In recent decades, there have been calls for greater gender equality while boosting the need to close the gender wage gap. Although significant strides have been made in this area, there are still very few women in leadership positions compared to men.
Better policies and opportunities for women must be developed by organisations. However, in order to move forward and break free from the habits holding them back, women also require support.
When women hold leadership positions, the companies they work for benefit from their skills, fresh perspectives, and structural and cultural diversity, which leads to more effective solutions. It is important to recognise the advantages of gender parity and diversity in leadership and decision-making. Women advocate diversity and concerns of equality and have strong civic and ethical values.
The biggest superpower a woman possesses, in terms of the roles women perform throughout their lives, is frequently seen to be empathy and compassion. Although compassion is often disregarded as a crucial quality for a leader, the 2020 pandemic demonstrated that it is not the case. The challenges of 2020 revealed global workplace conditions. Toxic work environments are one of the main causes of the great resignation, and female leaders are intrinsically capable of preventing and changing these cultures.
Despite decades of advancement, the gender wage gap has remained. Organisations have been working hard to reduce the gender pay gap for a very long time. One promising solution is to elevate women leadership in organisations. The gender pay gap is more comparable to a gender opportunity gap than the pay disparity between men and women. Women leaders can work on closing the gap by challenging the biases that may be at work - e.g the classic phenomenon of lowered performance rating when a woman returns from her maternity leave.
Another great thing is that women really understand the importance of work-life balance, and what it means to manage a family. Policies and cultures that help employees create a work life balance lead to more engagement and increased productivity. Women have found ways to manage their leadership abilities on a personal and professional level as it was imperative for them to do so. It is simpler to approach a female manager with a private request or a delicate inquiry as they can easily empathise with that situation.
Women need female role models. Strong female leaders are aware of this need and rejoice in motivating other women to succeed. They play a particularly significant role in mentoring and validating the accomplishments of other women. They prioritise their own personal growth alongside concentrating on the growth of others, assisting the individual, and creating a significant and long-lasting impact on the system.
Female leadership is important. Women are passionate, resourceful, and creative. They are effective change agents. Women are sincere and realistic, think strategically, are innovative and goal-oriented. They are social, flexible, and effective in relational settings.
Organisations must give women with leadership potential the tools they need to be more effective and realise their full potential, expanding workplace diversity. This is a difficult task that requires the cooperation and support of influential change agents in the workplace.
Are we ready to unleash the leadership potential of women?
Anindita is a lifelong learner who believes in the power of behavioural transformation through continuous learning.
Focused hiring, vigilant policies and top management sponsorship can enable an organization to build a diverse talent profile. We know this and are already seeing the excellent work that so many organizations are doing in this area.
In recent decades, there have been calls for greater gender equality while boosting the need to close the gender wage gap. Although significant strides have been made in this area, there are still very few women in leadership positions compared to men.
