Canadian (and global) organizations routinely underestimate and underutilize women’s leadership talent. The result is lost revenue. Research has found that the lack of women in senior management cannot be explained by women’s education levels, work experience or lack of available talent. Companies and organizations are leaving untapped opportunities for return on investments (ROI) because of their gender equity blindness. There are significant business advantages for those companies provided they put on their gender lens.
13 Myths and Facts plus A-G strategiesFamily structure and leadership1. Significantly more male leaders than female leaders have spouses who are not employed. Answer: True. The May 2007 Catalyst research report “Leaders in a Global Economy: Finding the Fit for Top Talent” found that women and men have very different challenges when it comes to managing their work and family/personal lives. Of men who are senior leaders 52% have spouses or partners who are not employed. This is compared to 18% of women who are senior leaders and have spouses or partners who are not employed.
2. Today women and men are spending equal amounts of time on unpaid work around the house and childcare. Answer: False. Statistics Canada 2006 reports that among women and men aged 25 to 54, women spend almost double the time on unpaid work around the house (meal prep, meal clean-up, indoor cleaning, laundry, etc.). Women spend an average of 4.3 hours on housework (down from 4.8 hours in 1986); men spend an average of 2.5 hours a day on this work (up from 2.1 hours in 1986). Women still take on family responsibility: In 2004, women lost an average of 10 days per year to personal and family responsibilities, vs. 1.5 days per year for men. (The number of hours for men has hardly changed since 1976, while it has increased for women.)
Between time lost at work to family and personal responsibilities and time spent on housework (and child/elder care), women continue to carry the ‘double load’ of family and work.
3. Marriage is the most influential factor contributing to the wage gap between women and men. Answer: True. In general, of employees working full-time, women earn significantly less then men: in 2004, women earned $70 for every $100 men earned; note that women’s proportionate earnings have dropped -- it was $72 in mid 1990. However, the earnings of single, never-married women are relatively close to those of their male counterparts. Never-married women employed full-time, earn 94% of what their male colleagues earn. Among single, never-married women over 45 years of age, women actually earned more than their male counterparts. (Statistics Canada)
Workplace values and gender differences 4. Men and women leaders have very different work values.Answer: False. Men and women leaders are almost identical in the way that their values were rank-ordered in a Catalyst global study - “We often hear that the reason women don’t advance as far in business or are more apt to leave workplaces is because they have different work values and goals…however, both men and women most want a supportive work environment and challenging work.” That said women place significantly greater emphasis than men on each of the top three ranked values; that is, they are the same values but these values matter more to women. These values are 1) a supportive workplace; 2) a challenging job; and 3) a good fit between life on and off the job.
5. Men are employed in jobs and workplaces that are more closely aligned with their values.Answer: True. The biggest gap between what male and female leaders value and the jobs and workplaces they have is the fit between their lives on and off the job. Women are much less likely than men to have the work-life fit they desire. (Catalyst – Leaders in Global Economy)
6. Women leaders are more likely than men to plan to leave their employers. Answer: True. Because women are significantly less likely than men to have jobs and workplaces that align with their values, they are significantly more likely than men to say they plan to leave their current employers. However, when statistical analysis was done to control for the extent to which leaders’ values matched the realities of their jobs and workplaces there was absolutely no differences in retention between women and men leaders. (Catalyst – Leaders in Global Economy)
Gender stereotyping and discrimination7. Generally when we imagine a leader that person is male.Answer: True. Women are viewed as “atypical leaders” and men are still viewed as “default leaders.” (Catalyst 2007)
8. All other factors being equal, women leaders face higher standards and lower rewards than men leaders. Answer: True. Research shows that on top of their job, women have to prove that they can lead over and over again, plus they constantly have to manage stereotypical expectations of being too soft or too tough (Catalyst, 2007). Further, promotions come more slowly for women than men with equivalent qualifications. (Eagly & Carli Harvard Business Review 2007)
Organizational response9. There is not much an organization can do to increase the number of women in their senior management. Answer: False. For example, read about 2009 Catalyst Awards winners Baxter International, CH2M Hill, Gibbons, and KPMG. This Catalyst award honours exceptional initiatives from companies and firms that support and advance women in business. Note: most initiatives honoured were more than five years into their implementation.
10. Women are still experiencing the “glass-ceiling” effect. Answer. False. While women continue to experience great difficulty advancing to senior positions, the glass-ceiling analogy implies something no one can see and women cannot get through – as if the stoppage were a unifying mystery. However, some women do get through, and the analogy fails to incorporate the complexity and variety of challenges that women can face in their leadership journeys. For example, women are not just turned away at the most senior positions. They disappear in various numbers at many points leading up to these senior positions. Alice H. Eagly and Linda Carli more aptly propose an analogy of the labyrinth of leadership.
11. If an organization hires more women into senior management positions it will be guaranteed greater success.Answer: False. Good business fundamentals are still good business. The studies of Ryan & Haslam have discovered something they call “the glass cliff” where they found that women are more likely to be chosen for leadership position in situations where an organization is experiencing consistent poor performance. “In this way, female directors were more likely than male directors to find themselves on a glass cliff, such that their positions of leadership were more risky and precarious than those in which men found themselves.” (Ryan & Haslam, 2007)
12. Organizations cannot afford to make the changes necessary to increase women in senior management.Answer: False. In 2007 Catalyst reports from their research that the fifth-most important concern keeping senior leaders awake at night was “finding qualified managerial talent.” The top four choices concerned delivering excellence in execution and profitability.
13. The best solution to increasing women in senior management is to mandate more women be hired into vacancies. Answer: False. Why is this false? – because the backlash to the implementation of quotas in unsupportive work environments will not contribute to retaining women leaders, and are likely to contribute to a toxic work environment.
The most recommended strategies to increase women in senior positions include:A) Examine talent management systems for gender stereotyping in language, leadership characteristics and the candidate selection process.
B) Develop formal mentoring programs.
C) Create accessible informal networking opportunities (keeping in mind the double-work load of many women employees).
D) Ensure women employees get high-visibility assignments (so they gain credibility with their peer and direct reports) and gain experience in line positions (so that they know the business).
E) Strong encouragement of male participation in family-friendly benefits so as not to create a further barrier for women to gain access to senior positions.
F) View former employees as potential resources for subcontracting and potential future employees. Through alumni programs, create “on ramps” for highly desirable women leaders.
G) Allow employees with significant parental responsibilities more time to prove themselves worthy of promotion. This increases the number of qualified women in the pipeline for promotional opportunities.
For further support to increase the number of women in senior positions in your organization feel free to contact me directly via email at tawelch@shaw.ca
Bonus: my three favourite women's leadership research sites
http://terrill.gaia.com/blog/2009/5/womens_leadership_researchTerrill Welch
Executive Leadership Coach
Remember - a vision not lived remains only a dream.
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© 2009 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.
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leadership
November 2009 
Access: Public
