Although women were estimated to make up more than half the population in the United States in 2021, there has been a long-standing history of inequality between men and women in leadership within the workplace.
The gender pay gap and the disproportionate number of men and women in leadership roles illustrate the issues facing women in the workplace. However, recent workplace data show growing support for women in leadership roles.
In this post, we’ll examine the growth of C-suite roles, the research supporting women in leadership, and how higher education can help women take on more leadership roles.
The Growth of C-Suite Roles
According to Deloitte, expanding C-suite roles could continue to open more doors for women in leadership. Examples of C-suite roles that didn’t exist 10 years ago include:
- Chief Data Officer
- Chief Brand Officer
- Chief Learning Officer
- Chief Strategy Officer
- Chief Analytics Officer
- Chief Sustainability Officer
- Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
As Deloitte’s analysis of over 100 large U.S. financial institutions states, the emerging roles of chief diversity and chief learning officers are more likely to be filled by women, representing 86.7% and 61.5% of these roles, respectively.
Women in the roles of chief brand and chief sustainability officers are nearly equal to or already equal to the number of men in these positions. Additionally, over the last decade, the share of women as chief innovation, chief data analytics, or chief digital, and chief strategy officers has also exceeded their average share in traditional C-suite roles.
C-suite roles are growing and evolving to best suit organizations’ needs. Research continues to support the imprint women make in the business world when they’re allowed to lead.
Research Supports Women In Leadership
A recent McKinsey report illustrates that women managers offer more support during difficult times, specifically during the COVID-19 crisis. According to employees, the following areas are where female managers consistently outpaced their male counterparts:
- Provided emotional support, +12%
- Checked in on overall well-being, +7%
- Helped make sure workload was manageable, +6%
- Helped navigate work-life challenges, +5%
- Helped take action to help prevent or manage burnout, +5%
The American Psychological Association states, “decades of studies show women leaders help increase productivity, enhance collaboration, inspire organizational dedication and improve fairness.”
In a landmark 1992 meta-analysis of 61 studies, world-renowned psychologist and pioneer in researching women’s leadership, Alice Eagly, PhD, proved that “female leaders demonstrate more transformational leadership styles.” This meta-analysis showed that women can better rally employees on the company mission, inspiring them to see what’s good in the organization.
To further emphasize the importance and impact of women in the workplace, two studies from 2010 featuring 699 people showed that “groups with more women exhibited greater equality in conversational turn-taking, further enabling the group members to be responsive to one another and to make the best use of the knowledge and skills of members.”
These studies are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to research illustrating the benefits of strategically placing women in leadership positions.
Education As A Strong Path to Leadership
There’s still a lot of work to be done regarding equality in the workplace, specifically among leadership roles for women. One straightforward way to continue to break the glass ceilings that often inhibit women in the workplace is through higher education.
According to research by the Social Security Administration, “women with bachelor’s degrees earn approximately $630,000 more in median lifetime earnings than high school graduates.” Completing a bachelor’s degree pays for itself.
A graduate degree is also a valuable tool for women who make it to these senior roles.
Elissa Sangster, CEO of the Forté Foundation, a non-profit that supports women in business through education, says women who earn an MBA are more likely to make it to senior roles. Sangster notes that 40% of female CEOs have an MBA, which shows some consistency around the degree as a pathway to getting into the C-suite.
Concordia University Chicago offers online accelerated bachelor’s degrees, MBA programs, and doctoral degrees for working adults who need the flexibility of online education. Our online degrees are focused on building strong, confident, and innovative leaders.
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