Women in Leadership Roles: Why It’s Important
On International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate the powerful benefits of advancing our world systems, with having more women as leaders.
March 8th is International Women's Day and we want to celebrate the role of women in their unique abilities & qualities which enable them, to advance businesses and relationships. While we have definitely seen progress made in gender equality, women are still underrepresented in leadership positions and it’s a well known fact that women have had to overcome significant barriers to their career advancements. Even more challenging, are the roadblocks that have been in place for centuries surrounding BIPOC women.
Despite women making up over 50% of our Canadian population, when it comes to women in leadership roles in Canada, women hold about a third of management occupations (about 35%) and only 30% of senior management level occupations, according to the "Just The Facts: International Women's Day 2022" study by Statistics Canada.
Increasing female representation in our workforce will balance out what has historically been male-dominated approaches in business, has the potential to create gender justice, improve socio economic status, and set the foundation for the next generation of girls and young women.
When we look at diversity among women in leadership positions: only 6% of board, executive and senior management positions are held by women of color.
In the Technology sector, the numbers are as concerning: women hold 28% of all jobs in computer and mathematical occupations, according to WomenTech Network,, and only 15.9% of jobs in engineering and architecture occupations.
Despite the gender disparity that remains, there have been notable advancements within the preferences of the employee population and which gender an employee prefers to lead. In 1953, over 60% of Americans preferred a male boss. Today, however, we are uplifted to see that the number changed drastically, where only 23% would prefer a male boss. There are many reasons why Women are held in higher regard as a manager or to lead a team or organization so lets take a closer look.
MAKING THE CASE FOR WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
In our recent blog post What’s Love Got To Do With Leadership we highlight empathy and compassion as vital leadership skills with many long term benefits including retention and productivity. Great leaders must have exceptional communication skills, demonstrate empathy, value diversity and inclusivity in the workplace and foster an equal and highly collaborative culture to succeed - and women naturally embody these highly desirable qualities and skill sets.
Let's take a closer look:
Women are more inclusive
According to the Women in Leadership study female leaders tend to be more inclusive and considerate of their teams, employees and communities, and contribute with more representative laws, rulings and policies.
Women Fight Inequality
The same study shows that when women occupy key decision-making positions, such as governmental posts, countries tend to have lower levels of inequality. This means they work hard to offer as many opportunities as they can to everyone involved in their context.
Women make Higher Welfare Investments
The Status of Women in the States study of 2015 shows a direct correlation between the number of women on councils and the investment in social welfare programs and policies that respond to women's needs. Since almost half of the world's population are women, it's understandable why looking at those needs should be a priority.
Women help generate more profit
In a recent study by Mckinsey reveals that companies led by women have higher profits than their peers. In general, it's also known that companies with higher gender, ethnic and cultural diversity are more likely to outperform those that don't.
And since we're talking about money, on a global scale, the World Bank has stated that gender inequality is costing over $23,000 per person in lost earnings and $160 trillion in human capital loss.
Women Respond better to crisis
One big area the Covid-19 pandemic showed us is the importance and value of good leadership during an unforeseen crisis. Women tend to be more emotionally intelligent, which is an essential skill during a crisis. Women are more likely to be aware of their emotions and the emotions of others, leading to better communication and decision-making. An interesting stat we found, showed that American states run by women governors lost fewer people to Covid. Also, the number of cases and deaths in countries led by women (New Zealand is a good example) was lower than in those led by men.
Women are better mentors
The power of role models is often overlooked. And when it comes to the younger generations, having someone to look up to and expose them to new possibilities makes a difference. Studies show that 29% of women believe their gender will be an obstacle to professional growth, and having women in leadership positions helps empower new and bright minds to strive for more. Research shows that women are better mentors than men and tend to help employees develop their qualities over reinforcing their weaknesses in the workplace.
If half our world’s population are women & girls, then to continue to ignore that population is akin to disregarding 50% of our world’s potential. While progress has been made in advancing opportunities, pay, and access to resources for women, it is unfinished business and we have a ways to go before achieving true balance across genders.
It is essential to recognize the powerful contributions of women in leadership positions, how much stronger business results & cultures will be, the more that organizations balance and heal gender disparity and to continue to promote gender justice across in all aspects of society.
At Ari Agency & Ari Executive, we work with digital leaders and disruptors who rely on us to find and attract some of the most competitive talent in the digital space. If you’re interested in the trends impacting workforces or looking to hiring game-changing talent, contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
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