Unlikely. At least for the foreseeable future.
According to a 2018 Catalyst study, women represented 20-25% of leadership roles in the US. Fast-forward to 2023, and the number has only slightly improved. Yet, you can’t open a local news site without reading or hearing about women dominating the workforce.
In 2023, McKinsey released their Women In The Workplace study where they emphasized four core issues women face: women are becoming less ambitious, the glass ceiling is the biggest threat to the progress of women, microaggressions have a micro impact, and it’s primarily women want and benefit from work-life balance.
The report touched on the gap, but that is where the opportunity for transformation truly lies. If we aren’t promoting or encouraging women-owned businesses, we aren't creating a pipeline for talent to move from manager to director, director to vice president, vice president to c-suite or on to ownership.
A study by HBR examines the double bind. Although written in 2018, “How Women Manage the Gendered Norms of Leadership” is still relevant in 2024.
After reading all three, my head was spinning. But more shocking is just how much BS women are sold in terms of what defines good leadership. It's vastly different than what men are told and how they're defined. No wonder the majority of women struggle with their confidence. Is a woman supposed to be vulnerable or effective? Even more interesting is that women do this to women more than men. Men didn’t start the “empower women” movement. The truth is, we don’t need it. We must examine how we support women and, instead of policing her tone or approach, encourage her to demonstrate her leadership style (whatever that is).
Do we expect men to be “authoritative, yet participative?” Or “demanding yet caring? It is not a leader's responsibility to manage feelings, and this burden disproportionately falls on women compared to men.
Instead of telling women how they should behave, try one of these instead:
I appreciate how you eliminate confusion by communicating clearly.
I respect your leadership style.
I appreciate that I never have to guess what's expected of me.
Thank you for correcting my mistakes and encouraging me to be better.
You inspire me.
Thank you for establishing clear boundaries and expectations.
How can I support you?
As Women’s History Month comes to a close, I encourage you to stop with the niceties and preset notions of how a woman should behave and support her authentic leadership style. If we can do that, one day, women will rule the world. Alongside men of course.
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