Women continue to rise. Yes! Women continue to rise. Let that sink in. We saw a 10% growth for women in leadership positions between 2015 and 2021. This is fantastic news, But – and yes, there is a but – despite this growth, women’s leadership share does not match their overall representation in the workforce. So look, I want to celebrate the 10% growth, that is fantastic news. But it’s not enough. It is not enough for us to sustain at this rate, at that progress.
We need to join together to accelerate women in leadership positions.
What can we do to really step on the gas and increase that rate? To double or triple it? Organizations need to put into place formal and intentional structures and opportunities to support women for leadership positions. Employee resource groups are one of them, they are fantastic. If you don’t have at least an employee resource group, you need to figure out how you can begin one today.
Mentorship programs – look, the concept of mentoring is wonderful, but if it’s just a concept it’s not working. Organizations need to create formal mentorship programs. There needs to be structure. Look for your rising talent of female leaders, potential female leaders, and assign them a mentor. When you’re bringing in new employees, assign them a mentor and give the mentor the process, the structure, the cadence, to which to make this successful.
We also need male allies. Do the men in your organization even know what that means, or how to become one?
We need to provide them with the tools, the resources, and the education on how they can best support women rising into leadership positions. Only until we have these types of formal structures and programs in place can we get to the one thing that really does accelerate the growth of women in leadership, and that is by having male sponsors. ERG’s, mentoring programs, those are great – but it’s when we have sponsorship, and ideally when we have a male sponsor, that really accelerates women into leadership positions.
I challenge you today, what could you do? How could you take on your power, your influence? You may be an individual who can take over finding a mentor for yourself. Maybe you are already in a leadership position. Where can you have some influence as a key stakeholder to create formal structures and process? What are we doing together to create this true acceleration for women in leadership?
My team and I are forging new paradigms when it comes to women and leadership. And I want to see you forge those new paradigms as well. What are you doing to help promote women in leadership positions, so that we together can accelerate growth? Comment below, I want to hear from you!