New research claims women are under-represented because they lack ambition. HRD asked three senior leaders for their views
One reason for the gender gap in business leadership roles may simply be that fewer women want to be leaders. That was the conclusion of a recent study run by organisational behaviourist Ekaterina Netchaeva and gender researcher Leah Sheppard. The seven-year meta-data analysis, tracking the ambitions of 138,000 women, concluded that among the last three generations, men have consistently displayed higher aspirations for leadership than women – despite corporate diversity efforts.
Are men simply more go-getting than women?
Elisa Colak, Oceania talent director at EY, doesn’t think so. She says there are women who are just as ambitious as men, if not more so. It’s more about the context in which women work.
“There are environments that women haven’t yet been able to craft into a way that suits their ambition and what fulfills them and brings them that sense of purpose, passion and direction,” Colak says.
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Women are getting better at making and adapting workplaces to suit them. “But if you notice a lot of women will start their own business; we are very good entrepreneurs because we shape the environment ourselves,” says Colak, who did, in fact, start her own business.
Colak says it’s not just women who are saying they’re not interested in the C-suite because it’s too much pressure – men are saying it too.
“We are seeing that in our own business. We have juniors who [in the past] wanted partnerships and we’re not seeing that anymore. Instead, they get to a certain level where they think: ‘I’m comfortable, I’ve got work-life balance, I can travel.’ They want everything. There is a new generation who think differently,” says Colak.
Women in business have a clearer idea of what they want and how far they are prepared to go to get it, Colak says. They may not want the high-pressure that comes with the high salary.
“They feel confident to say, ‘I don’t want that. I’ve achieved and I’m comfortable with what I’ve achieved,’” she says. “And we didn’t have that before.”
Michelle Le Poidevin, CEO of Inventium, a behavioural science and innovation consultancy, and the co-creator of the AFR BOSS Best Places to Work List, says that working models for leaders are outmoded.
Inventium is a majority-female company where traditional patterns of work have no place. Flexible working, a remote-first policy and a four-day working week, as well as trialling unlimited annual leave, are all part of Le Poidevin’s vision for a company where women can grow and succeed.
“How an individual chooses to work is one of the major determinants behind their motivation and engagement at work. For women, this is even more critical,” she says.
To back up her claim, she points to Inventium’s own pulse-check data.
“The four-day working week, in particular, has had excellent results for us, including a 26% increase in productivity, 22% increase in wellbeing and an 18% reduction in stress. We've also increased our retention rate by over 300% through our focus on sustainability,” Le Poidevin says.
Supporting Colak’s view that ambitious women are rejecting traditional employers’ work models and finding expression in the start-up space, Le Poidevin says a lack of aspiration from women couldn't be further from the truth.
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“I am now working with my own tech startup, Soundlii. I am part of a huge rise in female entrepreneurs due to the pandemic,” she says. “There are four times as many companies led by women achieving unicorn status, and evidence that women-led startups consistently outperform that of male counterparts.”
Caroline Marston, Employsure’s chief operations officer, says the industry and the role play a large part in determining a woman’s aspirations and ambition.
When Marston worked at CBA as an HR executive, the company ran a program to positively promote women to management roles and sought to identify and encourage people to apply.
“At that time, we saw only a limited response as many women gave feedback saying they did not wish to have the additional stress in their role or were keen to start a family in the short term,” Marston said. ”I would say, however, that the industry and type of role has a significant impact on the opportunities that are afforded to you. For example, three areas that tend to have a large percentage of women in senior leadership roles are HR, talent, and marketing.”
The simple fact that women are under-represented in middle management, which prevents them moving more seamlessly into senior roles, is another reason why women appear not to be as ambitious, Marston says.
But lack of confidence that they can do the senior jobs is another factor.
“Women often will not put themselves forward for roles believing they are not sufficiently qualified to apply,” Marston says.
Marston’s advice is that if you have 50% or more of the role requirements, send in your profile or make your manager aware that you are keen to consider other, more challenging roles.
“Do not be afraid to make hard decisions or have difficult discussions – they are essential in any senior management role. Be confident of your abilities but accept feedback to enable you to grow further,” Marston says.
