Do We Have The Pipeline Of Women To Fuel Future CEOs?

Do We Have The Pipeline Of Women To Fuel Future CEOs?

In 2014 I wrote for Forbes.com that we had more CEOs with the first name John than women CEOs, and that we needed — for starts — to get to 50 Fortune 500 women CEOs. While we have accomplished that, it looks like we might be slipping backwards.

Today, it’s 2024 – yet despite the fact that gender equity issues in Corporate America have been under scrutiny for several decades, the latest research shows continued sluggish progress for women’s career advancement.

The S&P tracks the number of women in key executive positions and recently reported a decline in the percentage of women in key leadership roles – the first decline in 20 years. Part of this is due to the complacently and push back of D & I programs and women opting out post covid due to stress and fatigue and going to other organization that have flexible work culture. To perpetuate that even more, for every 100 men who are promoted from entry-level to manager, only 87 women are promoted, and only 82 women of color are promoted which makes achieving gender equality in their organization all but impossible.

These numbers clearly indicate a need to continue examining workplace culture and its barriers to advancement. “There is an urgent need to invest in female leaders,” says Rebecca Shambaugh, CEO of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, a company that partners with organizations of all sizes to develop women leaders.We can’t be complacent in accepting the current reality, because limiting women’s attainment of senior leadership roles hurts not only women talent, but businesses as well.”

Two-Pronged Approach

To address the leaky pipeline, companies can take a two-pronged approach of engaging both women and men to act as champions for advancing women while also reinforcing the importance of balanced leadership. The pipeline can only expand if men and women leaders enable talent to flourish.

What Organizations Can Do

Leaders need to create opportunities for women to expand their business acumen, leadership eminence, visibility, and strategic networks. There also needs to be transparency in objective criterion for measuring accountability and progress. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet has set aggressive goals to attain gender balance in her workforce by 2025. She notes, “You can’t expect leaders and people to be intentional, take the steps that are needed, and be a part of making progress if you’re not willing to be transparent about where we are and where we want to go.”

It’s also important to reward risk-taking and give women permission to stretch and fail in order to build trust. “Men need to be willing to take some risks on women they don’t know as well. They need to recognize that their voice really matters, and they need to invite women in,” says Karen Dahut, CEO of Google Public Sector

Organizations should also mitigate stereotypes that limit women’s ability to be their authentic selves so women can tap into their unique styles and strengths, which are critical for better business.

What Women Can Do

Women can cultivate and tap into strategic relationships with sponsors or allies and make both horizontal and lateral career moves that will expand their strategic and business focus. They can also seek out opportunities and stretch assignments that will build their strategic leadership, expand their visibility, and enhance their standing position. Just as important, women must know their value, self-advocate, and lift up other women by creating opportunities.

Leadership starts with intention and the development of our best selves and those around us. When we invest in women leaders, we ultimately provide the strategic leadership required in today’s global and dynamically complex business environment.

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