Women leaders
There is so much research available now (see below for some useful links) about the impact of women at senior levels in organisations, it’s hard to believe we are still struggling with issues of women’s equality and parity. A historical perspective shows that much has changed, and the recent #MeToo and Time’s Up campaigns have given new momentum to the cause, but there is still much to do.
While we strive to change society, and work, individual women are still facing considerable challenges, many of which, I believe, arise from their historical conditioning in what remains a largely male-defined world. Many writers and academics continue to describe the particular issues faced by working women - here are just a few:
women still bear most of the responsibility for childcare and running the home.
women who demonstrate leadership qualities such as decisiveness, authoritativeness and providing direction are seen as less likeable and less respected than men - including by other women.
women still believe that working hard and producing results will bring its own rewards without the need for self-promotion (‘showing off’). They struggle to say no or hold boundaries and as a result suffer greater stress/burnout and have a higher drop-out rate from employment than men.
Of course these are generalisations, but my experience supports them. Yes, I have many male clients who want a better work-life balance, less stress, and more leisure time uninterrupted by calls and emails from the office and who lack self-confidence. But I believe the conditioning women receive as they grow up makes it harder for them to stand their ground and ask for what they need, and the system in which they operate was largely designed by and for men and still largely works better for men than it does for women.
My work with women leaders focuses directly on this historical conditioning and uses an integrative set of approaches to reveal the habitual patterns of behaviour, thought, and emotion that can limit the power women can access within themselves. Working somatically (with the whole human system: mind, body, physiology, neurology, psychology) creates much deeper shifts than working with the intellect alone, because it reveals and “re-programmes” those deeply established patterns.
Further reading
Diversity wins: How inclusion matters (McKinsey)
Delivering Through Diversity (McKinsey)
The Family Dynamics We Grew Up With Shape How We Work (Harvard Business Review)
Women Shoulder The Responsibility Of ‘Unpaid Work’ (Office for National Statistics)
Are You Struggling With The ‘Mental Load’? (Daily Telegraph)
12 Habits That Hold Women Back At Work (The Times)
Women Are More Likely To Suffer Burnout Than Men (The Independent)
For Women Leaders, Likability and Success Hardly Go Hand In Hand (Harvard Business Review)