Despite modest progress, women are still dramatically underrepresented in leadership roles. That’s according to McKinsey’s “Women in the Workplace 2022” report, which highlights two key issues for organizations trying to achieve gender equality.
The “broken rung” at the first step up to a managerial role is holding women back, according to the report — with 97 women promoted from entry-level roles to manager positions for every 100 men. For women of color, the figure is just 82. As a result, men significantly outnumber women at manager level, and the gap widens as there are simply too few women to promote to senior leadership positions.
The second issue the report highlights is that women leaders are leaving their companies at a much higher rate than men leaders. For every woman at director level who gets promoted to the next level, two women directors are choosing to leave their organizations — often because ambitious women face stronger headwinds than their male counterparts. Microaggressions that undermine their authority are a common problem. For example, women are far more likely than men to have colleagues imply that they aren’t qualified for their leadership roles. And they are twice as likely to be mistaken for someone more junior.
How Training Can Help
Training has a crucial role to play in overcoming some of the barriers women face when it comes to leadership progression. As a first step, anyone who is responsible for hiring or managing people should undergo unconscious bias training — and be provided with tools and tips on how to be inclusive and treat their team with equity in mind and not necessarily equally. For instance, it’s important to reframe situations in which a woman might be described as strong and abrasive, whereas a man might be described as confident and assertive.
Specific training for managers on guiding their team members throughout their careers is also beneficial, especially when it comes to colleagues they might not automatically connect with or personally understand. Combined with clear human resources (HR) structures and a system of checks and balances, this can help reduce the natural biases that occur in almost every organization.
Managers should be required to submit a framework as to why one individual was chosen over another for certain tasks — to encourage the use of process-driven work allocation methods. They should be aware of the individual workloads of their team members and factor in the skills needed for a specific task, as well as the task’s importance and the amount of time it will take to complete it. Knowing and continuously assessing the current and desired skills and career direction of their employees is also vital.
Another issue women leaders often face is lack of recognition of certain aspects of their work. Compared with men at the same level, women leaders do more to support employee well-being and encourage diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). This undoubtedly improves staff retention and satisfaction, but it isn’t often formally rewarded in many companies. The McKinsey report found that 40% of women leaders say their DEI work is not acknowledged at all in performance reviews. This can make it harder for women leaders to advance and more likely that they will burn out from being stretched thinner than men in similar roles.
One potential solution is to ask managers to report on overall team involvement in DEI efforts as part of the performance review process. This could include participation in employee resource groups (ERGs), for example, which create a sense of belonging for their respective demographics, host leadership events, create learning and development (L&D) opportunities, and generally further DEI commitments set out by senior leaders. ERGs bring companies a lot of value in terms of brand goodwill and helping to attract top talent — but not every company can afford to pay employees for their time invested in ERG work. ERG participation can, however, be included in objectives and key results, with bonuses or other reward opportunities for employees who are participating in creating a more gender-equal environment.
Prioritizing diversity metrics and goals — both with managers and the HR and training professionals accountable for achieving them — is another key aspect of ensuring women are well represented in leadership roles. Start by asking employees how they feel in their roles, whether they are experiencing barriers to progression, and whether they feel they are receiving fair feedback from their managers. Running talent velocity analyses, pay gap studies and industry benchmarking can then help build on the responses to set realistic and achievable goals.
Implementing women’s leadership programs is another practical way of removing barriers for women and creating a more inclusive culture. A study by the Institute for Leadership Management found that half of female respondents reported self-doubt about their job performance and careers, compared with less than a third of male respondents. With such shaky foundations, it is no surprise that women often find it hard to showcase leadership skills.
To ensure a successful leadership development program, first consider the group of women you plan to support — if the glass ceiling starts at middle management, that is probably the best place to start. Consider creating cohorts based on career-level tiers, as different content will be relevant at different times in a woman’s career. As well as ensuring relevant content to help with upskilling, this will also create a network of peers, with all the associated benefits. It’s also important to have executive sponsorship and include male allies in sessions that support the progression of women.
It is clear there is work to be done to achieve true gender parity in senior management positions. However, the stakes are high: The right approach can not only bring new perspectives, ideas and skills to the top table but also boost an organization’s performance and bottom line.
