The Path to Parity: Elevating Competence and Integrity in Leadership

"Talent and capability transcend gender."

Yet, this stubborn disparity has remained a sticky issue for longer than any of us should be comfortable with. Time and time again, our collective choices limit, and in some cases, pull women back; where in truth, the only enduring way forward is through ingrained & pervasive equity.

Are we doing the best we can?

We know our desired outcome...

The way forward for our society is obvious - we must include more women, at all levels, to participate and meaningfully contribute to our collective journey.

We must reach a time when women in leadership roles are commonplace, not exceptional. It must be the norm, not a historic first. In fact, the inclusion of women should be so ingrained that special celebrations like International Women's Day or International Women in Engineering Day, are rendered unnecessary altogether.

But we're simply not getting there!

Against consistent friction, we must take a closer look in the mirror.

How do we change, or not change? Should we accelerate the adoption of new practices or take a long, hard look at the ones we have in place? In our workplaces, the former isn’t working very well. Anti-bias training or DEI quotes will not solve the representation disparity.

Take the word of the World Economic Forum:

"Considering the set of 101 countries continuously covered since 2006, the gender gap has closed by 0.1 percentage point since 2023. At the current rate of progress, it will take 134 years to reach full parity in 2158 – which is roughly five generations from now."

In the Age of Infinite, this might as well be a few millennia away. With such a slow pace of growth, the intervening 134 years may well compound the problem many fold.

This is not the path; and certainly not the pace!

Reflect, rethink and restructure

I've come to realize that perhaps we should ask different questions.

For example, instead of focusing on why there aren’t enough prominent successful women leaders, can we also question how male candidates enjoy a higher success rate at becoming leaders?

It’s a fact that organizations place individuals in leadership roles for reasons other than their skills or talents, all the time.

We mistake confidence as competence. Yet, these are not synonymous.

We give spotlight to charisma, even though we know that good leaders tend to be humble.

We equate self-admiration to determination—a mark of leadership potential. But unchecked narcissism leads to a lack of empathy, indulgence in reckless risks, and lack of integrity.

Then perhaps, the way forward it to evaluate and upgrade the criteria for leadership. Instead of focusing on confidence, charisma, and self-perceived value, we need to, also, select leaders based on their competence, humility, and integrity.

Interestingly, when we shift our focus towards competence, humility, and integrity, large scales studies have shown that these traits that are often found more in women than men.

Selecting women in leadership roles is not a conversation of 'lowering standards for women'. It's much rather one about raising them when selecting men, or anyone.

When we start associating leadership with the real qualifier of capability and effectiveness, i'm willing to bet the odds of achieving balanced scales increases exponentially.

Accelerating Technologies are raising the stakes

There is so much ground to cover, and the gap will only widen with the newer revolutionary technologies like AI and Quantum computing.

In our world today, women represent one third of the workforce in AI; in line with the overall participation worldwide of women in STEM, in general.

“These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions to bridge this gap and ensure equitable access to emerging technological competencies, particularly since generative AI is a fast-growing technology with the potential to enable tailored learning experiences fitting the needs of diverse learner populations.”

As allies, what can you do in your role?

We must all acknowledge the uncomfortable truth:

Addressing the leaky talent pipeline requires more than a weekend DIY.

While recognizing and celebrating the women in our ranks is valuable, a radical and deliberate focus is essential to create optimal conditions for their professional growth and active sponsorship. This, in turn, serves as a catalyst for the growth of the teams they lead and contribute to.

If we want to go beyond 'baseline improvement', we need to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the resources and strategies deployed against systemic issues such as unequal pay, flexible work, lack of sponsorship and opportunities to grow.

At the end of the day, if it doesn't inspire and empower EVERYONE, it doesn't work.

The gains will undoubtedly be extraordinary.

If successful, we can create a work culture that inherently values differences and diversity and actively works to create equal opportunities for all. If successful, we all benefit from a society that is primed for progressive evolution towards the greater good. A desired outcome indeed!

"Talent and capability transcend gender."

If we are to manifest our own words to life, we must start within.

We must start today!