Women leaders are more visible than ever before—in the media, in politics, in the workplace. But as we contemplate the 2022 International Women’s Day, it’s clear that even as visible as we are in certain areas, and as many gains as we’ve made in a multitude of ways, we still struggle against biases and assumptions that keep us from parity.
Let’s talk about some of the positives that have happened in the last few years:
- In 2020 and 2021, women won the Nobel Peace Prize, and the prizes in Chemistry, Physics and Literature
- In 2020, 127 women held seats in the US Congress (26 women in the Senate, and 101 women in the House of Representatives)
- Financial institutions have created specific standards for women’s representation, such as Nasdaq requiring all 3,000 firms listed on the exchange to have at least one woman (and one person who is racially diverse or identifies as LGBTQ) on their boards of directors.
- An increasing number of women have taken on senior leadership roles in corporations and other organizations.
Indeed, these are strides forward, but there is still so much work to do. For example, 1 in 3 women are also considering leaving their jobs – a much higher percentage than men. According to “Women in the Workplace", a report by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn, only 86 women are promoted to manager for every 100 men promoted to the same level.
Men continue to hold over 90% of C-level executive roles. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), for management positions, white women in the United States hold just 32.6%, Latinx women hold 4.3%, Black women hold 4.3%, and Asian women hold only 2.7% of all leadership positions. And yet, the Fortune Global 500 reported 23 women CEOs, including six women of color, as an all-time high.
Why do these inequities continue to exist? It comes down to continued biases, and even microaggressions, that constantly confront women. These result in disproportionate distribution of opportunities, and a continuation of negative assumptions.
Women in leadership roles face professional and personal challenges that have become especially apparent during the pandemic, when the exhaustion resulting from the confluence of their work and domestic responsibilities has so often been overwhelming. In general, women have fewer opportunities to supervise larger teams, and to find allies or mentors, not to mention that they have historically received less pay, especially when a woman’s identity intersects with multiple marginalized groups, such as identifying as a racial or religious minority.
Women, even women leaders, are more likely to be questioned or dismissed based on their choice of communication styles, as well as to receive microaggressions based on gender stereotypes, racial and ethnic bias, and other identity biases.
For example, during meetings, women are more often interrupted and spoken over by both male and female colleagues. While men may aggrandize their abilities and take independent credit for achievement, many women’s communication styles tend to be more collaborative, sharing credit for their achievements. This sometimes creates the assumption that women leaders cannot achieve success without the aid of their team. Such bias often leads to countless microaggressions, such as patronizing speech, or “mansplaining”, even when the woman being spoken to is more knowledgeable. When men behave aggressively, they’re often called assertive or authoritative, whereas women who speak confidently are often labeled using a variety of far less complimentary adjectives.
As we commemorate International Women’s Day, we should be proud of the accomplishments we’ve made to-date, but by no means should we be satisfied. We must continue to be allies to each other, recognize and point out microaggressions when we encounter them, and work to understand and “break the bias.”
Visible representation is one aspect of effective DEI programs. Men outnumber women in leadership but change requires the right mindset. Join us on March 24th for our webinar, Women in the Workplace: Leadership & Microaggressions.
