Women leaders improve the workplace. Here’s how to empower them.
The following contribution comes from the APA (American Psychological Association), which defines itself as follows: About the APA
The APA is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, with more than 190,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students as members.
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Our mission is to advance, communicate, and apply psychological science and knowledge for the benefit of society and the improvement of quality of life. We accomplish this by:
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Author: Amy Novotney, a team member.
Psychological research shows that women leaders improve organizations. Experts share strategies for increasing the presence of women in leadership positions.
Professional Women Collaborating in the Workplace
When more women have the opportunity to lead, everyone benefits. Decades of research show that women leaders contribute to increased productivity, improved collaboration, inspired organizational commitment, and the promotion of equity.
Despite these benefits, only 10% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women. How can companies create more opportunities for women in leadership positions using psychological science?
Industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologists offer a variety of evidence-based strategies to help close the gender gap. These include early identification of leadership potential, training men and others in positions of power to act as allies, and formal mentoring and sponsorship programs.
“Women still face greater challenges to their authority and success than their male counterparts,”
said Alice Eagly, PhD, professor emerita at Northwestern University and a pioneer in women’s leadership research. “However, despite these challenges, women are gradually rising in political, corporate, and educational leadership.”
What happens when women lead?
Decades of psychological research confirm that when women are empowered to assume leadership positions, the effects can be transformative for everyone.
Female leaders demonstrate more transformational leadership styles, according to a 1992 historical meta-analysis of 61 studies led by Eagly. The study’s findings show that they are more likely to embody the best of the organization and inspire people to join its mission, compared to men. A 2020 meta-analysis led by Eagly reveals that women are now considered to be as competent as, or even more competent than, men. The study included data from 16 nationally representative public opinion surveys of more than 30,000 American adults conducted between 1946 and 2018. Researchers analyzed three types of traits: empathy (i.e., compassion, sensitivity), initiative (i.e., ambition, assertiveness), and competence (i.e., intelligence, creativity), and whether participants considered each trait to be more characteristic of women or men, or equally true of both.
The results showed that stereotypes about competence have changed dramatically over time.
For example, in a 1946 survey, only 35% of respondents believed that men and women were equally intelligent, and among those who believed there was a difference, the majority thought men were the more competent sex. In contrast, in a 2018 survey, 86% believed that men and women were equally intelligent, 9% believed that women were more intelligent, and only 5% believed that men were more intelligent. Furthermore, social stereotypes that consider women more compassionate and sensitive than men have been reinforced over time.
Teamwork improves significantly with the presence of women in the group, an effect explained primarily by the benefits women bring to group processes, according to a 2010 study. In two studies with 699 people, organizational psychologist Anita Williams Woolley, PhD, and her colleagues examined work groups of two to five people and found that the proportion of women in a group was strongly related to the group’s collective intelligence—that is, its ability to work together and solve a wide range of problems. Groups with more women showed greater equality in turn-taking in conversation, which allowed group members to respond better to one another and make the most of each other’s knowledge and skills. Women outperform or equal men on seven of the eight leadership-relevant traits assessed in a 2008 national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. Half of the respondents rated women as more honest than men, while 20% said men are more honest than women. In terms of intelligence, 38% said they considered women more intelligent, while only 14% indicated that men are more intelligent. Women were also rated as more compassionate, extroverted, and creative.
The mere presence of a female leader compared to a male leader led observers to anticipate fairer treatment within that organization,
as well as higher pay and status, according to a 2022 study led by social psychologist Mansi P. Joshi, PhD. Female leaders fostered organizational trust in both male-dominated and female-dominated industries, and across different levels of the organizational hierarchy.
Appointing women to top leadership positions can even help mitigate entrenched stereotypes expressed in language, suggests a 2022 study. Researchers used natural language processing techniques to analyze more than 43,000 shareholder documents and investor calls from 33 S&P 500 organizations led by both men and women. They found that hiring female CEOs and board members was associated with changes in the organizations’ language use, helping to associate women with characteristics crucial to leadership success. “Our findings suggest that female representation is not merely an end in itself, but also a means to systematically change insidious gender stereotypes and overcome the trade-off between being perceived as competent or likeable,” the study authors wrote.
Slow but steady progress.
Thanks to ongoing efforts to promote gender equality in the workplace, women leaders are gradually making inroads in the business world, Congress, higher education, and the field of psychology. Despite these advances, the proportion of male and female leaders is still far from equal. This is a complaint that leaders in psychology have echoed for years, including the late Jean Lau Chin, PhD, the first Asian-American psychologist to be licensed in Massachusetts and a pioneer in advocating for greater diversity in leadership.
“It’s not enough to have a voice and a vote,” Chin proclaimed in a 2016 TEDx talk. “It’s time for women and diverse leaders to occupy leadership positions if we are to build a future together.”
Many women experience discrimination not only because of their gender, but also because of their race, sexual orientation, disability, or other aspects of their identity.
According to a 2022 McKinsey & Company report on Women in the Workplace, Latina and Black women are less likely than women of other races and ethnicities to say that their boss supports their professional development.
They also experience less psychological safety. The McKinsey report revealed that Asian and Black women are less likely to have strong allies on their teams. They are also less likely than white women to say that their senior colleagues have taken significant supportive actions on their behalf, such as praising their skills or advocating for a raise. Furthermore, LGBTQ+ women and women with disabilities report experiencing more humiliating and alienating microaggressions. Compared to women in general, women are more likely to have their colleagues comment on their appearance or tell them that they “look angry” or that they “should smile more.”
Chart on the advancement of women leaders
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What can organizations do to promote more women to leadership positions?
Science points to a number of steps that organizations and individuals can take to help close the gender gap in leadership.
Identify potential leaders early. One promising approach is the early identification of leadership potential (opens in a new window), says Anna Marie Valerio, PhD, an executive coach and adjunct professor of psychology at New York University. This includes allowing potential leadership candidates to receive a great deal of feedback early in their careers—through assignments, mentorship, and coaching—which can enable them to develop their networks and demonstrate their ability to take on greater responsibilities.
“Providing women with key experiences early in their careers helps them build the foundation they need to develop, excel, and go as far as their skills, abilities, and motivation allow,” said Valerio, author of the 2009 book Developing Women Leaders: A Guide for Men and Women in Organizations.
Establish mentoring programs that also focus on sponsorship. Numerous studies highlight the benefits of successful mentoring programs, including greater career success for individuals and higher levels of engagement, retention, and knowledge sharing for organizations.
When it comes to mentors, it’s important for women to seek out both mentors who can provide career guidance, support, feedback, and knowledge, and sponsors who go beyond the mentor role and use their position and influence to proactively advocate for a junior employee’s advancement, says organizational psychologist Victoria Mattingly, PhD, founder and CEO of Mattingly Solutions, a workplace inclusion consultancy.
“Research shows that sponsorship is more effective at helping women move into leadership positions than mentorship,” Mattingly said. “Mentors are great as a sounding board and for providing guidance, but when it comes down to it, you need someone to support you when you’re not around.”
Support women by encouraging them to join women-led professional organizations. According to a 2023 study, women also enhance their leadership skills by joining women-led professional organizations. Researchers surveyed members of a women-led professional organization in the southeastern United States and found that experiences within these associations allow them to hone their leadership skills, network with other women, work directly with and observe female leaders, and receive support in assuming leadership roles.
“In turn, these members showed greater leadership aspirations, more confidence in their abilities, and a broader vision of leadership in their careers,” the study authors wrote.
Organizations can encourage this by including professional development funds in their budgets, which will make it easier for employees to participate in these groups.
Focusing on mutual support is crucial. According to Mattingly, women aren’t the only ones who can contribute to increasing the number of female leaders.
A 2018 study revealed that male executives trained to be allies are much more likely to report incidents of gender inequality than those who don’t receive such training. “This is because they are already in a position of power and won’t be penalized for speaking out the way a woman would,” said Mattingly, the study’s author.
Allies use their privilege and group membership to support and advocate for those who belong to a different and historically disadvantaged identity group, Mattingly explained. She added that support should also be analyzed from an intersectional perspective, where white women can be allies of women of color, women without disabilities can be allies of people with disabilities, and heterosexual women can be allies of LGBTQ+ people.
“It’s about recognizing our privilege, overcoming the biases we all have as human beings, and then leveraging that privilege to advance, regress, or intervene and help those who have historically been marginalized in their rise to leadership positions,” Mattingly concluded.
Thanks to these and other efforts around the world that empower women to lead, the future of women leaders looks promising, Valerio stated.
“We know much more about this topic now than we did 10 years ago, and we have the perspective to see what happens when people are given key experiences and spaces to learn from them, as well as mentors and coaches,” she said. “They can really make significant progress with a positive attitude toward inclusion. I’m hopeful that this will no longer be an issue in 10 years, although it will still require a sustained effort to achieve it.”
New Research: Women Are More Effective Than Men in All Measures of Leadership
The following contribution comes from the Forbes website and is authored by Kevin Kruse, founder and CEO of LEADx, which offers programs and coaching for women at all levels, empowering them to overcome barriers and reach their full potential in the workplace.
By Kevin Kruse, contributor. Kevin Kruse specializes in leadership development and emotional intelligence.
The best way to develop a strong pool of female leaders is to create a Women in Leadership program.
In 2023, for the first time ever, women CEOs led approximately 10% of Fortune 500 companies. This is undoubtedly a significant milestone. But it also underscores the need for greater female representation at all levels of leadership.
And this isn’t just about representation. Women leaders are beneficial to businesses:
The Conference Board’s Ready-Now Leaders report shows that organizations with at least 30% women in leadership positions are 12 times more likely to be among the top 20% in financial performance.
A Leadership Circle study, based on evaluations of more than 84,000 leaders and 1.5 million evaluators (including managers, senior staff, peers, direct reports, and others), demonstrates that women leaders have a more significant impact than their male counterparts at all management levels and across all age groups.
Building a pipeline of women leaders is critical to business success.
This year’s IBM report states that “women remain significantly underrepresented at middle management levels, which compromises the prospects for a strong pipeline of future leaders.” So, how can a pipeline of women leaders be better developed to promote equity and achieve better results?
First, it’s helpful to understand what makes women more effective leaders. And who better to explain this research than Cindy Adams, president and chief legal officer of Leadership Circle? Adams led Leadership Circle’s new study, which provides insights into the differences in leadership impact between male and female leaders. She is passionate about using this data to help women advance in leadership positions.
Cindy Adams
Cindy Adams, President and Chief Legal Officer of Leadership Circle
Cindy Adams
The Female Leadership Advantage: How Women Outperform Men in Leadership Effectiveness
The research Adams led at Leadership Circle is based on the Leadership Circle Profile, a scientifically validated 360-degree leadership assessment that measures “Creative Competencies” and “Reactive Tendencies.”
“The behavior of creative leaders stems from their values and purpose,” Adams said, “rather than being based on a set of assumptions about how leaders are supposed to behave.” Creative competencies are effective leadership skills, widely researched and validated globally. These include competencies that encompass five dimensions:
Relationship
Self-Awareness
Authenticity
Systems Awareness
Achievement. On the other hand, reactive tendencies are those that “got us here, but won’t get us where we want to go,” Adams stated. “The reactive structure of ‘beliefs and assumptions’ is designed to pro
