Is the glass ceiling a mindset issue?

Management and leadership guru, Maya-Hu Chan explains why a possible cause for gender gaps in the boardroom might be women themselves.

Contrary to what you may have heard, the fabled glass ceiling that holds women back from top jobs - is still alive and well.

A 2013 Harvard Law Review report noted that, progress has been made in both the public and private sectors across the world towards balancing the gender gap in the boardroom, especially in Western Europe and China.

This is all encouraging. However quotas, targets and legislation alone aren’t enough to shatter the glass ceiling.

Even if all the barriers keeping women from bursting through the glass ceiling were to magically disappear, the final obstacle to be overcome might be the mind-set of the women themselves.

Let me explain.

There is no doubt that women contribute differently in the workplace at different stages in their lives. Naturally, many women need to take a break from work, even if only a brief one, to have children.

However as children grow up and head off to make a life of their own, women often find that they can spend increasing amounts of time on their careers - much as they did before they had children - and contribute just as well as any of their male colleagues.

So if it isn’t necessarily about biology, why is it that women still lag so far behind in the boardroom?

Could it be that women hold themselves back or lack the confidence to live up to their own potential?

Not too long ago, I spoke at a global leadership event for women. It was part of a six-month program for up-and-coming female executives and, like many conferences centered on women, the agenda included topics on ambition, self-marketing and work-life balance.

If women still need to be reminded that being ambitious is okay and balancing your career and home life is possible then perhaps it sheds more light on the confidence levels of women professionals today?

Can you imagine any man having to be educated that ambition is a good thing?

The trouble is, ambition hasn’t traditionally been seen as a positive attribute for women.

Society has long since seen the accomplishments of women like Indira Ghandi and Margaret Thatcher who inspired a generation of women to reach for the very top.

Yet, it seems we still have a long way to go until all women assume the kind of confidence and ambition that most men see as a birth right.

This confidence gap can be seen in the way some female business graduates approach their first job. A recent study at Carnegie Mallon University in the U.S. tracked graduates of similar academic performance to see how they fared in the world of work.

After one year most of the females had accepted their first job offer - while the males had played several employers off against each other, were more confident in their own worth and, as a result, were earning around $7,000 more than their female classmates.

Twenty years’ experience as a global leadership coach has taught me that those women who have well-placed confidence in their own potential and value tend to achieve their goals .

My suggestions for ambitious, female would-be leaders, are to:

1. Be authentic. Know who you are and what you’re capable of. If you’re a family-oriented person as well as a talented professional, be proud of it, it’s part of what makes you great at what you do

2. Do your best work – so that your employer judges you on performance, not gender

3. Bring people along with you – at work and at home so that you build support around you. It’s important to find a life partner that supports you, not suppresses you.

4. Live with your choices. Don’t beat yourself up! Ignore society’s opinions and focus on being who you are at your best.

5. Don’t settle. Value yourself and what you have to offer and fight to achieve it – whether it’s a coveted role, being heard or landing a pay raise.

 

And remember: the glass ceiling is only there if you choose to see it.

**********As a management and leadership strategist, Maya-Hu Chan is consistently ranked in the top 20 by Thinkers50 in the USA. Her book, Global Leadership: The Next Generation, one of 10 she has co-authored, made it to Harvard Business School’s esteemed Working Knowledge list. Now founder of Global Leadership Associates, Chan helps global organisations manage cross border international leadership. Hu-Chan is one of the headline speakers at Talent Management Asia 2015.

Held in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong in mid-April, Talent Management Asia is Asia’s biggest conference on talent management and human capital strategy. The two-day annual event is focused on global best practice HR strategy, features an agenda dominated by pan-Asian case studies and leading global thought leader, and attracts a large audience of senior HR generalists & specialists as well as other C-level executives involved in their companies’ HR strategies.

To get a global and Pan-Asian regional view of talent management and to increase your knowledge and skills across the talent management spectrum – recruitment, training & development, compensation & benefits, succession planning, and leadership development – don’t miss Talent Management Asia in April.

To review the topics & agenda, check out the stellar speaker list and reserve your seat visit www.talentmanagement.asia before it’s sold out. For more information please contact Carlo Reston on +65 6423 0329 or carlor@humanresourcesonline.net.