By- Talib Zaffer
A fairly long time ago, we used to live in caves, with our primate cousins — the apes. We shared values too, well, at least a handful. Men hunted and women looked after the families. Then, as the old adage goes, times change. We wrote books, built bridges, invented aircraft, found out coffee is amazing… The point is, we kept evolving, and we still are, I hope!
One thing that didn’t change much with time, though, is women assuming leadership roles in businesses. As of right now, we are in 2025 — thousands of years away from those caves, and yet, only nine percent of CEOs in the largest U.S. companies are women. And that too in what most people would argue is the most advanced society in the world. The numbers from a less-developed nation, with not much representation and agency for women, would essentially be much worse. The number is telling. It says half of the human population is a minority in the upper echelons of power. And the limited number of female CEOs deeply affects how women perceive their potential to reach the top.
Here are some more numbers for you. In March of 2024, S&P Global published an alarming report: for the first time in two decades, C-suite women lost seats in the S&P Total Market Index. In 2022, women held 12.2% of the 15,000 C-suite positions across publicly traded U.S. firms. However, this regressed further to just 11.8% by the end of 2023. Here’s more: Only 5% of CEOs at companies in the S&P Global BMI were women in 2021; women hold around only 5.5% of CEO positions globally; only 8.2% of Fortune 500 CEOs were women; only 20% of CFOs are women, and women hold only 24% of P&L leadership roles.
Well, one might argue that the regression would be based on merit. That men lose jobs too. That men find it difficult to run a business too. And, for the most part, you wouldn’t be wrong. Leadership roles, especially that of a CEO, are challenging. Whether you are a man, it makes no difference. But here’s where you would be wrong. The regression isn’t based on pure merit. Because the same S&P Global report also found that women CEOs had a better score on average for positive sentiment among customers, and a higher score for emotions connected to anticipation and trust.
The report adds, “During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global press hailed the performance of women leaders. New Zealand, South Korea, and Germany were often mentioned as examples of nations, led by women, weathering the pandemic better than countries led by men.”
According to the stats from LinkedIn, LeanIn.org, and McKinsey, the current leadership gender gap we see hinges on the first few years of employment. When a woman’s first promotion is delayed or never occurs, it has a domino effect on her whole professional trajectory. Such challenges only increase further up the seniority ladder, with men being 33% more likely than women to earn an internal leadership advancement.
Now, the question remains: How do we push for equal representation of women in leadership roles, especially when it comes to a business setup? And the answer to something as complex as this one cannot be simple. Opportunities for women in leadership roles are a debt long overdue, and here are some of the steps you can take to do your bit:
- Equal Pay: Although the topic of the gender pay gap is highly debated, people often struggle with the nuances of the problem. The solution is not to just hand out pay checks with similar figures. The biggest issue often here is the lack of transparency. If you are open to your employees as to why they are being paid what they are, the process becomes accountable for both parties.
- Flexibility: According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, one-third of employers believe that pregnant women and mothers are less motivated in professional advancement than women without children or their male counterparts. Furthermore, a staggering 77% of working moms have encountered workplace discrimination. At our respective workplaces, we cannot judge people’s motivation in relation to their personal lives. We have to be more open and welcoming to women at work postpartum or during pregnancies. And even in terms of productivity, that attitude gets the best out of your employee when they feel valued.
- Gender Sensitivity Programs: In a traditionally patriarchal society like India, there is at times a need for a comprehensive gender sensitivity outreach to foster a welcoming environment across genders. Such programs might not be possible for a smaller start-up or by the nature of the industry, and hence we have to make sure that the base is set up during education, and state policy has to be aligned with the idea of a gender-sensitive society.
- Similar Treatment Isn’t ‘Equal’: Men and women are, needless to say, different. With the latter having to deal with pregnancies, postpartum health issues, and menstruation, to mention a few. Keeping that in mind, you have to consider those aspects of a woman’s life for her to actualize her potential in her profession. The dilemma, however, is that practices such as maternal leave and period leave do come at a cost, so we have to find a way in between, where a woman is provided the space her health and hygiene demand and be flexible in working arrangements to ensure productivity is not compromised.
- Executive Mentorship: Some companies around the world, like Adobe, stress the importance of mentorship and, thus, provide women employees with the opportunity to join the Adobe and Women Employee Network (WEN), which provides networking opportunities and professional development programs for women employees around the globe, and the exposure they might not have had.
