Why should we help women to take up leadership positions
We need to press on to find out why we do not have more female leaders and take proactive actions to make it happen.
After all, women hold up half of the sky for us.
More importantly, if we don't leverage on women's talents, we may not be tapping on the full potential of our human resources.
We may not be tapping on the strengths of women to achieve greater good of our future.
Having said that, I'm not suggesting that there should be a quota for female leaders in every organization.
Meritocracy should still apply.
Gender equality should not be allowed to affect overall effectiveness, efficiency and results.
On the other hand, not addressing gender equality may cause a cascade of negative consequences.
If there's no women or a lack of women in leadership position, the organization may have planning myopia.
They may not have a proper perspective of female stakeholders, including employees and customers and get a complete feedback from them,
History has shown that both men and women can be great leaders.
We have seen women proving their worth in formal education, in workplaces, in governments, and in many other organisations.
Many are currently leading major organisations and delivering commendable results.
Women can lead or complement men in fulfilling a mission and carrying out an operation.
However, women still have to break the glass ceiling in many quarters of society.
There are many underlying issues that have not been fully addressed in helping women take up leadership positions.
Truth be told, there are many women who have to play on an un-level playing field right from birth.
For them to rise up to lead, they have to face deep-seated biases and prejudices.
They have to face greater odds to stand out from the crowd and lead in the front.
In addition, they may face many other disadvantages throughout their lives.
In many parts of the world, there are still many stereotypes about women’s positions in society.
Women are not generally accepted to lead and run an organization.
They have to work harder to prove their worth and find their places under the organizational sun.
In many households, women are still expected to do most of the work of looking after the households.
They have to juggle their work and personal time with their motherly role of looking after the children.
Sometimes, they have to be full-time mothers and full-time workers at the same time.
In some old boys' formal and informal networks, there's an unwritten, unconscious, uninformed and unchanging attitude towards promoting women at the highest levels.
This attitude may be subtlety camouflaged within the psyche and in the culture over a long period of time.
For humanity to progress and take ourselves to a higher level, we need to help women all over the world to expand their potentials and pursue their passions in life.
Let us help them enjoy equal rights and opportunities and maximize their contributions to their loved ones, communities, workplaces and society.
We can certainly do more and do better to help them enjoy their rightful places in leadership positions and in other aspects of life.
No comments