The Way Forward for Women in Leadership

The pandemic has been hard on most people, especially women. Women have had to adjust their way of living and working environment to keep their jobs. Some have lost their jobs and have had to adjust to the new norm. Despite life challenges, women still find success in different sectors of their personal life and career. Women have demonstrated how effective they are in leadership and the integral role they play in organizations. Most women are becoming more resilient, solution-oriented, and innovative in their operations. With gains and losses at hand, women still have a promising future as they work to achieve their ultimate goals.

Women are strong leaders

Specific characteristics determine whether one is resilient enough to become a strong leader. Women have been perceived the underdogs for a long time. As a result, they have built up resilience for a lot of things. According to research, women, and men hardly differ when it comes to effectiveness in leadership.

Women seem to have an upper hand when it comes to leadership behaviors. Women have shown more emotional support to their colleagues by checking on their well-being and assisting them to get through work-life challenges. Women’s contribution to equity, inclusion, and diversity is unmatched, giving them an edge in leadership.

The bias still exists

Despite women demonstrating their strength in leadership, they still have to deal with challenges like bias in the workplace. Perceptions and beliefs rule out women to be more qualified leaders and better decision-makers.

The assumption is that women decide based on emotions while men use logic, which is not always the case. Such bias and stereotypes result in the misrepresentation of women in leadership .

Way forward

Despite the several challenges many women and other genders face in the workplace, they need to manage their biases. Individuals need to work on the language they use to describe their colleagues. They need to be gender-neutral and perceive their fellow workers in terms of capabilities, skills, and competencies.

Women love to explore, which helps them to perform a SWOT analysis on themselves. As a result, they discover their talents and skills and bring them forward. They positively contribute to companies and communities by being more productive in what they do.

In summary

Women continue to demonstrate resilience and effective leadership, which is a plus for any organization or community. Nevertheless, they still have to deal with bias in most industries. Therefore, they will have to find the voice to speak out and the strength to overcome such obstacles to remain successful.

Originally published at https://brieneumann.com on November 2, 2021.