Introduction:
The modern, technology-oriented world is a boon in terms of equality and opportunities. World wars, the industrial revolution, the advent of multinational companies, and urbanisation are all reasons for the major changes in our lives today. Women are also witnessing dramatic changes in their societal roles. Women are increasingly involved in the workforce.
At first glance, it seems that women are contributing to half of the economy. But if you look closer, you will notice a pattern. There are fewer and fewer women found in the leading positions as you go higher up. As of 2020 (CNN, 2020), only 7.4% of the Fortune 500 companies' CEOs are women. Also, fewer women run big companies than men named John (New York Times, 2015). The chances of finding a female C-Suite director on a company's board are far less. According to a report by McKinsey & Company, only 21% of the companies had a C-Suite woman on their board. Let us take a look deeper into the issue of why women are less likely to stay and succeed in the corporate world.
Why are more women needed in management positions?
Women in senior management positions will help the company in several ways.
First and foremost, it will help fill the void of perspective when a critical decision needs to be made by male-only management. Most corporate companies have both male and female end-user bases. Having an equally divided management team will help in making critical decisions aimed at both male and female end users. A study from McKinsey & Company has found that in UK-based companies, for every 10% increase in gender diversity in key management roles, the earnings of the company rose by 3.5% before taxes and interest!
The workforce is nearly equally divided between male and female workers. In 2020, 52% of the female population was working (The World Bank, 2019). Company policymakers will struggle to understand women-specific problems if the policymakers are only male-dominated management. Having at least one woman in a senior decision-making role will give the company the benefit of a female perspective both inside (among its employees) and outside (among its consumers). Doubtless, women leaders will bring different solutions, skills, and perspectives to the table. This will help immensely in today's tough and uncertain economy.
It is also plain that women have been, since time immemorial, viewed as household workers only. In the current world of changing perspectives, women are rightfully considered equal with their male counterparts. Hence, it is the duty of society to give them the necessary support to achieve their highest potential. Often, women have the same ambitions and dreams of reaching the top positions in a company just like their male peers. These should not be suppressed because of gender bias or subconscious bias. Just like everyone else, womens’ career dreams too should be nourished and given a chance to grow and fulfil.
8 Reasons for the lack of women in senior roles
In recent data by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, it has been revealed that half of the female MBA graduates will leave the workforce within a decade of their graduation. The reasons are plenty, which includes maternity and frustration, among other issues.
1. COVID-19
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 alone, more women lost their jobs than men. One study which surveyed six countries has found that women are 24% more likely to permanently lose their jobs than men due to the pandemic (Source: Dang, H.H. & Nguyen, C.V. - 2020 October). Women are the primary targets of layoffs and pay cuts in many companies in times of crises. Due to the pandemic, many women have permanently lost their jobs and career growth opportunities. When external factors like the pandemic, economic crisis, or conflicts come into play, it is the women who primarily pay the price and lose their jobs. Crises in the past few decades are also a contributing factor for fewer women in top management roles.
2. Maternity
In 184 economies, a median leave of 98 days is available for maternity. Still in a few countries, like the USA, women have no paid maternity leave (Source: OECD, 2019 and World Bank, 2020). Maternity is one of the primary reasons why women quit their careers. They quit early before achieving their dreams or have a few years of hindrance in getting where they want to be.
Carrying a child, delivering, and looking after the baby after he/she is born takes critical time out of a woman's working hours. Pregnancy itself poses new challenges, both physical and emotional, to a woman in the workplace.
Travelling every day to a faraway office space is tiresome with a baby born or unborn. Many women regret these inconveniences both for themselves and their babies, which leads them to leave their profession altogether.
3. The lack of childcare units in corporate offices
Some companies offer child care centres in their offices. This gives immense comfort to the working women who have no one else to look after their children at home. But this kind of extra care is offered by only a few companies in a select few of their offices. In developing and poor countries, the number of these facilities is next to null.
Because there is no one else to care for the children, many women will leave corporate jobs for less lucrative jobs that provide more freedom.
4. Frustration
Apart from the widely known reason - pregnancy, another reason why only a few women reach the top positions is frustration. Those in positions of leadership in companies must make assertive and authoritative decisions. Even from ancient times, these virtues have been associated with masculinity and the male population in general. When a woman makes an assertive decision, it is not very well received by the male-dominated workforce in general. Due to the bias, it will be hard to follow a woman's orders. This will result in decreased performance from the team she is leading. There is also the possibility of labelling the woman in these cases. Then there is the "glass ceiling," where women get stuck in positions due to invisible causes like workplace politics and biases.
It is also the norm that companies that are not performing well promote a woman to a leading position. This phenomenon is known as the "glass cliff." Companies push women into precarious positions at risky times, thereby increasing the woman's chances of failure. Female leaders are also constantly talked over in discussions and meetings by their male peers. Their inputs are also at the risk of going unheard. Because of these subconscious biases in society, women tend to go unnoticed for their extra efforts.
This leads to a deep frustration for women in the corporate world. Constantly being undermined for their results and underestimated for their capacity leads to unhappiness in their careers.
5. Lack of mentors
As most of the leading positions are held by males, it is nearly impossible to find female mentors for women in general. According to a study by Stanford Business School, 80% of CEOs had a mentor (Source: Forbes ). Mentors open networks and opportunities for their mentees that are hard to tap into by the mentee under other circumstances. Their understanding of the industry, experience, skills, and life itself in general play a major role in the success of their mentees.
Women find it very hard to find a mentor in the first place. As there are only a few female mentors available, the only other option is male mentors. Male mentors, being older and wiser in general, often choose someone who they perceive as their younger self. Instead of women, they are frequently male peers like themselves. Apart from this favouritism, the hurdles of choosing a female mentee are more of a risky endeavour than a normal one. As the #MeToo movement gained momentum a few years back, professional relationships between successful corporate tycoons and female employees were constantly at the risk of being painted in a negative light (Source: HR Reporter).
Apart from this, the mentor-mentee relationship between a male and a female is at the risk of being perceived as an affair by colleagues. This will lead to some embarrassing moments or toxic workplace politics for both parties involved. That is something no one in a leading position wants to happen.
Also, the lack of social settings to communicate with the mentees will hold back men from mentoring women. It is not the case when a male mentee connects with his mentor for a drink at the bar or plays golf at a club. The difference in tastes and hobbies between men and women will make it hard to find common ground.
6. Lack of networking
Often, male employees meet after work in male-centric locations like bars and clubs. Often, these places are uncomfortable for women to visit. Due to safety concerns, the late meeting hours will not be comfortable for a woman. This takes opportunities and valuable industry connections away from women, which is not an issue for men in the industry.
7. Lesser income
Often, women are shocked to find out that they are being paid much lesser than their male counterparts. For the same amount of work and effort they are putting in day in and day out, they are earning far less than their male colleagues.
Because of their negotiation skills, men are more adept at negotiating salaries than women. Women are far more likely to accept whatever is first offered to them by the company. A recent report by Randstad has found that nearly 60% of women never negotiate salaries at all. A recent survey from Mint.com has found several interesting factors in the difference between male and female salary negotiations. 36% of men negotiate salaries after the job offer while only 26% of women are doing the same. Moreover, 55% of women are anxious about salary negotiations compared to only 39% of men.
This will lead to resentment over time and result in the woman's opting out of the industry.
8. Unpaid work
Women are the binding forces in a setting. Often, they are the ones who organise events, birthdays, festivals, and meetings in an office. They are also the ones who take care of the cleaning up after these events. Women often work overtime for these events. This takes away their valuable time from work that would have landed them in a major position.
Women also work more unpaid hours in their homes than men do. Globally, women are spending 4 hours and 22 minutes every day in unpaid labour, whereas men are spending only 2 hours and 15 minutes (Source: OECD ). Taking care of the children and household work will leave little time for their professional development, networking, and skill enhancement.
What would be the solution?
1. Women quotas
Many governments are reserving women's quotas in boardrooms for women's empowerment. The governments of France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and South Korea, among other countries, have implemented women's quotas in their public companies (Source: CWDI, 2020 ). In many ways, this is helpful for women who need a push in their careers.
Still, in many cases, women who make use of these opportunities are perceived as having merited unfair advantages based on their gender. These kinds of perceptions and opinions undermine the confidence of women. The same women who struggle equally, sometimes even harder than men, to achieve a position in their industry.
2. Maternity perks
Increasing paid maternity leaves, having flexible work hours, and having in-house or nearby daycare centres for children will all help immensely for women. Transport facilities for pregnant women, safety measures, and a healthy working environment will stop women from dropping off from the workforce altogether.
3. Mentorship programs
Due to the above-discussed reasons, it is hard for women to find a male mentor. And likewise, it is harder to find a female mentor as well. The lack of female mentors, the lack of enthusiasm or initiative from male mentors to mentor female mentees, the lack of social settings that facilitate male mentor-female mentee connections and the social stigma around such relationships are driving women away from male mentors. However, the digital age has a solution for this.
Although it was hardly possible in the past, the new digital age comes as a boon for working professionals. The possibilities of the internet were largely untapped by the corporate world until recently. Work-from-home and online education were largely subjects of the future until the pandemic hit the world. Today's online meeting-based work culture somewhat creates equality among women and men. As the pandemic rages over humanity, socialisation events and meetings are more technology-driven. The need for mentorship might be met through online platforms. There are many online coaching platforms by individuals, start-ups, and companies around the mentorship theme. As technology and the mentorship industry advance and adapt, it might be possible soon for women to get industry mentorship, completely online.
4. Bringing awareness
Teaching and bringing awareness to the industry will prove to be the best solutions to the problem of the lack of female leaders. Awareness about societal issues is changing the world in many ways. Just a few years back, global warming was not as much of a hot topic as it is today. People need to be aware of the needs and benefits of women in management in the corporate sector.
Often, men are clueless when it comes to women's struggles in the workplace. Many men are not even aware of the biases they hold against women subconsciously in their minds. Bringing awareness to these issues that women face will encourage corporations to treat women equally and promote them in the future.
Conclusion
Working women are facing many challenges in today's workforce. While a few have faced all odds and are successful, countless women have lost their passion and gone out of the workforce. The world needs more female leaders in key management positions to balance the workforce at every stage.
Women bring with them several skills, solutions, and perspectives that are not possible for male-only management systems. Recognising this issue and finding a solution will truly empower women, serve true social justice and give humanity a chance to grow together with gender cooperation.
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