Partner: GCS
As we celebrate Women’s Month, it’s a time to acknowledge the significant contributions of South African women. They have been influential in the home, community, and political circles, and are increasingly making their mark as trailblazers in the business world.
It is somewhat baffling that we are still discussing supporting women in business in 2024. However, only 4% of Fortune 500 companies (the top 500 companies worldwide) are run by women. This is the reality we face. While companies are outspoken about diversity and embrace diverse thought patterns within their business, it’s crucial that this is not just lip service but genuine support and action. Let’s not be discouraged by the current situation but rather be motivated to bring about real change.
For companies, boards, and executives still struggling to make this transition, I read fascinating insights on an executive coaching website on efficiently supporting women business leaders.
Commitment from the top
The article points out that, more than lip service or inclination, the top leadership must be totally committed to hiring and promoting with gender diversity.
When CEOs are adamant about this, it will happen. CEOs can recommend women for their boards of directors. They encourage the necessary succession planning and establish a company culture of inclusivity.
The 70-20-10 rule
The article points out that Business Week insights discussed companies striving to place more women in leadership. “Invariably, each described the sacrosanct 70-20-10 rule, by which 70% of a manager’s learning and development should come from on-the-job learning through stretch assignments, with only 20% and 10% coming from mentoring and classroom learning, respectively.”
The traditional path of leadership training and mentoring is not sufficient to launch a woman’s career.
Pivotal roles
The article adds that certain roles carry extra weight and are “punch the ticket” kinds of jobs. All too often women in leadership are relegated to staff roles and are thus placed on the sidelines when it comes to the path to the top. A major change to produce more women at the top must start with placing women in those key roles that lead to the top. It’s critical for management to identify those pivotal positions and then focus on filling them with gender equality. The people in these jobs gain visibility and credibility. It’s in these key roles women will learn the leadership skills that will take them to C-suite.
Succession planning
The article points out that companies must identify and build on the pivotal role positions. They must quantify and standardise the process in their succession planning. They know the key roles that lead to the top. As they look for successors for these jobs, they need to deliberately include women and promote their leadership abilities.
Quality mentoring
The article adds that mentoring is often based on liking a person or their leadership style. Mentors may perceive men as being more worthy of attention or feel more comfortable with them.
To break the glass ceiling, the mentoring process needs to be more organised and formal. Deliberate attention must be given to placing women with mentors who can and will further their careers.
Honest support
It’s not that we do not have female business trailblazers in South Africa; the challenge is increasing the frequency of these leaders and helping them overcome their unique challenges.
Image By: Canva
An innovative way to address this is through succession planning. Forcing females to take on junior roles in the business and forcing them to the top relegates them to specific roles within industries. Outgoing CEOs should take the bold step of effective success planning, grooming female executives to jump past particular steps on their way to the top.
What does the landscape look like for female executives who know what they want but are unsure about the path needed to get there? There are two significant steps they can take:
- Understand the demands of the job you want. the article points out that these executives should look at their target position and consider what it entails and the competencies it requires. What kinds of responsibilities does the job have? Write them down. Next, under each key responsibility, list the skills needed to do the job effectively. Will you need great communication skills? Good decision-making skills? Will you need to build a team, work in customer care, arbitrate, or give directions? Executives may not have to create this list; it is likely that the company already has such a list in their succession planning materials.
- Evaluate how your skill set needs to grow. Executives should make a list of their skills and qualifications. Review their past jobs and look at the qualities they exhibited there. They then need to match them to the list of skills needed for their ideal job. Where do they match up? Where do they come up short? Again, executives will likely want to review this list with their superiors. Superiors may be unaware of some of the executive’s competencies simply because their work doesn’t fully utilise them or because the executives are too modest about their accomplishments.
We have seen that women are more than capable of overcoming any challenge that they face. Their potential in business leadership is immense, and it’s time we fully realise and utilise it.
