Six ways to #PressforProgress

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, leaders should consider taking these simple steps to champion change and promote gender parity in their organizations

Another day, another headline related to gender disparity – it can seem overwhelming. What can we do about some of the major systemic issues around pay, promotion, even power? It can feel like too much to tackle. But while debates continue about the big-picture solutions, I would argue that there are things individual leaders, men and women alike, can tackle – in fact, any leader can do their part to PressforProgress, this year’s theme for International Women’s Day. These simple actions take a little time and a bit of effort, but in my experience they can make a real difference in the careers of aspiring female leaders.

First, let’s take a look at some of the latest research:

• Progress is still too slow: According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, the proportion of female leaders across industries has been increasing over the past decade by an average of little more than 2%. (1)
• There is a lack of representation in the C-suite: The most recent Women in the Workplace study, a joint project of LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company, found that although 57% of recent college graduates are female, fewer women than men are hired at the entry level, with the representation of women declining at every subsequent level. The result: only “one in five C-suite leaders is a woman, and fewer than one in thirty is a woman of color. Moreover, compared to the modest gains women made in prior years, there are signs this year that women’s progress may be stalling.” (2)
• Board parity isn’t around the corner: Board Monitor 2017, my firm’s annual analysis of trends in non-executive director appointments to Fortune 500 boards, found that given the stalled rate for appointment of female directors, gender parity with male appointments won’t arrive in the boardroom until 2032. (3)

So what can each of us personally do? Here are some suggestions based on my experience: