Overcoming Institutional Challenges to Building the Pipeline of Women and Girl Leaders

Session Submission Type: Panel Discussion

Short Description

More and better leadership, quickly. These five words say it all, but how? Answers are complex. Making the challenge more difficult is that females — 51% of the world’s population — still fill only a small percentage of executive leadership positions. The intent of this session is to uncover the institutional barriers and opportunities for girls and women in leadership. Panelists from four countries will illustrate, drawing from research and practice, the ways in which institutions act to narrow the pipeline of women moving into leadership roles and — more importantly — will emphasize opportunities to broaden and fill this pipeline.

Detailed Abstract

There is no question that in these turbulent times effective leadership is required. How do we identify, develop, and retain the kinds of leaders needed in many different capacities – industries, communities, education systems, governments, and the like? We propose that filling the leadership pipeline with more women will address some of the need. Yet, despite the increase in women with MBAs and other advanced qualifications, women are not making it to the top of the organization in proportion to the number of men who reach the top. Why the emphasis on women? Some research notes that stereotypically feminine attributes such as relational skills, patience, and nurturing are critical during turbulent times (Bruckmuller and Branscombe, 2010; Ryan et al, 2007). This research refers to “glass cliff” assignments such as highly-visible and mission-critical turnaround challenges that also may have a high likelihood of failure (Ryan and Haslam, 2005). It is important to note, however, that other research more cynically observes that women are more likely to be given these assignments because they make easy scapegoats, are less likely to turn down opportunities, and/or are more willing to shoulder blame (Rivers and Barnett, 2013). A challenge for our field, therefore, is to address both the development of women leaders AND the perceptions biased against women as effective leaders.

The Pipeline Problem

The global population is undergoing a dramatic shift; women now comprise over 50% of the workforce. Yet while women have made great strides in their presence, globally the proportion of women in senior roles of organizations has been stuck at 24% for the last decade. There are currently fewer women on the boards of S&P 500 companies than men named John (Wolfers, 2015). In every region of the world, women are less likely than men to be employed full-time (Ryan, 2015) and it will take 118 years to close the global economic gender gap (Cann, 2015). Globally, men are ten times more likely to be a head of government (Kent, 2015) and women are twice as likely to be denied basic access to education (World Bank, 2016). Women are the majority of incoming university students in 97 countries—yet make up the majority of leaders in only 4 countries. (World Economic Forum, 2015). The narrowing of the pipeline doesn’t begin when women become adults. Studies show that girls are less likely than boys to see members of their own gender as “really, really smart” as early as age 6, and are also less likely to take part in activities described as for “really, really smart” children (Bian, Leslie, and Cimpian, 2017). As early as fourth grade, girls start opting out of leadership roles.

These facts are very often due to cultural and organizational practices and mindsets that (sometimes unintentionally) continue to promote a male-based definition of effective leadership, gradually and pervasively shrinking and discounting the perception of the way in which girls and women lead, and often misattributing the work that they do. Approaches are required that not only build the capability and confidence of girls and women as leaders, but that address the broader mindsets and practices that lead to smaller numbers of girls and women seeing themselves as leaders and developing into leadership capacities. For example, we know that opportunities such as same-gender schools, and leadership and debate clubs for girls provide young women with the environment to develop their self-esteem (Loupe, 2014) and high levels of confidence (Shapiro, 2015). Yet these opportunities aren’t available to all girls around the world – what other solutions can be put in place to develop girls’ self-esteem, confidence, and leadership capabilities?

When women enter the work world, they tend to miss out on opportunities that are intended to develop and demonstrate leadership capabilities. Challenging assignments, expatriate roles, and high-level sponsorships are provided for men more than women (Clerkin & Wilson, 2017). When this occurs early in a woman’s career, her career path is prematurely limited and her subsequent leadership opportunities are curtailed. Clerkin and Wilson (2017) recommend several approaches for organizations interested in supporting more women moving into leadership roles, such as equally rewarding development opportunities for women and men; broaden the range of recognized development opportunities to provide more flexibility for different needs; and supporting women through networks and sponsorships. What are other potential solutions?

Panel Discussion

The purpose of this panel is to illustrate through both research and practice the way in which institutions act to narrow the pipeline of women moving into leadership roles, and – more importantly - the opportunities we need to leverage and advance to broaden this pipeline. Through hearing the panelists’ discussion and engaging in dialogue with them, attendees will understand what stands in the way of developing girls and women for leadership roles and will collaborate with panelists to identify opportunities to advance the cause.
The panel will begin with each panelist briefly introducing herself to the audience, providing context for their perspectives and experiences. The moderator will then facilitate a discussion amongst the panelists by introducing questions focused on what the panelists have experienced regarding institutional challenges to encouraging girls and women to play leadership roles in their developmental journeys. For example, “What examples can you share where a woman effectively led during turbulent times? What was it that made her effective?” and “What does it take to maintain the proportion of girls and young women throughout the leadership pipeline? What examples of effective practices have you seen?”

The audience will hear a wide variety of challenges and solutions from our diverse panelists who represent four countries, development of both girls and women, and development in both university and corporate settings. All of our panelists have a front-line view to the challenges and opportunities presented by today’s institutions. The intent of this panel session is to uncover and inspire future research and practice into the institutional barriers and opportunities for girls and women in leadership.

Sub Unit

• Leadership Development

Chair

• Jennifer Martineau, Center for Creative Leadership

Presenters

• Abeer A. Alharbi, Princess Nourah University

• Cathleen E. Clerkin, Center for Creative Leadership

• Regina Eckert, Center for Creative Leadership

• Susan R. Madsen, Utah Valley University