Help Retain Talented Women – message to Female Employees

Women are eager to lead.                                                                                 The question is, are you boosting or stalling their efforts?

Having women in top management positions correlates with financial success and organizational effectiveness.

Even so, consistently there is a leaky talent pipeline.
For example, the odds of advancement for men are about double the odds for women in America.
What holds women back?
What can be done to support and prepare them?
How can companies retain talented women leaders and step up to the challenge of balancing out their leadership pool?
What She Wants?
Women are motivated to move up.
79% of entry-level women and 83% of middle-management women desire to move to the next level at work. And 75% aspire to top management roles, including the C-suite — on par with their male counterparts. McKinsey
But women are often overlooked.
Only 18% are top leaders in America
The majority of female employees are concentrated in entry-level and middle-management positions, with a rate of advancement into senior levels that has slowed to a crawl in recent years.
There’s no single factor to explain the gap between women’s widespread interest in moving into more senior roles and how few make it there.
Sometimes, it’s just that no one is asking. Women may assume they’ll be noticed for their good work, and hiring managers may assume a lack of interest.
Women are left off lists for promotion based on assumptions: She has small children, she won’t travel, she’s not looking to make a move. Are you making it easier for women to have those “ask” conversations in your organization? Support and retain talented women leaders to reach their goals and potential.
The Next Step
Those who are eager to steer their careers and learn new ways to approach their personal leadership dilemmas – Understand that women face barriers to leadership that their male counterparts do not. Some of those barriers are organizational, systemic, or cultural; others are roadblocks women have unintentionally placed in their own path.
Organize face-to-face sessions with peers, specialized facilitators, and coaches, as well as time in between to work on challenges and goals, engage with coaches, and reinforce key concepts.
• Draw on current research and understanding of the context of women’s development and leadership identity.
• Combine universal themes with recognition of regional, local, and personal differences.
• Integrate the best knowledge of learning transfer, elevating the chance of success.
• Focus on the individual while addressing desired organizational impact.

Suresh Shah, Pathfinders Enterprise
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My thoughts are inspired from learning on Women’s Leadership Program