A Personal Letter from Molly D. Shepard - January 2005

While we have made great strides into the executive ranks in recently years, the rate of change is slow and even slower for executive women of color. I recently came across some interesting statistics that relate to executive women that I wanted to share with you. Women hold a mere 5.2% of corporate executive positions, comprise only 14.2% of the officer level positions in Fortune 500 companies and occupy only 13.6% of the board seats. They are a mere 6% of the top corporate earners, and on average make only 73% of what men earn.

The explanations for why change has been slow for executive women are varied and well documented. I'll outline a few of the popular ones:

• Women lack the necessary line experience to reach the highest levels of their corporations.
• Women's communication styles, which are different than men's, hold women back and block their opportunities for advancement.
• Women are dropping out of the workforce choosing instead to stay home with their families.
• While there are elements of truth in each of these points, they are not, in my experience, the whole story.

For example, according to a study by Catalyst entitled, "Women in U.S. Corporate Leadership: 2003", senior women and CEOs agree that a major obstacle for women in not getting key executive positions is women's lack of line experience. I believe there have been a number of reasons for this. Historically, women have been considered high risk for line positions. Male corporate executives questioned their ability and commitment and made assumptions about them, such as their willingness to work or relocate. Women were directed into staff positions and basically sidelined in terms of garnering the knowledge and experience necessary to reach the top executive positions. Though ambitious women leaving top MBA programs more than twenty years ago knew then that they needed line experience to reach the top, many of these women have left what for them was a frustrating corporate environment and chosen to start their own businesses. The loss of this bright, talented group of women to corporate America is enormous.

The issue of communication between men and women in the workforce is one that most people can agree on. Women's communication styles are vastly different from men's. Women have difficulty getting their voices heard in corporate cultures dominated by men and need to learn to speak up and promote and network themselves as effectively as men. However, studies have shown that women's styles are highly collaborative and inclusive and that women make excellent leaders. In fact, research has found that companies with a higher percentage of women executives are actually more profitable than their competitors.

Finally, I'm sure most of you are familiar with the articles about women leaving the workforce for hearth and home. While a small percentage of women may be choosing this option temporarily while raising a family, our research has shown conclusively that the vast majority of women who have left their corporate positions have done so either to find a more compatible corporate culture or to start their own business. In fact, the Catalyst study, "Women in Corporate Leadership: 2003" found that 55% of women who are not already in the most senior leadership positions desire to be there and another 19% have not ruled it out.

While women's lack of line experience, communication styles and a vast array of other issues such as exclusions from informal networks, stereotyping and lack of mentoring all play a part in the slow movement into the upper echelons of the corporate ranks, in my opinion the real reason lies squarely in the lap of the one-size-fits-all cultures that are pervasive in corporate America. In fact, a recent observation from the November, 2004 issue of COMPASS , Harvard's Center for Public Leadership publication refers to a "second-generation sex discrimination, which is based less on demonstrable prejudice than on unconscious stereotypes and workplace structures that are gender neutral in form but not in fact." As the article indicates, "women must fight against gender biases by demanding equity and for recognition of gender differences by demanding accommodation of diversity."

What are your views on this issue? Feel free to contact us and let us know how you feel.

Molly D. Shepard
Founder and CEO
The Leader's Edge™

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