Why are women scared of leadership roles?

Global statistics reveal that there’s a gap in regards to women in leadership roles. According to UN Women reports 25 women CEO’s lead Fortune 500 companies globally today, which translates to merely 5% of all CEO’s on the list. And globally, women earn 24% less than men.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2015, men continue to hold the majority of Australia’s top leadership positions.

The numbers, studies and data over the years just seem to be reinforcing that women are shying away from senior and top leadership roles. It comes as no surprise that only 22% women are in the parliaments, globally (source UN Women)

Some of the factors that perhaps contribute to this disparity are our psychological set-up that prohibits women from leading and doesn’t allow society to take women leaders seriously.

The gender disparity begins from an early age. Studies have shown that in a classroom full of boys and girls, the number of boys who raise their hands to answer is always more than girls.

We label our assertive girls as ‘bossy’. Girls who climb trees as tomboys and who smear themselves with mud while playing- we say ‘she’s just like her brother’.

The stereotyping continues. Blue is for ‘strong’ boys and pink is for ‘sweet’ girls. Boys need to have a ‘voice’ and girls need to have a ‘passive voice’. Unfortunately, in the guise of feminism, we make our girls ‘soft’ and ‘sweet’.

Furthermore, the media for a long time has portrayed women as sexual goddesses- objects to be desired by men.

All these cues girls get when they are growing up can sow seeds of doubt and uncertainty in their young minds. This, in turn, can have repercussions in her professional life as an adult. Self-doubt might again crop up when she’s offered an opportunity to move up the ladder and she might end up feeling intimidated by it.

It’s uncharacteristic for women to ask for promotions or for a raise as they are not confident enough to realize their own self-worth (so deeply ingrained in them since school days and nurtured by the media).

Women today are fighting stereotypes both internal and external. They are in a challenging situation. We love assumptions, therefore, working mothers are not taken seriously as their priorities are now split. She is just working to supplement the household income. The unconscious bias goes deeper. She is pregnant and her hormones are playing havoc.

To quote, Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook, ‘’Every woman I know, particularly the senior ones, has been called too aggressive at work. We know in gender blind studies that men are more aggressive in their offices than women. We know that. Yet we’re busy telling all the women that they’re too aggressive. That’s the issue.”

Women, on the other hand, assume that professional power involves trade-offs and sacrifices. Late night working, travelling, insane work pressure – women assume these are the payoffs of a senior role because she has seen her male boss behave or work like this. She thinks- ‘how am I going to juggle children and work? How am I going to justify my travels? Such doubts clog her mind and consequently, she decides she is not worthy of a promotion, and therefore doesn’t ask.

As women aspiring to leadership roles we have Coca-Cola Amatil chief Alison Watkins, Harvey Norman chief executive Katie Page, Catherine Livingstone at Telstra, Lesley Gillespie of Baker’s Delight, or Maile Carnegie, Group Executive for Digital Banking at ANZ as role models of successful women leaders who have either created or are managing billion dollar companies. Let’s be inspired by these women and make our success stories as glorious as theirs.

About Veena

Veena Gandhi describes herself as a global nomad. After having lived in 3 culturally different countries, India, Dubai and now Australia, Veena believes life is an exploration. Keep exploring.

A freelance marketer by the day and an author in-the making by evening, she is currently working on her first book, from an expat woman’s point of view of course!