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Despite the many initiatives in recent years to bring more women into leadership roles, gender bias in organisational structures still exists.
the majority of women therefore need to step up in order to overcome the barriers and obstacles in the corporate world.
Women are under-represented at every level of the corporate totem pole. This is not because they are taking breaks to have babies but it’s simply because women face greater barriers to advancement and a steeper path to senior leadership than men.
A woman once said: “If you knew you would lose, would you bother playing the game?’’. That might be the majority of women’s mentality when it comes to aspiring for leadership roles. Most women think they have fewer opportunities to advance because of their gender and due to the continued stereotyping that women cannot handle leadership roles.
Also, even if they get a top post, women are consulted less often on important decisions as compared to men. This is discouraging and de-motivating and as a result most women lose interest to further climb up the ladder.
Chapter 3 of the Zimbabwe National Code on Corporate Governance (ZimCode), principle 94, asserts that every board should consider whether its size, diversity and demographics make it effective. Diversity relates to academic qualifications, technical expertise, relevant industry knowledge, experience, nationality, age, race and gender.
Principle 126 further recommends that the appointment of the chief executive officer must be based on merit, skill, leadership qualities, and experience without losing sight of the need to promote gender equality.
Appointing female directors helps to break an institutional barrier against women ascending to the top ranks of leadership. Once the glass ceiling is broken it creates an alleyway for other women to advance to top leadership positions.
Gender diversity on the board and senior management team assists companies in attracting and retaining valuable female talent. This further contributes to a positive attitude among female employees who will begin to see the possibility of occupying a higher post some day and they will feel inspired to work towards that goal.
A gender diverse board has a competitive advantage and is better positioned to thrive in today’s global economy where the pace of change is accelerating and the rapidly changing economic realities require nimble strategic and well informed directors.
Academic research in management has long shown that groups with more diverse composition tend to be more innovative and make better informed decisions.
Appointing women on boards is not just about equality, it’s a business case with measurable success results. Companies with more females on boards tend to outperform companies with more men on board.
It is believed that female bosses are better at engaging employees when compared to their male counterparts. They also hearten growth and development of their subordinates which boosts employee morale and motivation as a result high productivity and efficiency is achieved.
Given that the majority of senior business leaders are men, the style of leadership being exhibited, the attributes being sought and the benefits being promoted will likely be moulded by a male view of what it means to lead.
Therefore these views may not appeal to women looking for senior positions. Hence, there is more that needs to be done in order to overcome this gap and enable businesses to reap the benefits of a diverse gender-balanced leadership team.
In implementing policies on board diversity, both the company chairman and its nomination committee play a significant role. The chair being the leader of the board should encourage open discussions during meetings and to also commit and support mentoring, networking and adequate training to board members.
The nomination committee should establish a formal recruitment policy concerning the diversity of board members with reference to the competencies required for the board, its business nature as well as its strategies.
Organisations should educate employees on second-generation gender bias and thrive to create safe identity workspaces that support transitions to bigger roles and anchor women’s development efforts in their sense of leadership purpose.
An effective national law and a public policy change on gender diversity can have a huge ripple effect especially if there is a political will to implement it. Therefore, the Government should encourage more initiatives that increase the representation of women in all spheres of leadership.
The Government should also use the ZimCode in an effort to ensure that companies comply. Leaders of corporations have the power to implement change with regards to gender diversity and it should then be mandatory for all companies to disclose their diversity policy in appointing directors.
Entities should also be transparent and be required to disclose in their annual reports describing their board composition as well as its progress in achieving the objectives on gender diversity so that the general public and investors can make a proper evaluation.
Board diversity reflects the diversity of the society and community served by an organisation. This reflection strengthens the social bond between a business and its stakeholders and it further improves a company’s reputation as a responsible corporate citizen that understands its community.
This basically shows that the society as whole has a greater role to play towards gender diversity. Therefore, the most important ingredient for success towards gender diversity would be the change in the society’s mind-set to welcome a more heterogeneous leadership and to place greater trust in one another by working together as a community in increasing gender diversity awareness.
As we have approached the end of women’s history month, our hope is that women equipped with a map of the barriers they might face in the corporate world, will confront their path to professional development and be bold enough to take the first step in recognising that they are leaders in their own right in this new dispensation.
This article is prepared by ZimCode (Joint Secretariat of ZIMLEF, IoDZ & SAZ). For more information on the Zimcode contact: [email protected]
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