More Women Leaders – Hopeless Mission?
- More women leaders, all the way to the C-suite
- Gender balanced organizations
- Pay equity
I’ve been optimistic, for 20+ years, about achieving this vision.
But now, I’m having a moment, two weeks really. Despite ALL the research about positive results affected by more women leaders, we move towards that vision at a snail’s pace. But that’s been true for quite some time. So why now, am I losing hope?
Consider the cumulative affect of the 5 articles summarized in this post. After reading them, I downgraded the Hope Factor. The first three are proof positive. The 4th is a hope killer. The 5th highlights the source of resistance.
1. More Women Leaders, Better Financial Results
“The evidence on women in the C-suite is robust: no matter how we torture the data [great phrase] we get the same result: women in the C-suite are associated with higher profitability.
Having at least 30% of women in leadership positions, or the “C-suite,” adds 6% to net profit margin.
What companies wouldn’t jump to take advantage of this opportunity? Most.
This robust study, by the Peterson Institute for International Economic and Ernst and Young, involved 22,000 firms globally. Other studies conclude likewise – better financial results. What difference does this research make regarding movement towards increased gender balance? Very little. And when was the last, or first time, someone researched whether more men in leadership roles pro
duce better results?
2. The Link Between Gender and Emotional Intelligence
The Hay Group published a study that reveals:
Women score higher than men on nearly all emotional intelligence competencies, except emotional self-control, where no gender differences are observed. (2016)
The correlation between emotional intelligence and high performing leaders has been researched many times over. In summary, leaders who rank high in emotional intelligence achieve better business metrics, and higher employee satisfaction ratings. They also receive better performance reviews year after year.
3. Women are Creating the Future of Business
An unprecedented study comprising 392 executive-level interviews, reveals that women are leading transformational change and having “a profound” effect on corporate culture.
Women across a diverse spectrum of backgrounds and perspectives, at the intersection of race, ethnicity, culture, and sexual orientation, are creating cultures that are poised to innovate into the future.
BUT
4. What Happens When More Women Enter Male Dominated Professions?
Once women start doing a job, ‘It just doesn’t look like it’s as important to the bottom line or requires as much skill. Gender bias sneaks into those decisions.’
Sneaks in? How about stomps in on heavy boots?
IF logic rules, pay should rise when more women enter male dominated professions. After all, net profits increase as women rise to the top. And the bottom line matters. Right? Apparently not so much when the solution is more women leaders, especially at the C-suite.
5. The Biggest Obstacle
In Some are More Equal Than Others, Just Another Middle Class White Guy writes that corporate diversity and inclusion efforts are mere window dressing. The solution is,
Wholesale reform and re-engineering of organisational culture and practice by the “male types” that run them.
Will fish change the water they swim in? The very water that sustains their lives?
Women, myself included, have addressed the culture change solution for decades. Will Just Another Middle Class White Guy be more influential? Probably not. You see, JAMCWG is an HR professional. Many women work in HR. Ipso facto, less valued and less influential.
Care to argue in favor or against downgrading Hope Factor? Your comments are most welcome.