5 Leadership Strategies Companies Can Implement to Support Female Leaders and Female Leaders of Color
No matter what industry you’re in, you’ll find a common thread: a lack of women leaders and women leaders of color in the workplace. The state of women and WOC in the workplace has gotten even worse since 2020, and according to a report conducted by the National Women’s Law Center, women have lost over 5.3 million jobs since February 2020.
However, according to a global study by the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, the number of women appointed to CEO positions doubled to 13 percent compared to just 6 percent in 2020. The report states that, “In 2021, the number of women running businesses on the Fortune 500 hit an all-time record of 41, with six more women joining the ranks of Fortune 500 CEOs.”
While that statistic is impressive, and more and more women are taking on C-Suite roles, a significant gender gap still exists among positions of power. If a company says that developing and retaining female leaders is part of their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, they need programs in place to make sure that happens. We’re here to teach you how to squash the gap. Here are five leadership strategies companies can implement to support their female leaders.
1. Implement Mentorship Opportunities
A critical part of boosting female leadership is mentorship. Having a mentor that you can learn from at work feels enriching. Research shows that strategies like reverse mentoring are very effective at supporting female leadership. Reverse mentoring means a senior leader is matched with a high-potential employee, and they mentor each other.
This allows the employee to get a bird’s eye view of the C-level, which is a great learning opportunity, and the senior leader gets insight into his employees. Companies that provide mentorship and personal development opportunities can create a positive pipeline for female leadership growth.
2. Be Adaptable to Personal Needs
According to an article published by CNBC, over 300,000 additional women left the labor force in September 2021. The pandemic has contributed greatly to that decline. Women shoulder much more responsibility in the home, whether it be childcare or taking care of family members.
It’s just as crucial for a company to be adaptable to their employees’ personal needs as their bottom line. If you really want to support female leaders and female leaders of color, don’t forget about life outside the office. Be compassionate, flexible, and aware.
3. Reassess Outdated Policies
Do your current policies and procedures reflect the modern man and woman in the workforce? Reviewing and updating outdated company practices is another great strategy to support female and WOC leaders. It can also be an efficient way to boost gender diversity, foster inclusivity, and retain your current female leaders.
Your organization can attract high-performing women by offering flexibility, competitive pay, daycare, and a generous maternity leave policy. If a policy doesn’t align with the times, it should be left in the past.
4. Have a Plan to Combat Bias, Microaggressions, and Stereotypes
Unfortunately, most biases are unavoidable, even in a professional space. We could list a dozen ways that women and WOC are directly and indirectly targeted, but the most common one regarding female leadership is that an emotional, caring woman in leadership is incompetent. She makes rash decisions based on emotions, she is less intelligent, etc. We know this to be a lie.
According to a recent study by S&P Global, women CEOs leading companies during the pandemic exhibited more empathetic, adaptable, accountable, and diverse leadership than their male counterparts. While you cannot control stereotypes, you can control company culture. Support your female leaders by creating a progressive culture and have HR policies (step 3) in place that not only punish racist or sexist stereotyping or derogatory language but provide training opportunities to improve company culture and create an environment of tolerance.
5. Encourage Growth
Many women, especially women of color, feel that their voice isn’t heard, so much so that the most talented women develop a “Why bother?” attitude towards influencing others, establishing their credibility, negotiating their next promotion, sharing ideas, and exercising their influence within the organization. Encouraging growth is a critical strategy that companies can implement to support female leaders as they gain the competencies they need. Pull them up to a higher place by offering career coaching, mentorship, and on-the-job opportunities to acquire new knowledge.
Women have transformed the corporate landscape in leaps and bounds. It is up to organizational leaders to squash the gender gap in positions of power. And it’s also up to organizations to retain and attract female leaders of all ethnic backgrounds. Implement mentorship opportunities, update your policies, be adaptable, and encourage growth. Creating a company culture that values women and prioritizes diversity will always bring success.
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