Women's Leadership and Advancement
Posted by on December 4, 2012 - 4:14pm

Yesterday, I heard some very insightful tips about leadership and women.  Anne Pramaggiore, President and CEO of ComEd, a leading utility company in Illinois, was the speaker and shared some of her keys to success.   She began by suggesting it's not about "breaking the glass ceiling" but instead, borrowing from Northwestern's Professor Alice Eagly, it's more like "working through the labryinth".*  In other words, career advancement is a complex journey with twists and turns throughout the road.  By using the  journey analogy, Pramaggiore encourages  women to drive change along the way instead of waiting until she reaches some magical ceiling.

Ms. Pramaggiore cited some statistics and while there is still a long road ahead to break the overall  23% salary gender gap, she gave some examples of success (more women in Congress, Saudi women driving, etc).  Then she shared her Elements of Leadership, base on the well known scholar:  the Kindergarten teacher!  Here they are:

1.  Color outside the lines  (women should take risks; don't be compulsive about following THE PLAN: take opportunities when they arise)

2.  The teacher is not always right (the most intelligent people are not always at the top; employees who challenge the status quo are the best; take charge whenever you can; complex, highly layered  organizations can stifle innovation)

3.  Interrupt and be heard (base your statements on facts but more importantly,  HOLD YOUR GROUND; fight for what you believe)

4.  Intuition is a skill set (base your beliefs on facts but at the end of the day, it's your judgment and values that matter)

5.  Spend time in the hallways (get out of the office; talk to people who are doing the work; reach out to the community or your customers)

6.  Failure is good for you (learn from it and use it to develop new approaches;  learn to value your potential;  use the experience to learn what does NOT work)

7.  Big girls do cry (let people know who you are as a person;  show that you care).  NOTE:  Pramaggiore often dons a hard hat and steel toed shoes to visit storm sites after power shortages and talks with customers as well as employee linemen who are fixing the problem!

At the end of the day, while trying to get ahead, always remember the value of connecting with people--your superiors, your underlings, your customers.

* Dr. Eagly is a professor of Psychology, Northwestern U. and author of  Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders with co-author Linda L. Carli.

 

 

 

 

 

Closing the Corporate Gender Gap
Posted by on March 11, 2011 - 9:07am

A higher proportion of women on a company’s board leads to greater opportunities at the executive level for women, according to new research.   Despite continued gains in low- to mid-level management positions, women still struggle to break through the corporate glass ceiling and attain coveted top-management positions. Today, women account for nearly half of the nation’s overall workforce, but hold only 6 percent of corporate CEO and high-level executive roles. New research from the Kellogg School at Northwestern finds that one key to women’s career advancement may lie in the gender makeup of a company’s corporate board.

The research examines female representation on corporate boards and its subsequent effect on the gender composition of the company’s top management positions. According to the study, a higher representation of women on a company’s board of directors directly increases the female share of and access to higher positions within the company.

“Unfortunately, there are still institutional gender barriers in today’s workplace that prevent women from holding high-level executive positions,” said David Matsa, assistant professor of finance. “Our research uncovers the impact of ‘women helping women’ at the highest level of company leadership. Women who hold board positions have a unique opportunity to propel their female colleagues into executive roles, so in effect, when women’s share of board seats increases, their share of top-level positions also increases.”

Matsa, with co-author Amalia Miller of the University of Virginia and the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, analyzed data about corporate board members and top executives for a large panel of publicly traded companies from 1997 to 2009.

“In addition, we found that as a board’s gender composition evolved and increased its number of female seats, over time the likelihood that these boards would select female managers also increased,” said Matsa. “However, this gender shift can take multiple years. Our research shows that while the female share of board seats may increase the desire to hire other female executives, there is a lag time for women to achieve these roles, probably because the positions are currently occupied by qualified candidates.”

Interestingly, the researchers noted that the reverse situation is not true: Having female executives in top roles did not impact the gender makeup of corporate boards over time. This implies that female board membership typically precedes shifts in executive positions held by women, but not vice versa.

“Overall, the results show that women are each other’s best advocates, and by helping one another they have the potential to make remarkable gains in today’s workforce,” said Matsa. “When women are seated at the highest levels in corporate America, they are in a unique position to serve as mentors to those below them and to create more opportunities for female leadership and management roles.”

The study, “Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership,” will be published in the May 2011 issue of The American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings.