Women in Leadership - Mentoring Women in to Senior Management
Women are unrepresented in senior management roles. The
reasons for this vary - societal constraints, family responsibilities, gender
stereotypes, lack of support from employers and even lack of ambition from
women themselves.
However, when women look for career advancement, and find
that there are inadequate career development and progression opportunities,
they start looking for a new job. Organisations lose valuable skills and
corporate knowledge, and face higher recruitment costs.
To improve retention of female staff, companies need to be
proactive about promoting women into senior roles, and provide the support
required to make this possible. The benefits are not just for women employees,
but for the company. Retaining female staff gives the company a bigger pool of
talent to draw from, at a time when talent shortages are common.
Research in Europe and the US shows companies with more
women at senior levels are also companies that perform better organisational
and financially. This poses a strong argument for retaining women and
increasing gender diversity.
To assist in mentoring women into senior management
positions and increase retention of female staff, organisation can adopt some
or all of the following strategies.
Establish networking programs, coaching groups and active
mentorships so women can discuss ideas for advancement, plan their career path,
access career development and settle into new roles.
Train both male and female managers in the value of a
diverse workforce and provide them with strategies to develop and promote
female staff into senior roles.
Develop a succession plan to identify high performing female
staff members and provide opportunities for training and growth.
Consider the number of women in senior management with the
number of women employed in the organisation, and whether this number is
reflective. If not, make implementing female mentorships a priority.
Potential
and Purpose virtual program
Ensure that junior staff members have female role models in
senior positions to look up to. Encourage the senior women to support and
mentor the more junior staff.
Review work/life balance initiatives, such as part time
hours, flexible hours and work from home opportunities. Women's role as the
primary caregiver for families is a significant barrier to advancement.
Maintain open communication. User performance reviews to
allow female staff members to state their career goals. Don't make assumptions
based on gender, family responsibilities or age about an employees ambitions
and the career path they would choose.
Maintain communication with women on maternity leave and ask
what they need to support their transition back to work.
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