater responsibility and results in lower absenteeism among female employees.
Family assistance
The most challenging aspect of being a working woman is maintaining a healthy balance between her home and professional life. Some women are unable to balance the stress of both personal life and work. Businesses should take the necessary steps to provide women with a stress-free atmosphere.
Providing scientific camps, maths sessions, and other evening activities for the children of women employees, in addition to daycare, enables women employees with families to maintain demanding positions without having to worry about leaving their children at home. It removes the need for women to choose between family and career.
