Women's & Girls' Leadership

From prime ministers to grass roots organizers, women and girls are attaining leadership positions in increasing numbers across government, civil society and the economy. But the glass ceiling is still firmly in place in many countries including in the US, where women are still vastly under-represented in government and senior leadership positions. Explore the resources listed below, including Related Categories links, or use the Keyword Search for more information.

Study Points to New Path for British Women to Rise Up the Ranks

Teaser:

The Center for Talent Innovation released a new report, the “Sponsor Effect: UK” that was released last night at the House of Commons at an event keynoted by Theresa May, the British Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities.

Editorial:

From the press release:

Women enter the white-collar workforce in the UK in far greater numbers than men: 57 females for every 43 males. Yet as employees in large corporations move from entry-level to middle management, and from mid- to senior-level positions, men advance disproportionately. Across sector and occupation, women are simply not breaking through to leadership positions in numbers commensurate with their weight in the talent pool.

Why? According to the new CTI study the reason is straightforward and has nothing to do with a lack of accomplishment or ambition—or a paucity of childcare or flextime. Rather, British women tend not to have sponsors—powerful champions willing to take a bet on a young talent, go out on a limb for him/her and advocate for the next promotion. Sponsors are the people that propel and protect high performing employees through the treacherous shoals of upper management.

The study found that UK men with sponsors (as opposed to those without) are 40 percent more likely to move up the ladder at a satisfactory clip, while this “sponsor effect” for UK women is even higher—52 percent.

[...]

Source:

The Center for Talent Innovation

URL:

http://www.worklifepolicy.org/documents/Sponsor%20Effect%20UK%20-%20FINAL%20Press%20Release.pdf

Date:

June 15, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Meet China’s First Female Astronaut—Maybe

Teaser:

China is going to send a woman into space for the first time.

Editorial:

From The Wall Street Journal:

The mission, announced just a few days ago, is moving forward rapidly: The Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft to be used in the mission has already been strapped to its carrier rocket and the rocket already moved to the launch pad at a satellite launch center in northwest China.

All that remains is to choose the woman who will be on board when spacecraft shoots skyward.

On Tuesday, in what may or may not be a sign that the decision has been made, the state-run China Daily published a profile of 34-year-old fighter pilot Liu Yang, one of the two candidates tipped as the most likely to go where no Chinese woman has gone before.

[...]

Source:

The Wall Street Journal

URL:

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/06/13/meet-chinas-first-female-astronaut%E2%80%94maybe/

Date:

June 13, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Women in Finance: Focus on board diversity is the tip of the iceberg

Teaser:

The findings of the fifth annual Financial News Women in Finance survey are sobering: Of the 650 female respondents to the survey, all of whom work in the financial services industry, two thirds said their gender made it harder for them to succeed and a similar proportion said they felt they needed to work harder than male counterparts in order to be viewed at the same level of achievement by managers.

Editorial:

From Financial News:

Ruth Grant, a litigation partner and co-chair of the diversity committee at law firm Hogan Lovells, said: “There is a mismatch between what’s being done and outcomes. There is a difference between management having projects and structures that they put in place and actually embedding those ideas into the corporate culture and how the business makes them part of the daily life and DNA of an organisation.”

The survey results are a timely reminder that, while top-level management of financial firms is largely convinced that change is necessary and has begun to implement programmes, there is still more that needs to be done. The challenge, particularly in depressed market conditions, is keeping gender diversity on the priority list.

Helena Morrissey, chief executive of Newton Investment Management and founder of the 30% Club, which has had notable successes encouraging chairmen to bring more women into board roles, said: “There has been a very long, slow burn over the understanding of gender imbalance, but a sharp pick-up and growing momentum for change over the past 18 months. The financial services sector, and especially bigger companies, are trying very hard, partly in an attempt to rehabilitate their reputation. It is a paradigm shift for many people.”

Financial firms do appear to be making more of an effort. This year, 38% of survey respondents said their company had no diversity programme or women’s networking forum, less than the 46% who responded similarly last year. Whether the shift is due to more companies launching programmes is arguable but, certainly, there is increased awareness and communication within firms to promote uptake of such initiatives.

[...]

Source:

Financial News

URL:

http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2012-06-11/focus-on-board-diversity-is-tip-of-the-iceberg?mod=sectionheadlines-PE-AM

Date:

June 12, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Why There Are So Few Women In Congress

Teaser:

According to political scientists Barbara Palmer and Dennis Simon, there are five main reasons women still hold less than 17% of the seats in Congress.

Editorial:

From U.S. News and World Report:

You'd think that since 1916—the year a woman was first elected to U.S. Congress—there would have been some serious progress.

Women in the workforce, after all, have been on a steady rise.

Not so in Congress, where women hold less than 17 percent of seats to this day, according to the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics. In 2010, the number of women elected to the House actually declined.

[See: Latest political cartoons.]

"Politics is lagging behind society," says Barbara Palmer, associate professor of political science at Baldwin-Wallace College and co-author of the upcoming book Women and Congressional Elections: A Century of Change.

Palmer and Southern Methodist University professor Dennis Simon have been studying the political glass ceiling for over a decade. Voters, they said, mostly aren't to blame for the lack of progress. But they shared five other very real reasons more women aren't in Washington:

[...]

Source:

U.S. News and World Report

URL:

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/06/08/why-there-are-so-few-women-in-congress

Date:

June 12, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Name It. Change It.

Submitted by asklar on Tue, 06/12/2012 - 10:12am

Name It. Change It. is a non-partisan project of WCF Foundation, Women’s Media Center, and Political Parity.

Together, we will work to end sexist and misogynistic coverage of women candidates by all members of the press—from bloggers to radio hosts to television pundits.

Why?

Widespread sexism in the media is one of the top problems facing women. A highly toxic media environment persists for women candidates, often negatively affecting their campaigns. The ever-changing media landscape creates an unmonitored echo chamber, often allowing damaging comments to exist without accountability.

URL:

http://www.nameitchangeit.com/

Invisible Market Energy and Agricultural Technologies for Women's Economic Advancement

Submitted by asklar on Tue, 06/12/2012 - 9:59am

This research explores what it takes for technology initiatives, specifically in the energy and agricultural sectors, to reach and economically benefit women in developing countries through market-based strategies that have the potential for achieving scale and financial sustainability. It builds on ICRW’s landmark paper, Bridging the Gender Divide: How Technology Can Advance Women Economically, which made the case for how technologies can create pathways for strengthening women’s economic opportunities.

URL:

http://www.icrw.org/publications/invisible-market

Member Organization:

International Center for Research on Women

High Potentials in the Pipeline: Leaders Pay it Forward

Submitted by asklar on Tue, 06/12/2012 - 9:35am

Catalyst's longitudinal project, The Promise of Future Leadership: Highly Talented Employees in the Pipeline, develops timely reports on the retention and advancement of high potential women and men. The project surveys graduates of leading business schools in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, with the intent of assessing their career values, goals, and expectations, the developmental opportunities afforded them, and their strategies for managing work and family life. The reports highlight the differences in women's and men's career experiences and satisfaction; some feature perspectives from global leaders and other experts.

URL:

http://catalyst.org/publication/534/42/high-potentials-in-the-pipeline-leaders-pay-it-forward

Member Organization:

Catalyst

Desiring Change

Submitted by asklar on Tue, 06/12/2012 - 9:32am

Desire and gender are brought alive through the ways lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and intersexed people use their bodies; desire and gender are made poignant and meaningful by the ways we construct or deny our erotic passions and gendered identities in the course of daily life. People will take risks—facing marginalization, isolation, and even violence—to identify and act upon their desires. And they will live out their unique understanding of gender—no matter how dangerous or costly the results. This report represents the integration of joint efforts by the Barnard Center for Research on Women (BCRW) and Queers for Economic Justice (QEJ), beginning with activist and academic convenings that took place from 2005-07 under the name “Desiring Change,” and culminating in a daylong gathering in 2007 with 21 social justice organizations.

URL:

http://bcrw.barnard.edu/publications/nfs7/report/

Member Organization:

Barnard Center for Research on Women

Small Business Lessons of the Recession

Submitted by asklar on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 10:58am

Many of today’s women-owned businesses (WOBs) are led by recession-tested entrepreneurs whose experiences provide valuable insight into the challenges that may await aspiring small business owners. A new study released by Chase Card Services, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co., NFIB and the Center for Women's Business Research, looks at how women small business owners performed during the “Great Recession.”

URL:

http://www.nfib.com/wobstudy

The Catalyst Pyramid: U.S. Women in Business

Teaser:

Infographic showing percentage of women in the workforce vs. different management positions.

Source:

Catalyst

URL:

http://www.catalyst.org/publication/132/us-women-in-business

Date:

June 8, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

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What We Do

NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.

Women's & Girls' Leadership

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