Boosting Women Leaders the Right Way

Source: Journal of Accountancy, May 21, 2018

Initiatives aimed at boosting the number of women in leadership positions are common in accounting firms but are often met with mixed success. In this 20-minute podcast, Nancy Droesch, a CPA and co-founder of WILLO LLC (which stands for Women in Leadership Launching Opportunities), offers insights into why these programs are still important and how to make them stronger and more successful.

Although women have outpaced men in obtaining college degrees since the early 1980s, these numbers don’t yet translate into high representation in leadership roles. According to Droesch, in CPA firms with 100-plus employees, only 20 percent of partners are women. Moreover, women account for only 10 to 15 percent of those in leadership positions in corporate America.

Having more women in leadership roles not only provides a competitive advantage but can also increase profitability, according to studies cited by Droesch. There are several reasons for this, including better relations with clients, who increasingly have more female decision makers; improved decision making because of greater diversity of thought; and lower turnover costs. Droesch notes that it’s also important to focus on women’s initiatives as a means of addressing the projected shortfall of 40 million highly skilled professionals by 2030.

So how can firms do better in this area? She offers the following insights and suggestions:

• Become aware of unconscious workplace bias. Even well-intended people often buy into unconscious bias or “affinity bias,” where people gravitate toward others like them, and in male-dominated environments, this can impede women’s progress. Droesch notes that both women and men may be more likely to accept the leadership potential of men but question it in women. This can lead to differences in how career-enhancing assignments are given, how people are groomed for promotion, and even how women are unconsciously treated. For instance, men tend to interrupt women more frequently than men, she asserts. When this type of thing occurs, she suggests that male leaders speak up and say, “Hey, Susan wasn’t finished making her point.” These types of informal actions are powerful in dismantling unconscious bias.

• Make “women’s initiatives” firmwide initiatives. The “tone at the top” is always critical to any kind of change program. Men in top leadership positions must show commitment to gender inclusiveness through both their words and actions. Droesch notes that it may even be appropriate for a male leader to champion women’s initiatives within a firm if that person has the necessary clout to lead change.

• Investigate your firm’s “hot spots.” Are women leaving at a higher rate than men? Are they not being promoted in similar numbers? If so, there are probably underlying reasons why. Employee surveys, confidential individual interviews, focus groups and exit interviews are all ways to find out whether gender inequities might exist and what its root causes may be. In the interest of getting truly candid insights, a third-party consultant may be needed.

• Aim family-friendly policies at both men and women. When men also take advantage of family-friendly policies, such as time off after a child’s birth or flexibility to take care of childcare issues, it removes the stigma that these are policies to accommodate women. Droesch also cautions against managers assuming that women who are pregnant or have given birth are going to quit, be less dedicated to their career, or ask for changes such as a reduced schedule or no travel. Sometimes managers assume such things, with the result being that female employees ultimately receive fewer career-enhancing assignments that lead to promotion.

You can listen to the podcast here: “How to make women’s initiatives more successful.”