Where are all the women?

Take a second to think of a leader…

Who did you think of? What qualities did they possess? What was their gender?

I am willing to guess most people think of a male. The qualities that we associate with leadership are many of the same qualities we associate with men. Leadership has long been viewed as “masculine.” Women are making strides in their fields and fighting for equality, but there is still a hug gender divide in leadership. “Femaleness” in leadership is “typically associated with ideas that are not aligned with leadership, ideas such as compliance, dependence, emotionality, weakness, needing to be accepted, passivity, nurturance, and being ‘people oriented’” (Grossman, 2009).

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's Chief Operating Officer, discusses this topic in this thought provoking TEDTalk.

• Out of 190 heads of state in the world, only 9 are women
• Of all of the world’s parliaments, 13% are women
• Women comprise 15% of top jobs in corporations. This number has not changed since 2002
• Success and likability are positively correlated for men, but negatively correlated for women

So what can women do?

Sit at the table!  Don’t underestimate your abilities! Negotiate for yourself. Be an advocate! “Women need to view themselves as leaders with something to offer…when women ‘sit at the table’ the manner of discussion changes and different priorities are frequently set which enable the discussion to be more inclusive” (Grossman, 2013).

Keep your hand up! Women tend to “bow out” early, anticipating an outcome. It is time for women to keep themselves involved until the very end.

I challenge you to recognize the gender divide! Women, sit at the table! Be involved! Advocate for yourself and for fellow women! Men, encourage females to participate. Be supportive of their efforts to be strong, influential leaders. 

Grossman, S. & Valiga, T. (2009). The new leadership challenge: creating the furture of nursing. P.A. Dacis Company. Philadelphia, PA