Women’s leadership, a major competitive advantage

Gender equality and women’s leadership have made their way onto the agendas of most businesses.  

And not just to achieve justice and equity but also because they have a strong impact on profitability: companies with women in management have been proven to generate more profit and better retain talent.  

While the gender gap is a hot topic in public debate, the representation of women in companies has not noticeably improved, especially in positions of high responsibility. 

The numbers don’t lie. According to the IMF’s Global Center Gap Report 2022, only 36.9% of working women hold leadership positions. In other words, men occupy 63.1% of the most influential positions.  

Across the world, only 36.9% of working women hold leadership positions

The road ahead is a long one. 

What is women’s leadership? 

Women’s leadership is defined as the participation of women in positions of power and decision-making in companies.   

The concept was developed by Marilyn Loden, Sally Helgesen, and Helen Fisher over 40 years ago and has reinvigorated the debate on gender equality in recent years. 

As early as 1978, Marilyn Loden coined the term “glass ceiling”, arguing that the barriers to women's career aspirations and opportunities were mostly cultural rather than personal or psychological.  

Loden challenged the tendency of many women to adhere to a masculine leadership style to fit into the dominant system. She defended a different way of leading more in line with the positive characteristics traditionally attributed to women. 

Characteristics of women’s leadership 

According to the three authors, women’s leadership stands out in these four areas:  

• Listening 
• Empathy 
• Communication  
• Teamwork

Difference between women’s and men’s leadership 

Now that we know what women’s leadership is, let's delve a little deeper into its defining characteristics.  

In broad strokes, women demonstrate a leadership style that is more open to people and to establishing employee partnerships.  

Some noteworthy talents of women’s leadership include the flexibility to work as a team and the ability to bring groups together.   

Additionally, women tend to be more concerned about diversity and equity in business structures, which results in a healthier and more pleasant work environment committed to collective goals.   

Women are more concerned about diversity and equity within companies

In this year's edition of Esade Gender Monitor, 71% of survey respondents found women CEOs to be much more active in issues of equality, inclusion, and diversity. And this benefits team unity. 

Men’s leadership characteristics include assertive communication, strategic capacity, and competitive spirit.  

However, these skills are not innate and can therefore be learned with proper training. To that end, business schools such as Esade already offer women's leadership courses to hone women's management skills and guide them to excellence. 

Management skills are not innate. They can be learned

Women’s leadership in Spain 

According to Grant Thornton's Women in Business study, which analyzed women with high responsibilities in the IBEX35, the Spanish companies listed are generally aligned with European levels.  

• From 2011 to 2021, the presence of women on boards of directors went from 12% to 34%. 
• During that same period, the proportion of female managers rose from 12.1% to 31.3%. 

However, as Marta Colomina of PwC rightly pointed out in a debate on Women and Leadership organized by Esade, these figures get blurred when including unlisted companies in the picture, where the reality is far more disheartening.  

Barriers to women’s leadership in companies 

Unconscious biases (44.7%), difficulty balancing professional, personal, and family life (29.6%), and the lack of recognition for tasks performed (23.2%) are the main barriers highlighted by the professionals surveyed in the Esade Gender Monitor 2023. 

At 44.7%, unconscious gender biases stand out to professionals as one of the main causes of the gender gap in senior management positions.  

Unconscious gender biases are the great barrier to women’s career advancement

Unconscious biases are ideas and beliefs instilled in our minds that often automatically guide decision-making, even though they are often unfounded and prejudiced.

To counter them, at the Esade colloquium on women’s business leadership, ISS District Manager Raquel Manzano proposed holding “in-house training courses” to shed light on them and unravel their underlying irrational basis.   

In addition to the causes mentioned above, Raquel Manzano also points out the “absence of examples of women’s leadership in Spain” as another condition hindering women’s career advancement.  

Benefits of women’s leadership 

According to the study The Business Case for Change of the World Labor Organization, companies that adequately work on parity in managerial positions gain key competitive advantages over those that do not: 

• They increase profits by 5 to 20%. 
• They show greater innovation and creativity. 
• They have a better external image and reputation.   
• They retain and attract talent more effectively. 

The presence of women in managerial positions increases profits by 5% to 20% 

From all standpoints, it would appear that achieving equality in positions of responsibility is an inescapable duty for companies, both in terms of ethics and competitiveness.  

How to promote women’s business leadership 

What measures and changes should be taken so that the other 50% of the population is also represented in corporations’ strategic direction? How can we expedite company equality policies? 

According to Esade's Women Initiative, the actions most valued by the female executives surveyed to promote equal opportunities include: 

• Boosting coaching, mentoring, and sponsoring (48.3%) 
• Incentivizing training in management skills (38.1%) 
• Promoting flexible hours (37.3%) 
• Encouraging an inclusive business culture and sense of belonging (34%) 

But, above all, it seems clear that to achieve this companies must consider doing so an indisputable strategic priority. “They have to believe it”, says Eugenia Bieto, director of the Esade Women Initiative and promoter of the Esade Gender Monitor.  

And we’ve seen that when these changes are led by a woman, progress in equality happens much more quickly.   

When the changes are led by a woman, progress happens much more quickly

Women’s leadership courses and master’s programs 

To promote women's access to senior management positions and teach all the necessary skills, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) and Esade led Proyecto Promociona, a women’s leadership program aimed at inspiring an entire generation of women.  

Likewise, Esade has a renowned Executive MBA program, rated among the world’s top 10 and which combines flexibility, support for a growth mindset, a clear global focus, and a personalized coaching program (LEAD) to fully enhance your leadership skills.