Did you know that based on World Economic Forum metrics, we are 61.5 years away from gender equality in North America?
While it seems outrageous, it’s perhaps not surprising when we think that after 100 years since women earned the right to vote in the US, we still need an internationally recognized holiday as a call to action to accelerate women’s equality and #breakthebias.
In her 2021 podcast with Brene Brown, Melinda Gates advocated for accelerating women in key sectors to create a shift in society:
Finance – because money is power and determines which businesses get funded
Technology – because it’s pervasive in society and runs the world
Politics – because that determines our public policies, and
Media – the storytellers.
But as this article shows, even in industries where women make up more than 50% of the workplace, gender bias is still prevalent due to the organizational structures and systems that were established many years ago, in a different societal and cultural construct. Gender representation targets and statistics are not enough. The culture of organizations needs to change to create the conditions for equality, and success for all.
That is one of the reasons that we so passionately believe in a women-centered approach to group coaching as a vehicle for accelerating the development of women leaders and initiating culture change within organizations.
Women face unique challenges in the workplace, even in those industries where they are more equally represented. Tailored development options for women leaders provide a framework for understanding how these gendered career paths and work practices play out in the context of organizational systems and encourage a sense of agency and purpose in the womens’ leadership actions.
The gender specific program format also allows women to more easily share their experiences and insights and try out new ideas in a supportive environment. It provides an opportunity to develop a rich peer network and expands the collective capacity of female employees to engage in leadership roles. This support structure can also galvanize women to create the change processes necessary to build a culture of collaboration, cooperation, shared goals and transparency, in which everyone can thrive.
If you are interested in learning more about the power of women-centered group coaching, join us on April 29 for an hour of connection, conversation and community around what it is like to be a woman leader. This free event will offer a lightly structured, gently facilitated session, in which you can experience the sacred space that is created when women come together to support one another.