Why So Few Women CEO's?

The recent news about one of America's most powerful woman ceo's being removed from office has raised the discussion about gender bias, again. It disappoints me that in 2005, I still hear women clients talking about "the old boys' network". They say "glass ceilings" are holding them back in terms of advancement, pay equity, recognition and career satisfaction. While I have no doubt their assessments are valid it's important that we don't generalize too much. There are other reasons as well.

First, discretion is no longer the best part of valor. While Shakespearean wenches were prized for their discretion, professional women in today's competitive workplace are often held back by the very quality that is too often expected of women. So let me be clear on this: Women - working quietly and selflessly will not get you to that corner office!

In my line of work, I still hear business professionals blaming the 'glass ceiling' for women's scarce presence in the executive suite. Research (and my own experience) shows that while the glass ceiling isn't completely cracked, it is not the main obstacle for women's advancement to the upper echelons of corporate America. The good old boy network (active as it is) is no longer what provides men the biggest advantage in the workplace.

Men's advantage comes from their willingness to speak about their accomplishments, having learned from an early age how rewarding it is to talk about winning and being first--in a ball game, in a race, in the class rankings. As boys become men and enter the workplace, they have found that in most cases it is still worthwhile and good business to push their cause--to their boss and their co-workers and their clients, too.

Contrast that attitude and behavior to that of women, whose early years are marked by societal encouragement and positive reinforcement for being amenable and social and not aggressive or assertive. Today's companies are filled with many women who grew up getting positive strokes for being discreet, sociable, attractive, quiet, and not competing with boys in boys' games. These women entered the workforce with no developed skills for self-promotion - and perhaps even a conditioned aversion to such indiscreet (and unseeming) activity.

Over the 25 years I was a senior executive working in boardrooms across the US and Canada I repeatedly saw bright and talented women exhibit this conditioned aversion to applauding one's accomplishments and embracing self-promotion. That type of behavior holds women back from advancement, pay equity, recognition from the boss, and career satisfaction. And while I would like to be the only person with this opinion - I am not. There is recent research backing up this observation.

I recently reviewed an article written by William Ryberg for the Des Moines Register. Ryberg's article focused on the results of a study conducted by the Nexus Executive Women's Alliance of 1200 businesswomen in Australia in 2002. In it, women were asked for their views and opinions about the principal barriers to their own advancement and success in the workplace. While it still showed up on the results, the traditional 'boys club' was not considered their biggest impediment to upward mobility. The survey results showed that women now recognize that they are their own worst enemy. These professionals identified the barriers affecting them to be:

37.9% - a lack of self-promotion,

19.4% - having children,

18.8% - outside work commitments,

18.6% - gender discrimination,

5.4% - other women.

Based on the feedback I get directly when asking similar questions to clients, I believe this study is applicable on this side of the Pacific.

Let's Consider the #1 Reason - Over many years as a senior executive in the United States and Canada, it became clear to me that women often wait to be noticed. It seems they get so caught up in the day-to-day challenges of their work that 'promoting' themselves and what they accomplish is left at the bottom of the pile. Men understand the importance of self promotion in general. And they use it better. While women often engage solely on the work at hand, and believe that a good result will speak for itself some of their men colleagues will take advantage of whatever opportunity arises to make their case and get some 'face time' with the boss.

I've seen talented and accomplished women passed over for advancement because of this lack of awareness and action.

Think things aren't really like this? Consider the following two examples and reflect on how immediately they are familiar:

Situation A - Emily and Brian are two executives working in commercial real estate each one just had a good month, closing deals worth $2 million. At the regular month-end meeting, the boss cites each of them for great results. Emily is pleased & credits her success to great teamwork. Brian accepts the praise from his boss and states his plans to close another great deal this month.

What's the boss' likely impression? "Emily is a great team player - but Brian is a real go-getter."
Situation B - Quarterly earnings are down 50%. The boss calls a meeting to consider new ideas to push the results ahead. Rose, who has a quiet voice, suggests almost tentatively an idea that could be a winner. The management group discusses it around the table and one of them, Josh, really supports the idea. He's assertive in his dialog and passionately defends it. Rose's idea is adopted, but Josh gets credit for the idea. The boss even refers to it as "Josh's project." While Rose's contribution will be remembered by those who care for her, Josh leaves this meeting viewed as a great idea man.

So, in summary: You cannot afford to sit back and hope someone will notice your contributions in today's environment. And secondly, develop the skill & learn to talk about your achievements in the workplace. Talk about your work to the right people.

This does not mean lowering your standards. It's just recognizing the reality of the environment you've chosen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John McKee is the visionary behind BusinessSuccessCoach.net, the premier online coaching service for business people and professionals at all levels. During his over 25 years as a senior executive, he personally hired, promoted, and fired literally thousands of people. Now, as a business coach, McKee uses the phone to coach others to become more successful using field tested approaches.

His new E-Book is " 21 Ways Women in Management Shoot Themselves in the Foot - How to Use Gender Bias to Further Your Career" is a must read for any woman. Get the perspective of a male coach on your side. It can be downloaded at http://www.WomanBusinessWeb.com

Want to learn more? Take a free 7 part mini coaching session by email by signing up at: http://www.BusinessSuccessCoach.net.

» left by Anonymous

5 years 45 days ago.

I strongly disagree with your conclusions in this article. This might have occurred 20 years ago. Today, most women I know do promote themselves, but if a man is sexist, he will not see her achievements no matter what she does. This is a convenient excuse for male bosses for not promoting women and it's getting really old. Have you not seen all contradicting articles about the reasons women aren't promoted: they are 'too aggressive', they are 'not aggressive enough', women 'don't promote themselves', women 'promote themselves too much', women are ' too quiet' ....you get the idea. There are constant contradictory articles out there of why women aren't promoted. Basically the problem is not the women, it is the men who cannot bring themselves to promote a woman over a man. I have seen women discouraged from promoting themselves while men being praised for it. Like you, I have over 20 years of being in the workforce and I have seen sexism at work. Stop blaming women and start looking at the men. There are so many male employers that also devalue a woman's contribution (if even subconciously). This is the hardest sexism to fight as it is subtle. If a woman did it, it had to be easy or not quite a major accomplishment as if a man had done it. I am referring these two articles below to you. The reason I value them is because I have seen this kind of sexism happen at work. Please see articles on google: 1) 'He, Once a She, Offers Own View On Science Spat' written by SHARON BEGLEY and 2) Sandler and Hall (1986) write: In one study, first done in 1968 and then replicated in 1983, college students were asked to rate identical articles to specific criteria. The authors' names attached to the articles were clearly male or female, but were reversed for each group of raters: what one group thought had been written by a male, the second group thought had been written by a female, and vice versa. Articles supposedly written by women were consistently ranked lower than when the very same articles were thought to have been written by a male. In a similar study, department chairs were asked to make hypothetical hiring decisions and to assign faculty rank on the basis of vitae. For vitae with male names, chairs recommended the rank of associate professor; however, the identical vita with a female name merited only the rank of assistant professor. These and many other studies show that in academe as in other settings the same professional accomplishments are seen as superior in quality and worthy of higher rewards when attributed to men than when they are attributed to women.

Respond to this comment

» left by 5 years 45 days ago.

Hi. Thanks for your thoughtful feedback and recommended reference material. I have little doubt in the integrity of the last article and support your comment about men screwing up a lot of women's success tracks; my article was simply another perspective. If you'd like to see some more current research, I suggest you check out the Catalyst group. You can find their information at http://www.businesswomanweb.com/ if you scroll down about midway on the first page. Thanks again - John.

Respond to this comment

» left by Anonymous 3 years 266 days ago.

America was initially based on sexism in the workplace, so we can't say that men don't play a role in this whole issue lol. If men weren't so focused on their ego & penises, they wouldn't be so threatened. Another note, the title "why so few women are CEO's?" Women tend to be more successful when they start their own companies, versus trying to fight their way up a corporate ladder. There are still men who think like the "Mad Men" the show on A&E channel. There's alot of womanizing on that show happening in the workplace. And the one woman on the show that had a higher role in the workplace was excluded out of important meetings. There is still a fight for women to be treated equally and fairly. Hopefully things will get better in years to come.

Respond to this comment

» left by Rosanne Ferreri-Feske from Nashville, TN 3 years 69 days ago.

Other countries have placed women as President, why not the USA??? Hmmm...

 

We have to go back the root, and it's religion. A religion that focuses on the male leadership, and never Deborah, Vashti, Esther, or Abigail has a problem seeing women leading men. We still have the destructive undercurrent of men LEAD women SUPPORT in our system. This comes from the false belief that women were not made equal to men by God, that they "came from man" as a rib. If we don't address the religious undercurrent, we cannot address the outcome which has been outlined above, and lived out by far too many women on a daily basis in companies nationwide.

 

There are two Genesis stories, one of them is rarely told (because it doesn't support the status quo); it states that God created male and female at the same time and endowed them with the same duty use the earth's resouces wisely. God is referred to as an US, just like them.

 

When we see women taking back their role as PRIESTS, as they were in the EARLY Christian churches (with women serving the sacraments and everything) then we'll see some progress across other areas, like politics....which will then trickle down to the workplace.

 

The problem is women have been too complacent about removing barriers. We must become as ADAMANT as our forebearers who FOUGHT to win us the vote. The stats on the status of women have clearly shown year... after year....after year....that women have not been voluntarily given parity with men. We are at critical mass now in 2009, we outnumber men, so there should not be any reason why we are STILL WAITING for social justice. Let us unite and work remove these last ridiculous barriers to our success....TOGETHER!

 

Join those of us on THE NEW US WOMAN  who envision a world where the face of CEO is clearly feminine and she definitely TAKES CHARGE to positively impact her world.

 

Sincerely,

 

Rosanne Ferreri-Feske, CEO, The New US Woman (website)

 

 

Respond to this comment