Over the past 100 years, women have made great progress, but this is the generation that has the best chance of achieving equality.
As a female leader for the past 30 years and as the founder of FastrackToRefocus Coaching, I am proud to be a part of that effort by continuing to take active steps to help women advance in the corporate world. But true progress is a collective effort
To move forward, we must know our starting point. Although they hold almost 52% of all managerial and professional-level positions, women are substantially behind men in terms of their representation in leadership positions. Why aren’t we seeing more progress?
Women face challenges and stereotypes that are obstacles to their advancement Understanding those dynamics is the first step toward a more equal and productive workplace.
Below I share some key ideas to keep in mind as you work to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce, and ways we can support our collective effort.
1. Create a pipeline
Leaders should pay close attention to how many women are in leadership positions and focus on how those women are being developed for future roles To support the creation of this pipeline in your organization, ensure you are building and supporting a workplace that offers more diverse development opportunities, executive visibility, and change leadership.
In general terms, women tend to be less comfortable with self-promotion
With this in mind, there is an opportunity for co-workers, both men and women, to help make the environment more welcoming by calling out the good work done by the women around them. This includes recognizing female colleagues during team meetings, highlighting their impact on leadership, and even recognizing them on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter If someone does a good job, he should be appreciated and celebrated for it. Be men like women.
3. Push women into more projects
One way to celebrate women’s successes (and actually give them the opportunity to achieve more) is to have more of them in important projects. Studies show that women are less likely to be assigned to larger projects with larger budgets As we all know, those projects are the ones that regularly lead to promotions and recognition within the company.
On projects large or small, women often end up with administrative tasks. Leaders must actively work to put women in diverse roles Without experience doing different things, women may not have the same opportunity as men to discover their talents, find what they like to do, or demonstrate their leadership potential.
Not utilizing women’s full skill set not only hurts their professional development, but could also be an inefficient use of a company’s resources. You don’t know what someone can do if you don’t give them a chance.
Women should help themselves in this area too As a woman, it’s up to you to stand up for yourself and ask for more opportunities. You can’t have expectations of advancement if you’re not willing to put yourself out there, stretch your own capabilities, and get out of your comfort zone. Fortune favors the brave.
Being a sponsor or advocate can have as much impact as mentoring Mentoring is a relationship based on advice and guidance (a wonderful thing to have) but not necessarily associated with direct advancement. As a sponsor or advocate, you can actively work to promote women and recommend them for specific projects, development opportunities, or leadership roles.
It is also beneficial for people to have a sponsor in different departments or areas of the company. That exposure to other people and jobs can open opportunities that make women leadership candidates with more options.
The role of HR
Progress in diversity and inclusion does not depend on HR teams, but their active leadership can be transformative As a leader, here are a couple of suggestions for championing change.
1.Know the data
Human resources departments need to know how teams are structured from all perspectives: race, gender, etc. These data must go beyond the number of employees
Consider examining recruiting, promotions, identified successors, performance ratings, and compensation. After you run the numbers, you then have to communicate where your company is with leadership. Identify opportunities (and there are always opportunities) and suggest specific actions to drive change. People may find these conversations uncomfortable, but I have found that a lack of change begins with a lack of awareness.
2. Take action
If the data shows there is room for growth, you should take steps to improve the situation. Are there changes you can make to your management development programs that will help more people? Can you do more to actively ensure your talent pipeline is diverse? Are you creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for your team?
Look at everything from recruiting to performance management, development programs, diversity and inclusion efforts, and be intentional in how you lead your function to support diversity.
Concluding
Women’s allies in the workplace play a key role in leading us forward, but ultimately, the best sponsors for women are themselves Therefore, this International Women’s Day, I want all women to stand up for themselves, look for new opportunities to grow, and take risks in their career. Together we can continue the progress of the women who fought before us and set the stage for an equal and inclusive future.
Nobody is going to give you anything. Whether you are a man or a woman.
You have to show up in your life and sit at the front of the table. And in case they don’t offer you a chair, always carry a folding chair in your backpack, briefcase or bag. And of course here I am to go hand in hand with you as an Executive and Career Guidance Coach in this new leadership and career development project.
