{ trail - blazer } being a woman in leadership is a unique experience

There were THREE women representing top 100 CEO’s in 2018 according to Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) research. In the spotlight, there was a note to say it was up from just ONE represented last year. 

I’ve often questioned starting a female only leadership course, at the exclusion of others. In fact not more than two years ago, you wouldn’t find me any where near a gender exclusive event. I’m still not particularly 100% happy about it, because fundamentally I am all about inclusion. 

I’ve come to realise, that being a woman in leadership is a unique experience. 

After much research, and understanding the issues for females in leadership roles, I accept the need to put a spotlight on why female leaders need a forum to blaze their trail. The stats from HBR shocked me yet again and reminded me why Vanessa Vershaw and I decided to design trail-blazer for women. 

We’ve all seen those movies of people in the sports arena, dreaming of a future in their much loved passion. Alas, they were too slow, or too short, or the wrong ‘something’. All of their role models were picture perfect and these people who dreamed big had to cross the divide and work harder to get themselves across that winners line to be chosen. This isn’t much different. Females in leadership roles have THREE female CEO’s in HBR to look toward for inspiration that represents their gender. This is representative of our working world.

My comments do not in anyway take away from the men who have wonderfully succeeded and performed incredibly, there is much to learn and admire also. It’s human nature though for us to go where ‘like attracts like’. Women in senior leadership roles are fewer to follow. So, it takes some pioneering, but you see, women don’t always see themselves as a pioneer. It’s foreign. Not a traditional role. Forgive me for the generalisation, because many of my friends including myself identity as a pioneer, but we don’t represent the majority. I recognise the pressure in this very statement to need to be a pioneer. Not every woman wants to be, but the ones who want to stand up and lead in this way, should have the passage cleared to forge ahead.

All voices deserve to be heard, and diversity is key. Creativity, innovation and progress need many voices and skills. If we have a high representation of any one race, gender, political view we risk the pitfalls of echo-chamber. But, this change is going to take some pioneering attributes, to forge the path.

Working with one of the major banks recently, together we researched the issues as to why women are not applying for leadership roles. There were three key areas including organisational governance and policy, societal norms, biases and genetic predisposition, and lastly self-development in confidence. This is a complicated issue with many facets to consider, some even beyond our personal control. 

So, why trail-blazer? We need to support women to work through the changes required in our society that will help us continue to progress and grow. To support them to pioneer, to move into positions to help our communities, businesses and people. We need more voices, diverse views and experiences heading up our workplaces. 

I hope in 2019, HBR gets to report more females in those top positions as we continue to put a much needed spotlight on women in leadership and see our pipelines full of varied demographics and talent.  

www.trailblazingleaders.com.au