Women At The Helm Of Business

Did you know female leaders are sought after in most industries, even in male dominant companies? It’s true, and there’s an excellent reason for it. Women excel with soft skills. They are also knowledge seekers, hard-working and less combative than their male counterparts. However, there is still a lot more to be done to remove gender bias in the workplace.

First, let’s consider why women do well in leadership roles.

Why Women Excel In Leadership Roles

Here are a few traits, all being with the letter C that women bring to leadership roles to improve productivity and the bottom line:

Compassion

In the twenty-first century, we’re a lot more aware of the mental health issues of our workers.

However, we’re not so good at supporting it in the workplace. Women are naturally more compassionate than men, and they know how to show workers they are valued by nurturing and supporting them. This is not pandering to workers every whim. Women recognise when people are crying out for help versus attention-seeking.

Plus, being compassionate is a win-win too, as higher productivity can result from the support of workers with mental illnesses like depression.

Did you know well over 200 million people have depression and most can live with it when they are supported? Women in leadership roles can be relied upon to be inclusive and show compassion.

Collaboration

Rather than go it alone, which many men will do, women are collaborative. They love the process of people coming together to discuss and debate issues. Using the collective intel of all present to determine an agreeable action plan is their Modus Operandi. As the saying goes: more minds are better than one.

Communication

Women know how to communicate both verbally and nonverbally – it’s in their DNA! Misunderstandings lead to disagreements, arguments, wars and so on. Women leaders are content with working through issues for as long as possible to get a satisfactory ‘peaceful’ outcome.

Caring

Women are intuitive and care about people, animals, the environment, and their caring nature can deter them from reaching the top of business. However, people need to know they are appreciated and respected, so who better take on this role in business than women?

Control

While women will be collaborative and considerate, they also love control. Every business needs systems and processes, and women are up to making sure they are tightly controlled without aggression.

Calm

Remaining calm and brave is a true leadership trait, and women rise to handle crises well.

There are many more female leadership traits that shine through including flexibility, and multi-tasking. Plus women are contrary to popular belief – good listeners.

Progress At A Smail’s Pace

McKinsey did a study in 2020 on women leaders, and while there is progress with diversity in the workplace and women in leadership roles, it’s moving forward at a snail’s pace. Plus, there’s also a chance it will move backwards due to COVID-19.

Women leaders need more support and better work-life balance that remote working is affording workers but not necessarily leaders.

Biases

Gender bias in the workplace is alive and well. Women hold less than 30% of leadership roles, and less than 5% of CEOs in Europe and the USA are women. Evidence confirms businesses need to greater commitment to tackling gender bias head-on, particularly with their leadership roles.

See this article on how to work through biases to start the conversation.

Final Thoughts

Women bring a lot to the leadership table, yet unconscious gender bias in the workplace prevents women from getting their fair share of leadership roles.

A continued commitment to breaking down barriers in business by removing prejudges and biases will also improve workers’ wellbeing and productivity.