Men Edge Women Out in Self-Confidence

A recent study shows women lag behind men with regards to self-confidence in the workplace, and that may keep women from learning valuable leadership skills to reach the highest levels of upper management. The study also indicates some of the highest-performing companies that participated in the research have more women in leadership roles than in lesser-performing companies.

Rich Wellins, senior vice president of DDI and co-author of the study, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the research showed women take fewer risks than men, and women do not try to attain leadership positions unless they are absolutely certain they are capable of doing the job. The reasons why men show greater leadership skills than women is because men engaged in more leadership development opportunities than women, and men had more profound leadership experiences than women.

Men who completed international assignments and who led teams from various departments, regions and countries within their companies gained valuable experience in team leadership skills. Thus, men were more quickly promoted than women for doing valuable jobs earlier in their careers. Wellins states that men felt like they deserved a promotion, while women felt more trepidation. Self-confidence in women seemed to be the only thing holding them back from promotions, even when they had the same skill set as men in the same position.

Perhaps the most interesting data point from the survey involved how well companies do financially. Participating firms that were ranked in the top 20 percent in terms of financial performance had women in 37 percent of leadership positions. Companies in the bottom 20 percent of financial performance had women in just 19 percent of leadership and managerial positions. This included low, middle and upper management roles. Financial performance included profitability and rate of return of investments.

Of the 13,124 survey respondents in business leadership roles, 72 percent were male and 28 percent were female. More than one-quarter of those surveyed were in the manufacturing, and companies from 48 countries were represented.

The study does not specifically point to a correlation between more women with leadership skills in visible roles and financial well-being of companies. However, there is an impetus for giving women more leadership jobs in private-sector firms. Employers and managers should allow to women to have the same leadership experiences as men. When men get promoted, women need to fill the gaps and take on important projects left behind by men who move up the corporate ladder. Women have just as many important business relationships, leaderships skills and networking contacts as men do.

The key is to foster women's leadership abilities early in their careers, and employers that encourage women to take on active leadership roles are more effective at placing women in managerial positions. Self-confidence in women must start before they decide to go for that promotion, because managers gain leadership skills and valuable experience before stepping into that new role. Male executives should encourage mentoring and coaching programs for women, and women should assume more global assignments.

Women's leadership skills bring valuable attributes and positive experiences to companies that place women in managerial roles. More women are in the American labor force than men. It is time to make leadership roles more available to women because, just maybe, this concept makes more dollars and sense.

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