The Business Case for Women Leaders
Have you ever noticed that the higher up you look in a company, the fewer women you find? The facts tell a bleak story: although women comprise 46 percent of the workforce [4], they hold only 4 percent of CEO titles and 15 percent of executive-level roles at Fortune 500 companies [4], 25 percent of corporate boards seats [8], and 24 percent of senior management roles worldwide [4].
Why do so few women reach the C-suite? Research suggests that implicit gender biases among hiring managers play a role [5]. Implicit gender biases, or stereotype-confirming thoughts, stem from perceived norms about men and women. Research shows that people are more likely to associate women with “communal” traits, such as kindness, sympathy, and helpfulness, and men with “agentic” traits, such as aggressiveness, decisiveness, and dominance [3]. Gender stereotypes portray women as lacking qualities that effective leaders possess – traits typically associated with men.
How can practitioners concerned about gender equity in the workforce persuade hiring managers to overcome implicit biases and hire more female leaders? We can start with behavioral science. By drawing on three psychological principles – loss aversion, framing, and confirmation bias – practitioners can communicate that hiring and promoting more women leaders can improve companies’ bottom lines.
References
[1]: Galbreath, Jeremy. “Is Board Gender Diversity Linked to Financial Performance? The Mediating Mechanism of CSR.” Business & Society 57, no. 5 (2016), 863-889. doi:10.1177/0007650316647967.
[2]: Herring, Cedric. “Does Diversity Pay?: Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity.” American Sociological Review 74, no. 2 (2009), 208-224. doi:10.1177/000312240907400203.
[3]: Heilman, Madeline E., Caryn J. Block, and Richard F. Martell. “Sex Stereotypes: Do They Influence Perceptions of Managers?” Journal of Social Behavior & Personality 10, no. 6 (1995), 237-252.
[4]: Hoobler, Jenny M., Courtney R. Masterson, Stella M. Nkomo, and Eric J. Michel. “The Business Case for Women Leaders: Meta-Analysis, Research Critique, and Path Forward.” Journal of Management 44, no. 6 (2016), 2473-2499. doi:10.1177/0149206316628643.
[5]: Latu, Ioana M., Marianne S. Mast, and Tracie L. Stewart. “Gender Biases in (Inter) Action.” Psychology of Women Quarterly 39, no. 4 (2015), 539-552. doi:10.1177/0361684315577383.
[6] Lord, Charles G., Lee Ross, and Mark R. Lepper. “Biased assimilation and attitude polarization: The effects of prior theories on subsequently considered evidence.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37, no. 11 (1979), 2098-2109. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.37.11.2098.
[7] Lord, Charles G., Mark R. Lepper, and Elizabeth Preston. “Considering the opposite: A corrective strategy for social judgment.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 47, no. 6 (1984), 1231-1243. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.47.6.1231
[8]: “Missing Pieces Report: The 2018 Board Diversity Census.” Deloitte United States. Last modified February 21, 2019. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/center-for-board-effectiveness/articles/missing-pieces-fortune-500-board-diversity-study-2018.html.
[9]: Noland, Marcus, Tyler Moran, and Barbara R. Kotschwar. “Is Gender Diversity Profitable? Evidence from a Global Survey.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2016. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2729348.
[10]: Tversky, A., and D. Kahneman. “The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice.” Science 211, no. 4481 (1981), 453-458. doi:10.1126/science.7455683.
About the Author
Stacy Post
Stacy uses applied behavioral science, social marketing, and behavior change models to communicate social issues ranging from environmental to public health to youth development. With a knack for translating complex, scientific findings into audience-friendly messaging to enact behavior change, she strives to use behavioral science to create a more productive and healthy society. Stacy completed an MA in Communication (social and behavior change communication) from Johns Hopkins University.
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