The dearth of female leaders in traditional leadership roles is particularly troubling because it is not the lack of qualified women but a society that disparages women leadership so much so that it is twice as hard for women to break ceilings.
This means that we have to continue advocating for and investing in changes that support the advancement of women within organizations, industries and structures by addressing issues of unconscious bias and enlisting the support of both women and men in developing solutions.
We need to keep on challenging companies and business leaders to re-examine the leadership role that the private sector can play in empowering girls and women on both local and global scales. From strategic initiatives and partnerships that expand access to education and technology, to programs that support entrepreneurship and supply chain diversity. There is a largely untapped opportunity for companies to invest in women’s empowerment in order to drive both positive social impact and long term business and Economic value.
It is time to embrace and harness the skills and strengths that are unique to women and see them as valuable assets rather than feminine flaws or frailty we need to bury. The purpose of any leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there. Women, with their innate motherly instincts and personal connection, tend to bring this aspect of leadership more, quite frankly. Their kind of leadership is agile, purpose driven and disruptive!
I honestly feel like leadership should not be defined by gender, but by the ability to lead successfully and make a positive impact. And that we have a long way to go until we reach the gender-less, more merit based concept of leadership. I live for that day when we will talk about leadership in general terms and not in men’s and women’s.
We just need to include each other in conversations -not isolate and vilify each other. We need to support and elevate each other in a two-way learning experience. At the intersection of all this is a spark created by a blend of combined goals, ambitions, value and empathy that is oh so glorious to ignore.
