Women CEOs
Not a week goes by without stories making headlines on the low number of women CEOs. Despite the urgent need for diverse gender representation in executive roles, we know that only a tenth of FTSE 100 companies are headed by a woman, despite them making up almost forty five percent of the board. What’s preventing this diversity at the top? Unconscious bias, the glass ceiling, and entrenched attitudes towards caring responsibilities. Limited networks, structural barriers and double standards in performance and evaluation are all accusations levelled at the system for failing to move the needle.But is there something missing from the rhetoric? Is it the whole story? In supporting the needs of gender diversity, are we alienating men? Are we widening the divide? Surely in our times of uncertain economic safety and precarious world security, we need more unity and understanding?
How helpful is the theme of men vs everyone else? One thing’s for sure: strengthening our sense of shared humanity is critical right now. Bridging the gap between genders while making sure everyone gets a voice and a seat at the table means carefully treading a difficult path while adopting a radical new perspective.Soft skills are anything but
Empathy, communication, active listening, emotional intelligence and delivering effective feedback: these aren’t easy to nurture when the pressure is on. Yet we know they’re the only way to get the best out of our teams. This isn’t the soft stuff, it’s the hard stuff. Leaders and managers need to be able to navigate whatever dynamic their people turn up to work with. This is against a backdrop of endless variables and permutations that may not have existed ten or twenty years ago. Unrest in the wider world causes fear and uncertainty, the residues of which come into the workplace. Diverse teams and changes in employment law continue to reshape culture and behavioural expectations at every turn. There’s nothing soft about the challenges of modern leadership. So instead of imagining that the only way we find solutions is to put more women CEOs in place (of course, never a bad thing), what if we were to change the lens of leadership to a more inclusive one? What if we were to get everyone involved?A new view
It’s about time we dropped the masculine/feminine divide in leadership and started seeing ourselves as a cohesive whole. Whether dealing with strategic planning or solution-finding, delivering feedback or developing policy, by replacing polarised camps with the ability to see individual brilliance, we can make the best of any team. In other words, we need to stop leaving the lion’s share of ‘soft’ skills to one gender. Everyone needs to join in.Making space
We know from the data that women leaders are more likely to struggle with confidence. One study found that women are half as likely as men to believe they have what it takes to step into their manager’s shoes. This self-belief trend in women is an issue that deserves to be addressed but the answer lies not in them becoming more like men: the solution lies in them becoming more like themselves. And if ‘soft’ skills are so vital for leadership in these times, entrenched gender norms could also be hampering the professional development of men. With these things in mind, systematically bridging the gap seems like the best idea of them all.We can’t go back
AI has had a profound impact on the world of work. The automation of once time-consuming processes means real people skills are even more important to maintain human-focused outcomes. To complicate the matter, diversity and hybrid working have changed the workplace in unpredictable ways. So whilst the fight to embed a diversity of genders in executive roles continues, there is also a need to shift away from polarised viewpoints. In other words, we can choose to create an issue and greater divide, or we can take a radical stance: that all genders are capable of strategic acumen, interpreting data and change management as well as emotional intelligence, empathy and dynamic sensitivity. Within this frame, individuals may have their own aptitudes but it’s time we stopped pigeon-holing our talent. Think of the opportunities we’d open up.So what are we missing out from the discussion on women CEOs?
The fact that we should be adopting, not just adapting.- Adopting new ways of thinking, being alert to gender norm blindspots.
- Adopting new aptitudes outside of our usual sphere. They’re not male skills or female skills: they’re human skills.
- Adopting a fresh attitude towards so-called soft skills and reconceptualising them as essential and substantial.
What you can do
Culture sits at the heart of the matter, which we all know is brought to life through strategy:- Foster an environment of psychological safety so that leaders can explore their talents and capabilities, with the space and support to push out of their comfort zone.
- Acknowledge that leaders can be resilient and capable, but they have limits. It’s your responsibility to safeguard their wellbeing, being mindful of burnout.
- Understand that nobody will get it right 100% of the time. We’re operating in a world of uncertainties and complexities, and that’s part of the fun of finding out what works.