What's happening for women in the C-Suite?
We've spent the past few months connecting with experienced leaders, including WIE Suite members, who share their expertise on the issues impacting women in the C-Suite this year. Our topics range from barriers, to opportunities, to trends. This includes:
A review of the latest data on women in the C-Suite
Research on female C-Suite Leaders (CEOs) And the Risk of A Turnaround Job
Research on the state of DEI for C-Suite Leaders
Research on The Future of Work for female leaders
Research on What Does It Take to Land a P&L Roles
Stay tuned as we update this series weekly.
Women in the C-Suite: What the Data Says
How are women in leadership feeling about their careers? Where are they going next? What are their goals? Research over the past year has revealed some surprising trends – and highlighted some shifts you might expect.
Starting with the Boards - Good News
As of the end of 2022, 28% of Russell 3000 company board members were women. This is a marked increase from 16% in 2017. The largest 100 companies of the Russell 3000 featured 33% female board representation, also up (from 24%) in 2017 reports according to 50/50 Women on Boards.
50/50 Women on Boards also reported that of the 25 states with more than 20 public companies, California and Washington had the most women on boards in Q4 of 2022, closely followed by Minnesota and Michigan. Several states have actually “doubled the number of gender-balanced companies in Q4 2022” compared to a year prior.
Then, the C-Suite - Less Optimism
Unfortunately, the progress in the C-suite has been less impressive than that of boards. In 2021, 15% of S&P 500 named executive officers were women. Named Executive Officers are the CEO, CFO, and at least three other highest compensated executives. Over ten years, the percentage of women as NEOs grew by 6%; this signals that gender parity on this metric won’t be achieved until well beyond 2050. According to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report, one in four C-suite leaders is a woman; one in twenty is a woman of color.
In 43% of the United States’ largest companies, the highest layer of leadership is 100% male. In 2012, this was true for 66% of NEO teams, so the numbers have improved, though data shows companies have been slow to add a second woman to these NEO teams. Ninety-five of the S&P100 companies have stated leadership teams of 7 or more; of these, two companies have all-male leadership teams, seven have one female member of leadership, and four have 50% or more women, and zero have two-thirds or more women. There are two roles in top leadership teams that are commonly occupied by women: 47% of Chief Marketing Officers and 67% of Chief Human Resource Officers.
Despite women appearing in the C-suite at a significantly lower rate than men, recent Harvard research shows that when women join the C-suite, a shift in corporate thinking occurs that “may support new longer-term, internally cultivated value-creation strategies.” Management teams become more focused on research and development over mergers and acquisition. They’re more open to change and less open to risk.
When it comes to motivations, there also appears to be a gender difference: 84% of C-suite women (as compared to 74% of C-suite men) report being motivated by their company’s mission and purpose, says Russell Reynolds Report on Gender Diversity in the Workplace.
When it comes to earnings, there is a gender disparity in leadership. In executive positions overall, women earn $0.82 for every dollar earned by men according to NEO compensation data reported by companies in 2022. This number is impacted by the markedly lower rate of women in the highest-paying CEO roles, but a disparity remains even when factoring only non-CEO NEOs. In these roles, women earned 91% of what men earned in 2021.
Is The Goal To Become CEO?
Despite women’s skill sets being nearly identical to their male counterparts, fewer women leaders are interested in CEO roles. 29% of C-suite women state becoming a CEO as a career goal, compared to 49% of C-suite men, according to Hogan Leadership data. Looking forward, next generation leaders also have a disparity in CEO goals. 29% of women in this group have a goal to become a CEO compared to 40% of men.
Less than 9% of S&P100 CEOs are women; 6.3% of S&P500 CEOs are women. This number is just 2% higher than a decade ago. This is perpetuated by the fact that the traditional CEO feeder roles (CFO, COO, and P&L leaders) also have a significantly lower rate of representation of women. Russell Reynolds’ research asserts that we would need to see 4.7x more women in COO roles and 2.6x more women in the CFO role to reach parity with the workforce benchmark.
Women Are Leaving at Higher Rates
According to a recent report from Russell Reynolds Associates Margot McShane, Leah Christianson, and Joy Tan, women are leaving their roles at the highest rate ever. The top reason women in the C-suite cited for leaving was feeling undervalued by their organizations. Women’s departures are spreading through every level. For every woman at the director level who is promoted, two women directors are leaving their companies, according to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace Report.
Burnout is rampant, but most of all among women with 43% of women leaders reporting burnout compared to 31% of men at the same professional levels.
Women are also much more likely - 1.5 times as likely -than men to have left a role because they wanted to work for a firm more committed to DEI.
The Route to Leadership & The Broken Rung
Experts believe a major component of the inequity in the C-suite is the “broken rung problem.” Russel Reynolds’ “Gender Diversity in the C-suite” reports that women make up 47% of the US workforce, but only 28% of executives in the S&P 100. According to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report, for every 100 men promoted from entry-level to manager, 87 women (and 82 women of color) make the same progression. This disparity occurs despite two thirds of women under thirty aspiring to be senior leaders.
The Challenges Facing Women in the C-Suite: 2023 Edition
While there are many incredible opportunities for women in the world right now and many of our contributing CEOs agree there’s never been a better time to be a woman in leadership - more on that next week - there are also some unique challenges facing women in the C-Suite in 2023.
Fundraising
Women-led startups receive less than 3% of all VC funding, according to the Harvard Business Review in February of 2023. “Fundraising is fundamentally different for women,” says Selena Strandberg, Founder & CEO of The Know. “Quantitative and qualitative data back this up. I’ve met so many women over the past few years who have shared the struggle of not being taken seriously while fundraising. I’ve personally experienced this. For instance, so many investors have doubted my sales pipeline, going so far as to say that early deals we secured were the result of friends on the inside ‘doing us a favor.’ I can’t count how many times I heard this pushback. The funny thing, of course, is that for men fundraising, investors really value the founder’s strong network that can be used to bolster early sales. To counter this, I had to add close cold sales leads to show that I could sell outside of my network. But then, those contracts were discounted in investor minds as ‘flukes.’ The bar shifts constantly and it’s nearly impossible to find where it will be on any given day.”
Perhaps perpetuating this problem, women make up only 15% of venture capitalists, so if an investor is more comfortable backing a founder who “looks like them,” it’s unsurprising male founders are receiving more investment.
“While I was raising my previous round, some of the feedback I heard indirectly was that I appeared to ‘know it all’ - that my preparedness and the detail with which I spoke was a negative for that prospective investor,” shared Hitha Palepu, CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals.
“It got me thinking about the 2016 presidential debates when the same was said of Hillary Clinton. I softened my usual rapid-fire responses with a conversational approach, slowly dripping the details and asking questions that would nudge the conversation to the answers. I also did a lot more boxing workouts to work out that double-standard aggression.”
Responsibilities and Burnout - at Work and at Home
“One of the biggest hurdles for women with C-suite ambitions is that even as their earnings have grown, they're still doing more household and caregiving labor than men in their marriages," said Ambika Singh, founder and CEO of Armoire. “There are a finite number of hours in the day, and we need to figure out how to better serve working women in navigating their ever-expanding scope of responsibilities. According to the Pew Research Center, in egalitarian marriages between a man and a woman, where both partners are earning approximately the same income, women are contributing - on average - 1.8 hours per week more in caregiving and 2.7 hours per week more in housework. This means women are spending more than double the time of their husbands on housework."
When asked what challenges are facing women in the C-suite in 2023 Osnat Fainaru Benari, Product and Leadership Coach, immediately brought up “higher rates of burnout due to home responsibilities.” She continued, “Burnout is not just being overworked. The pandemic was not helpful. Many people took on taking care of their families, the children, and more. Then now we have more layoffs and fewer employees in the workplace – the culture becomes something that is more burnout inducing. Burnout is when you less understand the purpose. Burnout is when you less understand what you're going after. Burnout is when you’re less connected to the mission. Burnout is less understanding why. It's happening more and more. Together with the pandemic and the market situation, that can lead to more people leaving.”
The fact is 43% of women leaders reporting burnout compared to 31% of men at the same professional levels and women are leaving roles at the highest rate ever. According to a report from Russell Reynolds Associates, and the top reason cited was feeling undervalued by their organizations. For every woman at the director level who is promoted, two women directors are leaving their companies, according to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace Report.
Battling Remaining, Often Unspoken, Biases
“I think people are more careful about what they say today than they were earlier in my career,” Osnat shared. “Earlier in my career I had someone say to me ‘We think you're a fit, but we think we should consider [what’s best for] you. We think this is a really hard job as a young mom.’ If someone were to say that to me today, I could live off the lawsuit. I don't think all people have stopped thinking that way; I think they're careful with what they say and what they ask.”
Battling these unspoken, often well-hidden biases can present unique problems, including scenarios currently discussed as “glass cliffs,” where women are brought into especially challenging roles in near-impossible conditions. “Women are often hired as ‘silver bullet’ solutions, expected to solve complex problems with minimal resources while also displaying caretaker tendencies to soften their image. It’s an entirely unrealistic expectation.” Benish Shah, go-to-market executive and team architect, explains. “Women are invited to the table, given a broken chair, and expected to do exceptional work while trying to hold their chair together with tape.”
The Inside Job
“I often talk with women thinking about starting a company and they tell me why they aren’t ready.” Said Ida Tin, co-founder and former CEO, now chairwoman, of Clue. “It’s a list of internal reasons like ‘I don’t have the right cofounder, enough education, enough market data…’”
It’s not a uniquely female problem: 43% of professionals struggle with imposter syndrome.
Ida continues, “My response is: you will never be ready. The moment is now. You will learn as you go. Do it if you feel inspired, excited, and have a conviction about solving a meaningful problem. As much as I am tired of women having to ‘fix’ themselves to fit into a world that wasn’t built with us in mind, I bow down to the fact that we can only change ourselves and take action from where the world is right now, so I am a strong believer in doing our inner work to grow as humans, find our own ground to stand on and take space, use our voices, stand by our values, and know what we know.”
Opportunities for Women in the C-Suite
Opportunities Abound
“There is more funding aimed at women founders and minorities now.” Said Ida Tin, co-founder and former CEO, now chairwoman, of Clue the most trusted female health app “And more space in culture to see women’s contributions.”
Sheryle Gillihan, CEO of CauseLabs, supported this notion while affirming the challenges women still face, saying, “Funding has definitely been a challenge for female business owners. Because of the focus on DEI there are funders with specific goals towards breaking those barriers and creating opportunities for women. This has increased access to capital allowing for growth, and space for creativity and innovation. I believe this will change the landscape of who we see as leading innovators in the next decade.”
Ida also emphasized the opportunity for women leaders to shape the world - or at least the organization - around them. “I think we often feel that the context we’re in doesn’t bring out the best of us, that somehow we have more to offer, but it isn’t welcomed or recognized or teased out of us. I believe that we can shape our world to fit us more than we maybe realize, especially as leaders. We might have to do a set of specific things (board meetings, meetings with direct reports, all hands, etc) but we have a say in how we do these things - and it’s up to us to have the courage to make them fit us - and hopefully make them better for all in the process.”
There’s also incredible opportunity to bring other women along and make progress on the so-called “broken rung problem.” Melanie Goldey, CEO of Tally Health, highlighted this opportunity. “One of the most impactful things we can do is to harness our networks to open doors for others on the rise. Connect women to others who have access to opportunities – recommend and advocate for women for a big job or promotion, or simply connect a woman to someone else who is just a great person for her to know because there could someday be a great opportunity that comes out of it. There is so much power in leveraging the cumulative reach of our individual networks. Beyond making connections, we can also invest time in mentoring rising stars, providing them with one-on-one counsel as they navigate up and aim for the C-Suite.”
Advice from the Top: Know Yourself
Your ideal progress may not look exactly like anyone else’s.
“I think people should do what fits their lives! To grow in your career does not mean to climb up the ladder. To grow in your career means that for you, the next step is a better fit than before.” Shared Osnat Fainaru Benari, Product and Leadership Coach and author. “I'm not pushing for advancement if it's not what fits your life or fits what you're looking for. I think I'm like that because I have twenty years in the workplace and I'm not after a title. I'm after feeling like I'm part of something that matters to me, I'm being appreciated, my thoughts are being heard, I like my teammates, and I feel my brain is stimulated. That said - this is not what I was looking for ten years ago!”
Megan Eddings, Founder & CEO of Accel, emphasized the importance of vulnerability in earning respect. “I used to think that appearing perfect and ‘having my %#@*# together’ would help me earn more respect as a leader, specifically from men. What I have found since becoming an entrepreneur and running two companies is exactly the opposite. The more vulnerable I am, the more I show strength and empathy, the more respect I receive and more meaningful relationships I form.”
Authenticity with others and with ourselves is critical to moving forward meaningfully. Osnat continued, “This is actually the secret sauce: not many people know what makes them happy. If you dig deep and imagine... One day, you go into this event. Someone says ‘This is so-and-so. She is ...dot dot dot.’ What do you want them to say? Work toward that! If you want them to say, ‘she's this c-level person at X company,’ or ‘she's a fractional c-level,’ or ‘she's a stay at home mom,’ or ‘she took a year to travel and she's back to tell us all about it.’ Whatever it is for you - that’s what you should be taking steps towards. This created a lot of methods for me to rethink the workplace, rethink career, rethink what got me here and where I want to go next.”
Advice from the Top: Enlist a Personal Board of Directors
Nearly every leader we’ve spoken with has stressed the importance of a strong community.
“We’re all powerful on our own, but so much of what I’ve been able to accomplish is thanks to an amazing support system of family, mentors, and friend," shared Melanie Goldie.
“Receiving mentorship and sponsorship from both women and men has moved the needle for me repeatedly, whether it be career opportunities or day-to-day big ticket business decisions. I look to my supporters to talk through challenges and also to celebrate wins. Having people I trust and who believe in me, and being able to reciprocate, is the primary reason I’ve found myself where I am today.
Ambika Singh, founder and CEO of Armoire, and Osnat Benari both explicitly mentioned what they call their personal boards of directors as key to their success.
“My personal ‘board of directors’ helped me most as I stepped into my role as a CEO. There will always be problems that I have to solve without much expertise. I spend time cultivating my network of just-in-time mentors to supplement my critical thinking abilities with direct experience,” explained Ambika.
“I'm a big believer that success cannot be achieved alone. The biggest thing was to find people who would give me advice around how to grow. They will bring me awareness of what I'm good at and what I'm not, and that feedback will help me find ways to learn more, get better, understand what's exciting and waiting next for me–what I can't achieve now, but will in the future.”
Why Lead in 2023?
These leaders shared about how not only is it a good time to be a woman leader, it’s also a critical time for women’s voices to be heard as the future of work is shaped.
“The work environment is in an incredible state of transition right now," emphasized Ambika. “As the pandemic's impact lessens, leadership teams are making major decisions about how and where we work. Current economic pressures are shaping human resource strategies and team compositions. We're at an inflection point in the ‘future of work’ trajectory, and women need to be a part of that conversation.”
Melanie jumped in, stating, “It’s never not been a good time for women to take on leadership roles. Nowadays, however, it’s an amazing time to be a woman in leadership surrounded by women who are reshaping business at all levels, though we have much more work to do. Successful businesses of the future will require leaders with empathy, mindfulness, and intuition to create thriving, purpose-oriented cultures – which makes it more important than ever for women to be in the C-Suite, on Boards, or in other positions of leadership where they can be change-makers.”
Female C-Suite Leaders (CEOs) And the Risk of A Turnaround Job
The glass cliff is a term used to refer to a situation when a woman (or member of a minority group) steps into a leadership position under especially difficult circumstances in which the risk of failure is disproportionately high. But, it's a role you might have to consider if you want to get in the door. In fact, those very moments are when roles open to women and diverse hires. But, "if you ask people who is better suited to “lead a massive organizational change,” the majority of people will say a man, according to The Unstereotyped Mindset study conducted by The Female Quotient for Unilever. Ugh
Yet, turnaround jobs can often play to high performing professionals’ strengths, providing opportunities to make a large impact and solve difficult problems. They can be opportunities to ascend to CEO roles, positions with greater exposure, or open doors to future career advancement. On the flipside, these roles can be exceptionally stressful, demanding, and punishing. A failure in a high-profile leadership role can make the pursuit of the next big job even more challenging.
These turnaround roles are becoming more common: JC Penney, in 2018, was goposting losses quarter after quarter. Its retail stores were also shutting down. And they hired Jill Soltau. Xerox hired Ann Mulchany on the verge of their bankruptcy. And, Marissa Meyer came into Yahoo!
How do you evaluate a turn around role?
The short advice is this:
Consider the pay, and ask for more.
Make sure it aligns with your values.
Consider these organizational checkpoints.
Remember there is a lot at stake and it's not your only chance.
But, also this is not an every day chance and it might be the next step you need to leap forward.
And, finally, this might be the natural next step for someone who is a career risk taker.
Sometimes the old adage is true: Big risks lead to big rewards.
Consider the pay; and ask for more.
“I do love a comeback story,” began Benish Shah, go-to-market executive and team architect. “It’s why I’ve taken on turnaround roles in the past, but those roles take heavy tolls on your mental and physical well being. But, if you want to learn how to identify and surgically address problems of all sizes, take the roles. They provide unmatched experience. But ask for more money than what you normally make – at least 30-50% more because it will require a lot more effort from you than a stable, well functioning organization.”
Evaluating your own values, priorities, and expectations alongside the needs and realities of the firm and position you’re considering is a tenant of all our experts’ advice.
Explore your values.
Does this role align with what you are trying to achieve in your career and your workplace. “For any role, turnaround or not, ensure it aligns with your values and expectations.” Said Osnat Fainaru Benari, Product and Leadership Coach. “At the end of the day, you are the only one who will need to do the work - no one else! You feel happy, accomplished, and seen when a role is aligned with your values.”
“My advice would be the same, no matter what job a woman (or anyone) may be considering.” Megan Eddings, Founder & CEO of Accel, shared. “It is important for women to ask themselves – and it can be a really difficult and introspective process: ‘What do I really want in life?’ I believe [women] should start with the question, ‘How do I want to feel each day?’ Once these [answers] are established, a woman then needs to ask herself, ‘Is my current role bringing me closer to experiencing these feelings? If not, what should I be doing, in both my personal life and my business life, to achieve these feelings?’”
Check the organization in depth.
Do your diligence and understand if this is an organization you can succeed at.
Check the quality of the leadership team. Can they support you and your mission?
Check for executive alignment. Are people aligned on the new vision and direction?
Check for organizational capacity. How much will have to change to create change aligned with the new vision.
Check for culture. How will you fit into the cultural?
Check for financials. How much runway will you have to achieve what you need to achieve?
Check for support. What does the board think is the next best step forward?
Check for past female leaders. Does this company have a history of respecting female leadership in key roles?
It might be possible to take a role with only two of these as major challenges but more than two and you might be stepping into a no-win situation.
Remember, that there is a lot at stake and this is not your only chance.
Korn Ferry conduct research on the glass cliff and found that it took a third longer for boards to choose a woman CEO than it did a man, and women CEOs are on average four years older than their men counterparts when they get their first assignments.
Hitha Palepu, CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals argues that a thorough evaluation is necessary. “It depends on the company – financials, staff, and culture – support from the upper management or governance groups, and the woman herself knowing she has high expectations [being placed on her by] the company and even higher ones [of failure by] other candidates who felt they were passed up for a diversity hire. This is harsh, but sadly true. I think if the company has solid profits, a right-sized workforce, and support from the board to build the right team, it could be an incredible opportunity.”
But, “(Women) get these opportunities, and they’re amazingly talented and extraordinary women, and if something goes wrong, I’m not seeing them get pulled back into another company,” said researchers Alison Cook and Christy Glass at Utah State University based on their research.
Article at ShapeTalent shared that "Most women appointed into glass cliff roles end up with a shorter tenure (a 2016 study of the Fortune 500 found median CEO tenure for women was 42 months compared to men’s 60 months). Thirty two percent of female CEOs were forced to step down or fired, compared to only 13% of their male counterparts. And perhaps the most telling stat is that after being forced out of their CEO roles only 27% of women remained in the corporate sector – with many moving to non-profit work, whereas 67% of the men continued to serve on corporate boards."
But, also its not an every day chance.
“Take the job!! Take the title, negotiate for great pay and more equity, and run with it,” encouraged Alli Young, CEO at The Forem. “From that point on, you’re in the C-Suite, can command higher pay, advocate to be on boards, build a strong online brand as a business leader, start delivering keynotes on main stages, and be ‘The Executive.’ We just need to go in eyes wide open when it’s a turnaround job. Know it may not last - it’s going to be hard, maybe impossible. Do the job and get out, then leverage it to build a stronger career.”
This is why Korn Ferry suggests six ways that organizations need to be more focused on setting up female leaders can be set up for success:
Alli continued, “Get help. I see this as a place women fall down - we try to do too much on our own and don’t justify resources we need to be wildly successful for the company. Build a team around you and justify why the company needs to pay for it. And if they don’t - pay it yourself.”
“I believe turnaround jobs are great opportunities for women to showcase their abilities.” Explained Sheryle Gillihan, CEO of CauseLabs. “Are there opportunities to grow into a more permanent position? If so, don’t sell yourself short. Negotiate for what you want.. Set criteria for what success looks like and how that transitions from a turnaround job into [the next position].”
But for natural risk takers, it could be an obvious next step.
Failure at a turnaround role could impact your long term career growth. Recent research suggests that "rather than isolated instances of high-risk promotions, glass cliff appointments represent the culmination of a long-term career strategy centered on risk and risk-taking. We find evidence that these leaders pay a significant risk tax in order to achieve upward mobility in their organizations."
A report in Vox noted that: "Cook and Glass in separate research interviewed top executives at Fortune 500 companies and looked at their career trajectories over time. What they found was that women who reached the C-suite took risky positions throughout their careers in order to be more visible and prove their leadership capabilities. Some characterized themselves as “turnaround artists.”
“Women feel a great sense of purpose and a great level of commitment to the communities they’re involved in perhaps in a different way than they think about their own career trajectory,” Jane Stevenson, who heads CEO succession at search and consulting firm Korn Ferry, told me. “Women are much more willing to take on a low-success probability situation because they felt maybe they were uniquely equipped to make a difference.” "
What Does It Take to Land a P&L Role for female leaders?
Our experts share what professionals need to do to land roles with P&L ownership, the challenges that all managers and women specifically may face (and how to overcome them), and unique opportunities for women in this space.
What is going on with DEI in the C-Suite?
Over the past several years, the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion have been at the forefront of many leader's–and every business publication's–mind. We spoke with six women at the top about how they’ve seen the focus on DEI shift in the C-suite over the past several years and what they believe that means for women in leadership, women overall, and team members of all genders.
“I think the shift in focus really depends on the industry, size of the company, and company values. In the tech industry, we’ve certainly seen a shift in the past few years, and it seems to correspond with movements in the market. When the market was strong, there was an increased focus on DEI. When the market tanked last year, we began to see DEI orgs get gutted.” Selena Strandberg, Founder & CEO of The Know, explains. “But a lot of industry news on DEI seems to focus on tech. Anecdotally speaking, outside of tech, I’ve seen many large enterprises, who tend to be a little less impacted by market fluctuations, really double down on DEIB and embed purpose, equity, and belonging within the C-suite. Companies like Deloitte, PWC, and Cisco, to name a few, have all begun to formalize DEIB as roles within their c-suite.”
Exemplifying Selena’s point regarding the vast differences in DEI focus by industry, area, and more, Benish Shah and Megan Eddings shared two very different experiences.
“It’s not just that the focus on DEI is in decline; in certain sectors, it is being actively deprioritized.” Benish, a go-to-market executive and team architect, states. “I’ve seen a marked return to command and control cultures where employers believe the economy has shifted power away from employees. I’ve been in hiring strategy conversations with clients where it’s commonplace to say ‘We can’t worry about hiring women. We just need to hire the best and hire fast.’ This is made worse by layoffs in HR and recruiting, creating an accountability void.” Benish believes, “It’s a short sighted view on company needs, and often reflects inexperienced leadership.”
Megan Eddings, Founder & CEO of Accel, shares another perspective. “I recently went to the WBENC National Conference (woman-owned businesses) in Nashville and I was blown away - in a very positive way - about the focus on DEI. Not only were panel discussions specifically focused on DEI, but I also learned about how large corporations have initiatives to support diverse founders, not only via the initiatives, but also financially.”
“As I was working for large corporations, I did see a shift in DEI,” shared Osnat Fainaru Benari, Product and Leadership Coach. “I actually credit this to the Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce as well as the California law requiring companies to include women in their boards of directors which unfortunately was just overturned. These two (legislative) actions created awareness and responsibility in larger companies that have greater visibility.” Osnat points out that there is also a wide variance in DEI in small and large organizations. “I have yet to see significant such efforts in smaller companies. I still see panels of men only and as a senior tech executive, I'm still often the only woman in the room.”
Sheryle Gillihan, CEO of CauseLabs underscores the challenge in weighing optimism and potential hypocrisy on display. “I am not sure I’ve seen a marked increase in the number of women, BIPOC, LGBTQA or neurodivergent people in C-suite roles. However, I have noticed increased publicity from companies about DEI and more highlights of the people who already held these roles.” Sheryle highlights a response likely familiar to many, “I am torn between feeling appreciation for the awareness and recognition since I know this is an important step forward in human rights, and also feeling discomfort and disappointment that it has turned into a box to check and a media angle to pursue.”
Hitha Palepu, CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals, Author, and Speaker, helps reconcile varying experiences and shifting impressions with the data. “While progress is frustratingly slow, we now have more women leaders of Fortune 500 companies than ever before, more than 10%, up from an 8.2% increase last year. You're also seeing reports of more workers taking paid leave to care for their loved ones - both men and women - as well. And I don't think those two data points are mutually exclusive, as policies that we have viewed as for a specific group tend to be a boon to the whole workforce. I don't think it's a coincidence that a more diverse leadership has resulted in shifting our workplace culture that benefits everyone.”
Setting your sights on a P&L role and looking for a roadmap?
Starting at the beginning, Hitha Palepu, CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals, Author, and Speaker recommends sales as a possible path to a P&L role. “If you're just starting out, I think sales is an excellent place to begin a career that can lead to a P&L position. Not only are you directly contributing to the company's bottom line, learning how to forecast will serve you well in a direct P&L role. In terms of experiences or skills, I think strong project management skills and building good relationships with your company's finance department, and discussing how your work is factoring into the P&L is a great way to get exposure to what goes into your company's P&L.”
Briget Grbic, a Vice President at EagleView, affirms Hitha’s input with her personal experience. “For me, when I was promoted to a P&L role, it helped that I had customer-specific industry experience, managed a team covering the biggest customer book in the company, and had a proven run in the organization over increasingly responsible roles. At the end of the day, it was my sales experience, including new and existing customer growth responsibilities, and a can-do, go-get attitude that made the difference.” Briget continues, “The MBA probably helped too, although that wasn’t specifically mentioned. That [the MBA] continues to be very valuable even in a more strategic, less direct P&L, senior management role.”
Product and Leadership Coach, Osnat Fainaru Benari reminds us that like any role - P&L roles are often secured through your network. “I am a huge believer in allyship and the power of one's network. According to HubSpot, 85% of jobs are filled through networking. In fact, according to CNBC, 70% of jobs are never published publicly – that is a clear statement for women to learn to network and cultivate relationships from current and previous jobs.”
Megan Eddings, Founder & CEO of Accel emphasizes, “The first step in any shift needs to be confidence paired with influence. It does not have to look like and feel like 100% confidence, but acknowledging the fear, facing it head on and going after P&L solutions is the ‘easiest’ way to secure these positions. No matter someone’s age, gender, race, or religion, securing a P&L position takes time.”
Unique Challenges - Internal & External - And Overcoming
“There are absolutely challenges.” Says Selena Strandberg, Founder & CEO of The Know. “Two stand out to me. First, there can be unconscious bias on the part of leaders who have the capacity to promote women into these positions and fail to do so. Second, there can be limiting mindsets within women pursuing these positions.”
Megan Eddings echoes Selena’s emphasis of the two - internal and external - challenges. “I would say there are two main challenges that women face in securing these roles... First, there is unconscious bias. Historically, women have not been seen in these P&L roles: the position has seemed unattainable.” She continues, “Also, there are the lies and false narratives that we tell ourselves as women. Perhaps we do not say this out loud, but because our culture has been primarily focused on men being business leaders, we women can find ourselves telling an incorrect story about who we are, how people view us. We can become crippled [against] taking any action to achieve these positions. We must first change our mindset in order to achieve success.”
Selena continues, “The silver lining to the mindset challenge is that mindsets can be changed. I’d strongly encourage women interested in pursuing these positions to examine their mindsets and continue to push themselves towards a ‘growth mindset.’ There’s tremendous research on the benefits of a growth mindset by Carol Dweck out of Stanford. For instance, perhaps there are parts of the role that seem out of reach for someone pursuing it, maybe something she feels she’s ‘not naturally good at.’ Plenty of women, myself included, have limiting beliefs about their quantitative skills. Dweck’s research shows that little girls often really internalize what they’re ‘bad’ at in grade school, so for many high-achieving women, the moment they get a bad grade on a math test can translate to ‘I’m not good at this.’ But in a growth mindset, there’s no concept of being naturally gifted. You understand you can learn anything, you just need to shift your tactics. To any women who relate to this, my advice would be to challenge your assumptions.”
Selena encourages asking yourself some difficult questions and really reflecting. “Are you unintentionally limiting yourself from pursuing a P&L position because of a thought like ‘I’m not that good with numbers?’ I can say with certainty that none of the business math I’ve encountered comes close to rocket science, and all of the skills in these positions can be learned – probably with less effort than imagined!”
Hitha Palepu raises another challenge: sponsorship. Hitha believes this is the single largest challenge women face in stepping forward within any company. “I want to unpack this a bit. Men are celebrated for networking with and cultivating relationships with senior leaders and those with influence within their company, and by doing it very casually. Given that these leaders are usually men, the perception of these same actions are interpreted differently (negatively so) when a woman does it. Building these relationships should be organic, and thus it's important to figure out your style and approach and what you feel comfortable with in the culture of your organization.”
As WIE Suite member Monica Landers shares, "one challenge that women often face is the preference for someone who has 'done it before.' It is of course a big plus to find someone who has multiple successes in that role, and that's often going to be a man over a woman."
Opportunities & Encouragement
But, Megan Eddings points out the many resources now available to support women and all professionals as they carve a new path forward. “We live in an awesome culture where there are so many podcasts, books, meet-up groups (in person or virtual) around the very subject of women’s empowerment. It is much easier to achieve goals and then set higher goals when we surround ourselves with people who we are inspired by.”
Hitha Palepu agrees and suggests a track to meaningful mentorship. “I've seen peers of mine come from diverse backgrounds - education, jewelry design, engineering - and transition into sales roles, which I think is an excellent jump into a chief-of-staff or program manager role that carries P&L responsibilities. GrowthQ is an incredible platform that matches candidates with mentors to help them transition into technology sales, with a focus on diverse and underrepresented candidates.”
“My suggestion would be to get yourself into a role that is as close to the one you want as possible, and take more and more off the P&L manager's plate, so that you know that business as well as they do,” says Sasha Manoosingh, a Strategy & Operations Executive currently leading Partnerships and Operations at TVision. “And of course, be clear that you aim to have a P&L role in the future.”
“I know many women who managed to win the system and managed to advance on their own, and while I have extreme respect for them working double hard to succeed I have more respect when I see these women cultivate successors, bring more diverse voices with them, and make sure to invest and promote other minority groups.” Osnat Benari continues, “Build awareness of your skills and inherent biases. Be resilient in fighting the right fight. Be kind to yourself, and others, as leading change is never easy.”
Lauren Lyddon has helped people and organizations to tell their stories for more than a decade. Having tested her love of the creative through the pursuit of an MBA and undergraduate business degrees, she is a writer, editor, and lover of fiction in all its forms (especially theatre, well-written television, and novels). A West coast resident often operating on an East coast schedule, Lauren uses her business background and love of story to serve clients in writing, editing, PR, and more. You can visit her online at L2crtv.com.
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