5 Data-Driven Reasons Why There Need To Be More Leading Women In The World Of Business
A wage gender gap still exists, so that in itself speaks volumes about the overarching patience of women; they work the same job for less in a lot of cases. If that doesn’t say a lot about patience, what does?
The world needs more women leaders, and that’s an understatement. However, an ‘era’ has officially ended, as the business sphere is no longer a man’s world.
Those who think that big business is strictly a man’s world should really reconsider their thought process. Although only about 5% of the upper management of large companies are women, that’s a number that’s drastically changing.
And it’s not just the statistics that are starting to shift, it’s the overall industry mindsets.
1. Bridging The Gender Gap: Authorities In The World Of Business Inspiring Change
Sheryl Sandberg and other tech icons, have started rising to the top of big business. And they aren’t getting there by acting like men. Rather, they are using their innate feminine strengths for communicating and managing conflict: and the outcome is outstanding levels of success.
Once Sandberg became COO of Facebook, their revenue began to skyrocket! Before she joined in 2008, Facebook had about 70 million active users and roughly $150 million in revenue. Compare that to the figures just one quarter after Sandberg was hired. The result was a massive jump in revenue figures–over $1.5 billion–and a user base that had expanded to over a billion users.
Women, in most cases, are simply better bosses than men and the following reasons provide backing to this claim:
2. Typically More Well-Versed In Workplace Sensitivity
As much as Jennifer Aniston’s role in the movie Horrible Bosses makes you want to believe it, women in authoritative roles at work aren’t harassing their coworkers.
But if that’s not true, why are women more prone to understanding proper workplace protocol? Well, the answer is simple: they are the ones who have battled with the toxicity side effects of masculinity their whole lives. Women are the ones who’ve had to deal with harassment in workplaces.
In fact, women are usually more conscious of their actions than men due to their experiences with the opposite gender leading a less than ideal example. Thus, women are better at comprehending workplace protocol, and create a superior welcoming setting for all genders at their places of work.
3. More Patience Than Most Men
This is about as clear cut as it gets, women are typically more patient than men, and in numerous ways! A study of over 3000 people of both genders, conducted by Response Source, spells it all out perfectly:
“Men’s patience is more likely to snap quicker than women’s, new research has shown, even though women perceive themselves as being less patient than men.
When asked how long they would wait before walking off in a strop, five out of ten men would wait up to a minute, but only one in ten women said they would leave this quickly.
Yet when each gender was asked if they would describe themselves as a patient person, only four out of ten women agreed, against six out of ten men claiming they were patient.”
Additionally, a wage gender gap still exists, so that in itself speaks volumes about the overarching patience of women; they work the same job for less in a lot of cases. If that doesn’t say a lot about patience, what does?
4. Communication Is Key
Men and women communicate differently, that much is certain. But what constitutes as ineffective communication? What’s professional, and what’s unprofessional?
Those with a machismo complex will certainly argue against the fact that women are more effective at communication. But in hindsight, these self-defined ‘macho men’ are the worst at well-rounded communication.
The book, 101 Tough Conversations to Have with Employees, addresses this concept in the intro of the chapter titled Substandard Communication Skills. It states:
“Survey after survey finds that employers look to staffers’ communication skills above all else to ensure that business progresses without undue interruption. Still, it’s more than just how well someone speaks when spoken to when it comes to communication. More often, it has to do with a level of awareness or sensitivity in terms of feeding information…”
Possessing a chauvinistic mindset is a huge pitfall to effective communication. These types of negative ideologies demean coworkers rather than empathizing with them, and effectively project negative qualities such as sexism and discrimination.
Furthermore, women are able to resolve conflicts better than men at work. Research by Pew Research Center shows that women in top business positions perform much better than men in terms of compromising workplace scenarios:
-Women leaders are 28% better at working out compromises
-Men are 18% less effective at mentoring employees
5. It’s Proven That Women Drive Revenue
In addition to everything mentioned so far, the statistics below paint a vivid picture of why more women in business is the wave of the future:
In regards to Fortune 500 companies, those with the highest proportion of women in leadership positions have seen significantly higher returns than those with the lower proportions, resulting in:
-35.1% higher return on equity
-34% higher total return to shareholders
-Women in leadership positions are 25% more honest and ethical
