Equitable Leadership: How To Get More Women Into The C-Suite
More women are becoming CEOs but progress towards parity with men remains glacial. Fortune Most Powerful Women announced a new “milestone” in January: the number of female CEOs is now 11.6%. According to the United Nations, at the current rate of progress it will take 140 years to achieve equal representation in leadership in the workplace. The Trump administration’s choices regarding judicial appointments, healthcare policy, and support for caregiving infrastructure may make it even more challenging for women to be CEOs.
It’s always important to celebrate positive news, but with an approximately equal number of women and men in the world, 11.6% hardly seems like a victory. “Is 11% good enough? Is 140 years to equity fast enough? It’s never fast enough and the pace of change is glacial, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pause and celebrate new milestones of progress,” said Jennifer McCollum, President and CEO, Catalyst Inc.
This disparity is a stark reminder that systemic barriers continue to hinder women’s advancement, even as many companies are taking positive steps toward greater inclusion.
I wanted to know why change in this space is slow and what it will take to put more women in the driver’s seat. To find out, I turned to four women who are helping other women become leaders: Heejung Chung, Director, King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership; Jennifer McCollum; Deanna Strable President and CEO, Principal Financial Group; and Tanya van Biesen President & CEO, VersaFi. They shared the causes of inequity in leadership, identified priorities that could accelerate change and contributed to a playbook that corporations can use to move more women into the top jobs in their organizations.
Women who reach the top often have to adapt to masculine corporate cultures, and masculinized notions of job design and leadership expectations including working long hours and sacrificing their personal lives. “For those 11%, they are a group of extraordinary women, but many have had to survive in very masculine organizations where they must put in long hours and devote themselves entirely to work,” said Chung. Further, the traditional workplace assumes leaders don’t have caregiving responsibilities, which disproportionately affect women.
Chung observed that women have dropped out of various levels of leadership for years due to systemic barriers. “The gender proportion at entry level was much higher, showing that we have a massive leaky pipeline.” In addition many women face the “glass cliff” phenomenon, where they are promoted into leadership roles during times of crisis, increasing their likelihood of failure. “Women are often asked to take on perilous CEO roles when companies are in trouble. This is a net positive step forward, but it also reflects a broader pattern of risk allocation,” said van Biesen.
Boards and hiring committees typically default to male leaders, reinforcing the status quo with respect to leadership selection. “Even sophisticated boards can still be biased by what they view as a ‘safe pair of hands’—which tends to be, whether consciously or not, a tall white guy,” said van Biesen. Intersectionality also matters. While white women have made some progress, women of color, LGBTQ+ women, and disabled women face even more barriers. “Progress for women doesn’t mean progress for all women. When you look at every leadership layer, white women are making significantly more progress than women of color,” said McCollum.
The perspective of these leaders also revealed five priorities that could accelerate change and be game changers for women.
Redesign Work for Gender Equity
Working long hours is the reality for most Fortune CEOs. However, more flexibility is needed for women to be leaders including shorter workweeks, remote work options, and autonomy over work schedules. There is also a spectrum of what is possible and practical. Being able to leave work at a reasonable time is needed for women who have high ambition for their careers and are juggling the work-family balance with their partner. Chung believes that more radical change is needed. “We need to completely shatter the idea that full-time work has to be 40+ hours. A 30-hour workweek would make it possible for more women to go into leadership.”
Implement Structural Reforms For Women
It’s important to be intentional at every stage of the pipeline to ensure more women become CEOs. “At Catalyst, we talk about what it will take to fix the systems when nearly 90% of CEOs are men and 70% of the C-Suite are men,” said McCollum. “The first thing is a commitment to change – that doesn’t have to be targets, but it does require aspirational goals that will create pathways to leadership for more women.” Another structural reform could include mandated equal parental leave for men and women to normalize caregiving for all genders. “We need to challenge the cultural norm that fathers are not caregivers,” said Chung. “Longer paid paternity leave would be transformational in fostering workplace equality.”
Develop and Retain Women
Tanya van Biesen believes it’s important to take the long view and carefully help women to manage their careers. For example, helping women navigate disruptions as a result of the need for home care and family care. Leaders must also actively advocate for women’s promotions and leadership through more equitable access to sponsorship, mentorship, and leadership training. “Are we ensuring diverse leadership slates? Are we creating equitable access to sponsorship, mentorship, and coaching needed for advancement?,” asked McCollum. “Speaking to my own situation, I was able to develop, grow, and advance at Principal because I was surrounded by mentors as well as advocates,” said Strable. “They believed in me, vocalized that support, and pushed me when I was still gaining confidence to take that next step in my career or pursue that next opportunity.”
Engage Men as Partners With Women
Developing and retaining talented women also involves men as allies and partners. ”There are still more male leaders out there than there are female leaders,” said van Biesen, “So locking arms with men and saying, ‘Hey, you’re part of the solution here’ is critical.’” McCollum believes that men have been left out of the conversations about women’s progress and are struggling too. “This is limiting their sense of inclusion, belonging and ability to bring their whole selves to the workplace. We need to create environments of gender partnership and inclusion that help everyone thrive and advance equally.”
Align Gender Diversity with Business Performance
Framing gender diversity as a business strategy, not just a moral imperative, is essential. “Companies with more women in leadership have better financial results, decision-making, innovation, and employee engagement and retention,” said McCollum. Simply put, more women at the top leads to more companies at the top. “One of my favorite CEO’s on our board very unapologetically says gender advancement in the workforce is about winning – with employees, consumers, customers, and investors.” Today, corporate success also involves more than market share and profitability – well-being, work-life balance, and impact on society are also important. “Performance outcomes shouldn’t be measured by how much money you make, but by how much positive impact, happiness, and well-being you contribute to society,” said Chung.
Taking Action For Women
Collectively, the insights from leaders I spoke with contributed to seven interrelated actions that boards of directors, corporations and leaders can take to drive more women to the top.
- Revise job structures to accommodate flexible work schedules and ensure leadership expectations do not require unsustainable hours.
- Normalize paternity leave and caregiving responsibilities for men to balance gender roles in the workplace and at home.
- Track and report leadership diversity metrics—not just overall representation, but pay equity, retention, and promotion rates.
- Encourage sponsorship, not just mentorship, with senior leaders actively advocating for high-potential women.
- Educate boards and hiring committees on unconscious bias in leadership selection.
- Tie executive compensation to diversity and inclusion progress, ensuring gender equity remains a business priority.
- Reframe gender equity as a business advantage, emphasising its impact on financial performance and company success.
- Access Resources and Tools. For example, Catalyst has a wealth of resources for how to navigate the changing landscape of leadership.
Ensuring more women become CEOs requires systemic change in corporate culture, leadership development, and workplace design. Companies that embrace these reforms will create more equitable workplaces, drive stronger business outcomes, and help redefine what successful leadership looks like.
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