How HR can help build 21st-century women leaders

While strides have been made in recent years toward closing the gender gap in leadership, the current outlook is not very positive.

For example, only 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and 60% of women plan to leave their jobs next year, jeopardising continued progress, says Alexandra Levit, Founder and CEO of Inspiration at Work. Levit presented Core Characteristics of the Most Effective 21st Century Women Leaders at the HR Tech Conference in Las Vegas last week.

Despite that landscape, Levit expects the opportunities for women’s advancement to improve in the coming years, largely because of changing workplace demographics.

Millennials are already the most-represented demographic in the workforce—and are expected to make up 75% of the global workforce by next year. It is a population, Levit said, that places a high value on diversity.

“It will make for a good work environment, especially for women to rise to leadership by 2030,” Levit noted.

Four characteristics that can help women ascend to leadership

Women looking to rise to leadership in the coming years should focus on developing four core capabilities, said Levit, which HR leaders can prioritise as they strategise for building out the skills of their future leadership benches.

Seizing flexibility

Within six years, Levit expects most millennial leaders to end mandatory return-to-office schedules, allowing employees more freedom. Women should seize this flexibility, she advised, especially working mothers or those sandwiched between caring for elderly parents and young children.

Instead of leaving the workforce or pausing careers because of these responsibilities, women should focus on being proactive and taking advantage of flexible scheduling. This will help reduce the attrition rate among women and enable more women to advance into leadership.

Emotional intelligence

Women tend to have better emotional intelligence, also known as a higher emotional quotient (EQ), than men, Levit said. This is something those aspiring to leadership should particularly hone in the coming years. Leaders with high EQ are more prone to providing psychological safety to the workforce, especially as AI becomes more pervasive and employees fear for their jobs.

Global perspective

In the next 10 to 15 years, people across the globe will be operating in the metaverse, Levit predicted. And, as a result, leaders will need a global perspective, she advised.

“We will also be playing in the virtual world and not have the same global boundary lines we have now,” she said. “So, women leaders need to have a global perspective and practice it now, so it is second nature to you.”

Technological curiosity

Although not all leaders need a technical background, women looking to find leadership success in the future should have applied technology skills, like comfort using an AI dashboard or using ChatGPT, Levit said.

“Have curiosity about what is coming down the pike for HR,” said Levit. “When tech gets smarter, and it will, you will feel comfortable using this tech.”

HR’s role in advancing women leaders

As future women leaders work to cultivate these characteristics, Levit advised HR professionals to create environments where they can flourish. Work to combat discrimination, seek pay equity, and track and reward results, for instance.

Encourage networking as well, she said, such as by investing in women’s professional groups.

“I feel women are not as good at networking now [compared to] before the pandemic,” Levit said. “Organisations can offer a stipend to a professional organisation, and it doesn’t cost a lot of money but can make a huge difference in moving their career along.”

About the Author: Dawn Kawamoto is HR Editor of HR Executive, where the article was first published.