Women in Leadership Roles: An Epic Underrepresentation

For decades, women have been fighting for equal representation and opportunities in leadership positions, and the battle continues to this day. Women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The historical context of women in leadership is a complex and multifaceted topic that spans centuries of human civilization.

While women have played leadership roles throughout history, their access to formal leadership positions has been limited by social, cultural, and legal barriers. For example, in ancient societies, women were often relegated to the domestic sphere and excluded from political and military leadership roles. In more recent history, the women’s suffrage movement fought for the right to vote and to participate in government, paving the way for women to hold public office.

From Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani activist who fights for women’s education, to Angela Merkel, the former Chancellor of Germany who led her country through major crises, women continue to prove their worth as effective leaders. However, despite significant strides made toward gender equality in various spheres, the representation of women in leadership roles in international organizations has remained disappointingly low.

This article is an attempt to understand the barriers to women’s leadership and explore the ways to overcome these barriers.

A Statistical Analysis

Women remain underrepresented at all levels of decision-making globally, and political gender balance is still a long way off. A research study that examined the historical leadership structure of 30 significant international organizations—covering the majority of UN organizations and specialized agencies since their establishment revealed that, out of 291 leaders, there have only been 33 women in positions of high leadership overall. In addition, half of the sample—15 organizations—have never had a female head. The share of women leaders in international organizations is shown in the graph below.

Another research by the UN also paints a similarly bleak picture. Only 34 women are Heads of State or Government, the research claims. At the current pace, it will take another 130 years to achieve gender equality in the highest levels of authority. As of January 1, 2023, women make up 22.8% of Cabinet members who are ministers or are in charge of a major policy area, according to newly collated data by UN Women. There are only 13 nations where women make up 50% or more of cabinet ministers overseeing major policy areas. The number of women representatives in national parliaments is also minuscule. Only six nations—Rwanda (61%), Cuba (53%), Nicaragua (52%), Mexico (50%) New Zealand (50%), and the United Arab Emirates (50%)—have 50 percent or more women serving in single or lower houses of parliament. Gender parity in national legislative bodies won’t be realised until 2063 at the current rate of development. In terms of the proportion of women in leadership positions, India comes in fifth last in Grant Thornton’s Women in Business: Beyond Policy to Progress study.

Barriers to Women’s Leadership

Part of the reason why there are fewer women in leadership roles is fewer female nominees in the initial candidate pools. Few nominations are the result of persistent impediments such as organizational bias, a lack of assertiveness, and poor networking. Their progress is frequently slowed down and prevented by sexual harassment, unfair working conditions, and more subdued types of sexism. Deeply ingrained attitudes and biases against women also prevent women from getting their deserved respect and finding opportunities for advancement. Women become less forceful in their pursuit of promotions because they fear encountering gender bias and stereotyping. Their ascent to higher positions of leadership is slowed by their reluctance to self-advocate for a well-deserved pay raise or promotion. Unfortunately, a lifetime of socialization that has drilled perfectionist behavior into women might also make them more risk-averse and less driven to advance. Girls are often taught to act cautiously by society, in contrast to boys, who adults typically train to take chances and act fearlessly.

Structures that prevent women from reaching the top rungs of leadership positions are also a product of historical sexism and gender bias. Professional women are too frequently excluded from social events, both official and casual, not because they wouldn’t participate but because men don’t extend invitations to them. Women consequently lose out on chances to develop the rapport and connections necessary for career growth. Access to established networks, where professional males usually participate, is frequently constrained for women. This makes women feel alienated and makes it difficult for them to interact, fit in, and establish themselves as equals with their male coworkers and superiors. In the past, men have dominated the workforce, which has led to fewer developed networks of female leaders. These networks are crucial for mentoring and supporting burgeoning female talent.

Professional women frequently struggle to strike a balance between work and family. Their capacity to pursue leadership roles may be constrained by their obligations to their families. That’s because, despite working full-time jobs, they frequently shoulder the majority of home duties, such as looking after young children or elderly relatives.

Quintessential benefits of women’s leadership

From promoting gender equality and social justice to fostering greater inclusivity and diversity in decision-making, the benefits of female leadership are vast and undeniable. Research has consistently shown that higher numbers of women in parliament generally contribute to stronger attention to women’s issues. The International Parliamentary Union conducted research in 2014 that demonstrated how having more women in elected positions helped bring up issues like violence against women and women’s health. Other studies also showed how having more women in elected positions had a positive impact on matters pertaining to women’s employment, financial security, and legal equality. The same study concluded that more women’s participation in politics inspires them to get in touch with their elected officials and be more active as citizens.

Gender equality and true democracy are fundamentally dependent on women’s political engagement. It makes it easier for women to participate directly in public decision-making and provides a way to ensure that women are held more accountable. Even though it is generally not useful to generalise women’s experiences as in any way single, it is acceptable to acknowledge that women have a different set of experiences than males, and these voices are necessary within effective political representation for democracy to work efficiently in everyone’s best interests. According to UN Women, women’s participation has a beneficial effect on decision-making. Better childcare in Norway and more drinking water projects in India are just two examples where higher levels of female representation were found to be associated with better outcomes.

Way forward

Since gender-based segregation in decision-making is closely linked to the general status of women and men in employment and society as well as the roles of women and men in relation to family responsibilities, a holistic, all-encompassing approach is necessary to specifically address the causes of gender-based stereotyping. All spheres of life—education, government, civil society, business, and labour unions—must work to advance gender equality.

At the national level, legal frameworks and regulatory mechanisms are required to end sex discrimination. Where these rules and laws exist, they must be strictly enforced. Positive role models of women as leaders and decision-makers can be promoted through affirmative action programmes and awareness-raising efforts, which can break down cultural preconceptions. Organizations should strengthen the principles of gender equality and non-discrimination in hiring, training, and promotion at the institutional level. Human resources departments in the public and private sectors must make sure that women have clear, formal career development pathways from entry-level roles to senior leadership positions in order to entice prospective women leaders. They should establish equal opportunity measures and pay policies, offer opportunities for women to take on management roles, provide mentorship and leadership training opportunities that are ongoing, encourage diversity in fields that are traditionally dominated by men, and stop sexual harassment in the workplace.

Conclusion

The underrepresentation of women in leadership roles is a significant issue that continues to persist in many industries and organizations around the world. Despite progress made in recent years, women still face a range of obstacles and biases that prevent them from reaching the top of their professions. Cultural and social norms prevent women from realizing their full economic potential, and safety concerns restrict their physical and economic mobility. Maintaining a work–life balance, working under pressure, and exclusion from informal communication are other obstacles to women’s leadership.

It is clear that more needs to be done to address these issues and promote greater gender equality in leadership positions. This may involve everything from changing hiring and promotion practices to providing more support and mentorship to women in leadership roles, to fostering a more inclusive and equitable workplace culture. Ultimately, creating more opportunities for women to succeed in leadership roles will not only benefit individual women but also their organizations and society as a whole. By harnessing the diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills of women leaders, we can drive innovation, improve decision-making, and create more inclusive and equitable workplaces and communities for everyone.

References:

https://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/women_leadership/On-line_discussion_report_Women_in_Leadeship_Roles.pdf

https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/23220937211056139

https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/workplace-4-0/diversity-and-inclusion/why-arent-more-women-in-leadership-roles/81686897

https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2018/11/28/blog-economic-gains-from-gender-inclusion-even-greater-than-you-thought

https://www.stkate.edu/academics/women-in-leadership-degrees/barriers-to-female-leadership

https://www.tradeexperettes.org/blog/articles/is-it-time-for-women-leaders-in-international-organizations

https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/workplace-4-0/diversity-and-inclusion/why-arent-more-women-in-leadership-roles/81686897