FINAL WORD
Balancing the gender diversity
balance sheet is important
F
emale talent is sparking a paradigm
shift at the executive top table and
overturning traditional boardroom
cultures to increase business growth.
Women in leadership roles are no longer
operating from the sidelines, but showing
how to build sustainable strategies and
make incisive decisions that add value
to customers and the bottom-line. Many
commentators have highlighted the gender
disparity at senior levels, but how are
women in the workplace able to overcome
obstacles and intelligently navigate the
turbulent waves in the executive suite?
Last year, publicly-traded companies with
all-male boards lost out on a total of $655
billion in potential profits across India, UK
and US, research by Chicago, Illinois-based
accountancy firm Grant Thornton found. In
the technology industry, I am encouraged
by the growing appetite for driving diversity
with the goal of boosting performance and
corporate dynamism. While barriers still
exist, the process of overcoming hurdles
can often yield valuable skills that men
fast-tracked to the top may not have.
The onus is ultimately on the individual.
Women need to meet corporate challenges
head-on, whereas businesses need to better
understand the nuance and power of non-
traditional developmental routes up the
corporate ladder.
From my perspective, women leaders in
the technology sector think faster, smarter
and safer. Faster in terms of being better
equipped to make effective decisions and to
react swiftly to market dynamics; smarter at
utilising knowledge to intelligently guide the
operation successfully in turbulen t times;
and safer by having the right set of people,
Lizzie Cohen-Laloum is Senior Vice
President EMEA Sales at F5 Networks
tools and skills in place. Women who succeed
also tend to emerge as effective and highly
influential role models, inspiring others to
progress their careers to the summit.
The return on investment for adequately
and appropriately supporting female talent
clearly helps firms to scale the talent pool,
expand their service capability and, crucially,
positively impact overall operational
profitability. Many behavioural studies
have revealed that women leaders tend
to demonstrate stronger communication,
cooperation, affiliation and nurturing skills
than men who tend to be more goal oriented
and less focused on relationships and
processes. Evidently, boardroom diversity
can unlock and optimise new ways of
strategic thinking that benefit everyone.
According to a recent report by the
Rockefeller Foundation, only 21 women are
at the helm of Fortune 500 Companies. Most
market analysts would agree that if equality
and opportunity were like a balance sheet,
then women are clearly operating in the
red. However, on a global scale, women are
making a significant difference. The recipe
for success to be an effective international
leader, in my opinion, is like being a
beacon of best practice. An individual who
is a magnet for management that attracts
all the traits needed to guide, educate,
influence, analyse, communicate, inspire
and orchestrate stakeholders across the
commercial network.
For women to be handed the keys to the
boardroom door and take a seat at the top
table, they need to hone their business skills
and demonstrate the necessary disciplines.
Susan Colantuono, CEO of Leading Women,
noted in a recent interview that when
determining whether a woman can lead
the business executives, look for business,
strategic and financial acumen. This is what
she calls the missing 33% of the career
success equation for women.
Are the tables turning towards an equal
balance of talent in the boardroom?
The irony is that whilst women in senior
positions are statistically low across the
globe, the firms that close the gender gap
tend to experience major improvements
in operational and trading results. Women
are not necessarily better than men at
fulfilling leadership roles or vice versa. It is
more a case of achieving balanced executive
dynamics, skills and a broader range of
strategic perspectives that contribute to
a robust chain of command. Ultimately,
effective leaders are judged on merit and
acumen whoever wears the trousers.
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