Strategies to Shatter the Startling Leadership Disparity

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

A report recently released by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the University of Bath School of Management revealed that women are 6 times less likely than men of similar professional experience to be CFOs or CEOs.

Similarly, in the UK women make up 46.6% of the working population – but they only hold 12.2% of board positions in the FTSE100. Sandra Rapacioli, CIMA’s R&D Manager added, “And of our members in the UK, males make 24% more than our female members.”

She continued, “We were surprised there still remains such a big pay and seniority gap in this day and age.” Fortunately, CIMA has produced a report detailing the best practices of women who have managed to break the glass ceiling, with advice for women at all levels of their careers.

Strategies for Advancement

Rapacioli said that to combat the leadership and pay discrepancy, CIMA (which has members in 172 countries), commissioned a global survey of 4,500 male and female finance and business professionals, comparing different leadership styles. The researchers also performed interviews with 24 of CIMA’s senior female members, producing in depth case studies.

Breaking glass – strategies for tomorrow’s leaders [PDF] provides strategies for women looking to advance in their careers. Rapacioli explained, “It’s a practical guide for women wanting to move up to the next stage in their careers. It’s based on research and case studies.”

She continued, “We asked 24 of our most senior female leaders how they made it to the top. We asked, ‘What are the challenges and best practices?’. We were surprised about how much they had in common.”

“We identified four key strategies, and for me the most interesting was about raising your profile – I probably don’t do enough of it myself,” said Rapacioli. “The key is to keep a record of your successes and have those examples to hand in meetings. Be able to go directly to your CEO and say ‘that was me.’ Go to conferences, ask questions, speak up, and get involved in working groups,” she explained.

“Our interviewees also discussed the importance of being true to yourself and understanding what your strengths are – not feeling that you’ve got to emulate a male leader to be taken seriously. People will see through you if that is not your natural style.” Rapacioli also mentioned important factors like focusing on EQ, being inclusive, and providing feedback.

The study also revealed that one area where female managers stood out was in their ability to be persuasive. Rapacioli explained, “Women are perceived to listen more, to be more participative when it comes to decision making, to give feedback – an approach that achieves people’s buy-in and supports research showing that women are more persuasive than men.”

She added, “There are many statistics that show that organizations with more women at Board level perform better, so women are obviously doing something right!”

How Companies Can Support Women

There are many ways organizations can work to support women, Rapacioli explained. “Mentoring is not only useful for those looking to develop leadership skills, but can be helpful for women who are already in relatively senior positions. Some of the women we interviewed commented that the higher up the ladder they went, the harder it was keep abreast of technology or industry trends due to time constraints. The solution for many was to have a mentor in these areas.”

She also mentioned the importance of flex work and permitting women to work from home, adding that organizations could get more women at board level if they changed the way they did things and looked at employing part-time directors with a specialty in a certain area, for example, ethics.

Rapacioli pointed out that just initiating these kinds of programs can produce positive results. For example, she said, since McDonald’s launched its Women’s Leadership Network and a women’s development program in 2007, it has increased the percentage of women in senior management by 36%.

She added, “If you want the best talent, you have to be a flexible employer that works around the right people.”