Female Leadership in the Workplace: 7 Challenges Women Face
Despite gains in the pipeline, women remain underrepresented across the corporate ladder.
This article will discuss the following.
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7 challenges for women on the road to becoming female leaders and how to overcome them
Female leadership issues impact not only female executives but women at every stage of their careers. The 2021 McKinsey & Company Women in the Workplace study, the largest, comprehensive report on the state of women in corporate America, confirms that women's representation has increased across the corporate pipeline since 2016, but women remain significantly underrepresented in leadership.
The study finds that “women continue to face a broken rung at the first step up to manager: for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 86 women are promoted. As a result, men outnumber women significantly at the manager level, which means that there are far fewer women to promote to higher levels. The broken rung likely explains why representation of women at the senior manager, director, and vice-president levels has improved more slowly than the pipeline overall."
What Makes a Good Female Leader?
The belief that men and women really are equal
Female business leaders genuinely believe that there is nothing biologically different between men and women when leading a team or an organization. Both genders possess persistence, understanding, passion, and ability to lead. It all comes down to whether each individual has the drive to push forward when things go wrong and the tenacity to work around obstacles when they present themselves. That is what determines which person will reach a leadership position and be successful.
Inner strength and persistence
Women in leadership positions got there because they have the inner strength and determination to push beyond verbal abuse, female categorizations, and other limiting circumstances. They take a chance on uncertainty and pick themselves up and move on if they fail. They have the will to always stand up for what they believe in, no matter what barriers block their way. Successful women leaders stand up to obstacles and setbacks rather than shrinking from them and persist through the uncertainty to achieve their objectives.
Flexibility
If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it is that we must all be flexible—in both our personal and business lives. Successful female leaders embrace flexibility. They not only adapt to constantly changing work demands but use them to their best advantage. Seeing the opportunities that change brings rather than being limited by uncertainty is a mark of a true leader.
Innate courage
Flexibility and courage go hand in hand. Not only are female leaders flexible, but they are undeniably courageous. They do not simply survive but thrive in uncertain times—transforming themselves, their teams, and businesses. Being able to evaluate a situation quickly, transition on a dime, and chart a new course in the face of great uncertainty is courageous.
Asking for what they want or need
It is common for women to shy away from asking for what they want or need. Instead of sitting back hoping their hard work and dedication will be recognized or waiting for others to remove obstacles before moving forward, women leaders are emboldened to ask for what they want or need to achieve an objective. That is equally true when asking for resources to complete a project or requesting a salary increase or a more prominent position within the organization.
The capacity to build an environment of female empowerment
While women business leaders innately believe in the equality of men and women, the environment in which they work is not yet entirely on board. That’s why the current generation of women leaders is beginning to play a more significant role across their organizations. They are actively championing workplace gender equality and an environment where all women within their teams and, ultimately, across their organization feel empowered and strive for leadership positions themselves.
7 Challenges for Women on the Road to Becoming Female Leaders
From imposter syndrome and conquering perfectionism to cultivating coalitions and managing negative thoughts, women in business face various challenges. Here are seven of them.
Being treated equally
The challenge: Women consistently face a double standard in business when compared to their male coworkers.
Advice: Inequality in the workplace is no secret. That's why every woman needs to take the initiative to manage their career by proactively sharpening the skills and experiences required so that opportunities for advancement will present themselves. That includes management training, communication skills, and emotional intelligence.
Owning your voice and speaking your mind
The challenge: Fear of rejection, being ignored, and uncertainty about how others will receive their opinions holds women back from expressing their true feelings and thoughts.
Advice: Being a leader means not simply having a seat at the table but having the determination to own your voice and express yourself at whatever stage you are in your career. Your thoughts and suggestions may influence company policy, employee collaboration, and business development.
Cultivating coalitions
The challenge: While women can build an environment of female empowerment and many female leaders make a conscious effort to build a community of women who can benefit from mutually advantageous relationships, women in entry-level, junior, and middle management do not feel they are in the position to build valuable bonds. What's more, they often believe they are in a competitive environment—needing to compete AGAINST other women to get ahead themselves.
Advice: The saying a rising tide lifts all boats is an appropriate one. When we all work together, cultivating relationships and empowering the women around us, we build a mutually beneficial environment that enables each of us to succeed.
Owning your success
The challenge: Even women business leaders find it challenging to speak about their achievements out of concern that they will appear to be arrogant, egotistical, or bragging.
Advice: If you have received a promotion or management responsibility, it is because you demonstrated expertise, persistence, collaboration, and leadership skills. Your new position or responsibility was not simply handed to you. You worked hard to achieve your success, and you deserve to be where you are. Own that success. Have the confidence to express your achievements as a matter of fact.
Being limited by imposter syndrome
The challenge: Women not only feel inequity and gender bias in the workplace but across our culture at large. As a result, imposter syndrome creeps in—doubting your abilities, even in a leadership position, and feeling like a fraud or imposter.
Advice: I’ll admit it, I had imposter syndrome anxiety. It manifested itself the first time I was invited to speak at a large national technology conference. My immediate thoughts were, “Why would these people want to hear from me? What do I have to say that would interest them? The attendees probably have more experience on the subject than I do." The truth was, they didn't have more experience and didn’t know more. I was surprised by the questions attendees asked and the conversations we had when the presentation was over. Subjects and experiences that were so common to me were so foreign to them. They thanked me for sharing my knowledge. That’s when my mindset changed from focusing on not appearing to be an imposter to focusing on helping and sharing what I know.
Conquering perfectionism
The challenge: Women leaders often get stopped in their tracks for fear of making the wrong decision. They agonize over the right way forward.
Advice: No manager (or employee, for that matter) knows the precise, correct decision to make every time. Evaluate your situation and the possible paths you can take. Make the best decision you can, based on current information, and move forward. While you may ultimately need to change direction based on new information that presents itself, you are closer to achieving your goal or meeting your objective than you would be if you were still looking for the perfect solution.
Managing negative beliefs
The challenge: As women, we often have negative thoughts. “I can’t do that.” “I’m not good enough.” “I'm not qualified.” “I don't deserve it.”
Advice: Negative thoughts make their way into all our minds at some point. It’s how we handle them that is important. Consciously acknowledge your thoughts but have an alternative ready when they appear. For example, you may not have all the experience a job description requires, but you have 80% of the requirements. If the job is important to you, apply anyway. When asked about your limited experience, explain your plans for successfully overcoming the experience gap to the interviewer.
While we often focus on the fact that there is an inadequate number of women in leadership roles, we frequently forget that deliberately tackling the challenges that limit us and consciously developing the leadership qualities that can propel us places every woman in a position of strength and advancement. It can empower each of us to achieve our individual leadership goals, positively impact the women around us, and encourage young women who are just starting in their careers.
