Q: How does the gender gap affect working women today? Have any strides been made since the Women’s Liberation movement to make women’s workforce issues a matter of public debate?
A: Women have certainly made strides in terms of their visibility and the variety of roles they take on. However, data shows women still earn less than their similarly qualified male peers for comparable work in the marketplace. Also, they continue to face significant barriers to promotion. Interestingly, some of these barriers are internal; in other words, the barriers have to do with how women perceive themselves. Sadly, this perception lags behind the opportunities that now exist.
A recent article I read points to the fact that many strategies fail to address “the often fragile process of coming to see oneself, and to be seen by others, as a leader” (Herminia Ibarra. “Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers.” Harvard Business Review. Sept. 2013. Online.). Also, “subtle gender bias … disrupts the learning cycle at the heart of becoming a leader” (Ibarra). The author suggests the key to solving this issue lies in somehow internalizing a leadership identity and developing a sense of purpose. In many instances, this process is hampered because women lack the workplace affirmation that would lead them to step outside of a comfort zone and experiment with unfamiliar behaviors and new ways of exercising leadership.
These points are well taken and correspond with what my clients tell me during interview coaching and career planning sessions. Clients report a kind of micro-aggression, often operating at unconscious levels, that deprives many capable women executives of the full scope of their leadership abilities. In effect, the result is a kind of professional version of low self-esteem that plays itself out in all kinds of unproductive ways including what I hear during career planning sessions when I receive such feedback as, “Are you sure you want me to phrase it that way? That sounds much bolder/more accomplished than I am. Could you tone it down a little?”
Over the years, I have also noted that, for the most part, my female clients earn far less than their male peers doing similar work. While most men are not bashful about asking for raises or justifying their current salaries, female executives generally seem more compelled to justify their lower-but-still-significant pay as a way to validate their worth.
The point here is simply that, although gains have been made, there is a lot of internal and external work needed. I continue to hear reports from colleagues and others about the off-color jokes, lunch appointments where a male peer refuses to be “treated to lunch” by his female co-worker and the gaffes, misstatements and bungling that sometimes occurs when those not used to dealing with women in positions of authority have to interact with a women leader.
The story is quite similar for diverse women leaders where, in addition to gender, all sorts of arcane thinking around ethnicity, race and culture come into play. The scenarios become increasingly complex because it is neither a male-female issue nor is it a this-culture, that-culture issue. Some of these habits and ways of thinking regarding culture are so ingrained that women, even diverse women, apply similar (unfair) judgments, strategies and diminishing behavior to other women with devastating impact. For example, I have seen this a great deal when conducting reference checks. Strong male leaders tend to be exalted for their strength, but forthrightness and decisiveness are not always praised in female leaders. A real double-standard persists. When you add to this basic tendency all sorts of cultural and group identification issues, you can see the potential for women to get dunned over and over again.
In the face of this ambiguity, what is a woman leader to do? As the Ibarra article suggests, identify the issue (if it exists), find ways to get external endorsement, and raise your profile. This is an intentional process. As you systematically build your presence and confidence, others will (potentially reluctantly) recognize your leadership capacity and treat you accordingly.
The key here might be to have a pro-active strategy in place even before you enter the workplace. That way, you have mentors and guidance as you navigate these very real challenges.
Contact Karen Alphonse at Karena@execSearches.com or visit ExecSearches.com for more information about our career coaching services.
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