Women and Leadership Inclusivity
Article from
Only 40% of women say their leader is inclusive "all of the time", and just 18% agree their leader matches company rhetoric on gender diversity, new research has found.
Women Rising's The Voice of Women at Work 2023 report, which is based on a survey of 1,200 women from various industries, experience levels and roles, also found that nearly three in four women (74%) had been talked over or interrupted in a meeting, and well over half (64%) had seen someone else take credit for their ideas or work.
Some 57% said they'd been undermined by a male leader, compared to 37% by a female leader. Negative age-related bias was an even more common complaint, particularly for the youngest, and oldest, respondents: 89% of those in the 65+ years bracket, and 88% in the 18–24 bracket, had experienced this, compared to 62% overall.
"Employers should be concerned by these findings. Women are leaving jobs and even whole careers behind because of leadership gaps that could be easily addressed," says Women Rising founder and CEO, Megan Dalla-Camina.
Reasons to leave
Almost 40% of the women surveyed said their employer hadn't invested in their career and/or leadership development in the past 18 months, and most (74%) considered this a valid reason to leave an organisation.
Of those who'd changed companies in the past 18 months (35%), the most common reason (24%) was a lack of opportunity to advance, followed by unreasonable workload (15%), an unsupportive manager (15%) and an unmet salary expectation (12%).
"What's clear is that organisations risk losing talented female employees if they do not move the needle on career and leadership development," says Dalla-Camina.
The most common challenges women reported facing at work were: a lack of confidence and moments of self-doubt (53%); feeling burnt out (49%); a lack of clarity on career goals and vision (41%); too much stress and time pressure (40%); not enough opportunities to advance (37%); and lack of leadership competence/executive presence (32%).
When it came to career satisfaction, 49% of women wished they were "further ahead" and 42% wished their career had more meaning. Respondents attributed a lack of progress to having nowhere to move up in their organisation (40%); lacking confidence to put themselves forward for promotions (38%); and lacking management support (37%) – these all outranked the challenges of balancing work and family (33%).
"Harsh inner critics" blamed for unmet potential
Most respondents (67%) said they weren't fulfilling their potential, blaming their "harsh inner critic" (52%), a lack of confidence in their own abilities (47%) and a lack of mentors and sponsors (53%).
"At first glance critics might say that it's women who hold themselves back," the report says. "But that's antiquated thinking that doesn't match the data and the realities of women's lived experience, nor does it account for the systemic biases that women deal with everyday that contribute to inner critic issues."
The report says employers can help women build confidence by:
- sponsoring them to take part in external workshops and training programs;
- training people leaders to identify low confidence and apply confidence-building language and techniques;
- listening for limiting belief stories driven by a strong inner critic;
- routinely checking in with female team members to see if anything is impairing their confidence;
- having strengths-based conversations with female team members;
- celebrating successes widely and ensuring credit is given to women for their work;
- creating mentorship and sponsorship opportunities for women to receive guidance and support from more experienced colleagues;
- encouraging women to take on stretch assignments and challenging projects – with the necessary support and resources to help them succeed; and
- addressing imposter syndrome by providing resources and training to help women recognise and overcome it.
When asked what they need from their employer to thrive at work, a good relationship and support from line managers topped the list at 84%. This was followed by: good pay (73%); leaders who walk the talk with company values (71%); flexible working conditions (69%); opportunities to advance (69%); and investment in career development (64%).
The Voice of Women at Work 2023 report, Women Rising, July 2023
Many more articles like this are available to HR Daily Premium members, including HR best practice studies and workplace compliance news. Members also gain access to our on-demand webcasts and live webinar events.
