The challenges and triumphs of women leaders

Navigating obstacles: Rhona Eskander discusses the challenges women face in their profession, and the solutions required to allow them to ascend, lead, and inspire.

Navigating obstacles: Rhona Eskander discusses the challenges women face in their profession, and the solutions required to allow them to ascend, lead, and inspire.

An undercurrent of change is sweeping through the professional landscape as women leaders are making pivotal decisions to exit their significant roles within renowned organisations, prioritising aspects such as flexibility, work-life balance, and professional growth.

Recent departures of notable figures like Susan Wojcicki from Youtube and Marne Levine from Meta underscore this phenomenon, and data from the Women in the Workplace study by Lean In and McKinsey highlights a noteworthy uptick in such exits.

The dilemma resides not merely in the visible exits, but also in the underlying reasons which spark them. According to McKinsey data, women leaders consistently report significantly higher levels of chronic stress and burnout compared to their male counterparts, with 43% of female executives admitting to feeling burned out versus 31% of men.

Let’s delve into ten prominent challenges these leaders grapple with and explore potential solutions.

1. Barrier to promotion

Despite outshining and displaying lower turnover rates than male peers, women are 14% less likely to gain promotions, reveals a study from MIT Sloan School of Management
Solution: women should accentuate and quantify their accomplishments, aligning them with the organisation’s goals, to substantiate their promotion and raise proposals.

2. Rigidity in flexibility

More than half of the women, as per Linkedin research, have considered or actualised job exits due to insufficient flexible work options
Solution: Companies must adapt by offering various flexible work models like remote/hybrid formats, flexible hours, and shorter work weeks based on their female workforce’s needs.

3. Struggle for work-life balance

A study in The Lancet Public Health indicates that women are likely to spend double the time men do on caregiving and household chores, creating a fast track to burnout
Solution: Establishing and maintaining healthy work boundaries, especially in mission-driven environments like start-ups, is crucial to mitigating burnout.

4. Recognition shortfall

Women leaders, often contributing more towards employee wellness and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, find their efforts going unrecognised
Solution: For crucial career progression, women should engage in dialogues about raising their organisational profile and actively seek opportunities that amplify visibility.

5. Deficient DEI commitment

Women leaders are over 1.5 times more likely than male peers to leave jobs seeking organisations with robust DEI commitments, McKinsey reports
Solution: Implementing DEI initiatives like forming employee resource groups and maintaining leadership accountability can be pivotal in retaining women leaders.

6. Support from management

A DDI report indicates that women are less likely to receive leadership training and formal assessments compared to men during leadership transitions
Solution: A transparent audit of leadership development processes and clear communication of evaluative metrics can pave the way for women leaders’ development.

7. Wage disparity

Women earned about 82% of what men did in 2022, cites a Pew Research Center analysis, with various factors contributing to the wage gap
Solution: Pay transparency and regular pay audits, ensuring fair compensation for women leaders, can be potent strategies to address and rectify pay disparities.

8. Unconscious bias

Unconscious biases can inadvertently create a discriminatory environment, affecting critical decisions like hiring and promotions
Solution: Conducting regular training sessions and explicitly discussing various biases can transform organisational culture by making such biases conspicuous and addressable.

9. Insufficient sponsorship

Women leaders frequently find sponsorship, a critical element for advancement, elusive, despite having ample mentorship
Solution: Organisations can foster an environment conducive to sponsorship by educating individuals about its importance and integrating it within talent management systems.

10. Imposter syndrome

Many women leaders, despite their accomplishments, grapple with imposter syndrome, fearing that they are undeserving of their roles
Solution: Identifying and documenting instances when imposter feelings arise and deliberately replacing negative thoughts with positive affirmations can alleviate these undeserved doubts.

Despite being equally ambitious, women leaders often encounter unique, multifaceted challenges within the professional arena.

Addressing these hurdles through the aforementioned strategies could pave the way toward a professional environment that is both sustainable and gratifying, wherein women can continue to ascend, lead, and inspire.

A deep dive into the challenges and triumphs of women leaders