Recent news magnifies the need for more women to move into leadership positions.
Reports of harassment rocked Hollywood, Capitol Hill, and corporate America in 2017. Amid this backdrop, women worldwide are energized and engaged, demanding real change and opportunities to take on more powerful roles in the workplace.
According to Women in the Workplace 2017, a joint study from McKinsey Global and LeanIn.Org of 222 companies employing more than 12 million people, currently nearly 50 percent of men think women are represented well in leadership in their companies. In reality, only one in 10 senior leaders is a woman. Further, the study finds that women are 18 percent less likely to be promoted to manager in the average company. Clearly, this needs to change.
But having more women in leadership positions isn't just good for the careers—and safety—of women in the workplace; it's good for business. Data from McKinsey reveal that $12 trillion could be added to global gross domestic product by 2025 if the gender gap was narrowed.
In Women Matter: Time to Accelerate—Ten Years of Insights Into Gender Diversity, McKinsey research builds the case for greater parity in the top management levels of business. The study reports that women are one of the largest pools of untapped labor, stating that globally, 655 million fewer women are economically active than men. In addition, while women make up more than 50 percent of the world's higher-education graduates, only 25 percent of them occupy management positions.
In Women Matter, McKinsey analysts conclude that there is no silver bullet for getting more women into leadership positions. Instead, the study advises organizations to create an ecosystem that can foster inclusiveness and gender diversity at all levels of an organization. Formal mentorship programs and sponsorship networks that help women navigate promotions and attain leadership roles is a centerpiece of that ecosystem.
A recent survey of more than 1,000 North American professionals by executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles confirms that women find mentoring especially valuable to their careers. Thirty percent of women respondents said mentoring was extremely important to their careers, compared with 23 percent of men.
"Women and ethnic minority professionals may place more value on mentoring because they tend to face more obstacles in progressing in their careers and are seeking advice and counsel that will help them accelerate their development and career progression," says Mark Livingston, global managing partner of the natural resources sector and member of the CEO & Board practice at Heidrick & Struggles.
According to Mentoring Matters: Developing Talent With Formal Mentoring Programs, a 2017 ATD Research study of 969 participants, the top three benefits mentees receive from participating in mentoring programs are professional development (36 percent), a better understanding of organizational culture (30 percent), and developing new perspectives (27 percent). There are tangible benefits for organizations, too. Half of those reporting in the ATD study said that mentoring programs result in higher employee engagement and retention, while 46 percent said it supported growth of high-potential employees.
Unfortunately, too few organizations offer formal mentoring and sponsorship programs that help women develop skills and establish senior-level connections that can help accelerate their careers. LeanIn.org reports that fewer women receive advice from managers and senior leaders on how to advance. That's a problem because employees who do get advice are more likely to have been promoted in the past two years. Similarly, women are less likely to interact regularly with senior leaders, yet employees who do are more likely to aspire to be top executives.
What's more, a 2017 study by professional services firm Egon Zehnder found that only 54 percent of women have access to senior leaders who act as mentors or informal sponsors. This concurs with numbers from LeanIn.Org, where about half of companies reported they offer mentorship programs, and less than a third run sponsorship programs that commit individual leaders to advocate for and create opportunities for women. This picture was even darker in the Heidrick & Struggles study; only 27 percent of respondents said their organizations offer formal mentoring programs.
This presents a critical opportunity for women and organizations. "Companies looking to better unlock the potential of attracting, developing, and retaining this important employee base should work to foster an environment that embraces mentorship as a part of the corporate culture, further illustrating their commitment to developing their best talent," advises Livingston.
The call to action is clear: More organizations need to offer mentoring and sponsorship programs if they want to supply a sturdy pipeline of women leaders. Talent development executives are well positioned to take the lead in making the case for such programs and then preparing managers and employees to take advantage of the benefits mentoring relationships offer.
Benefits for Mentors and Mentees
What are the top benefits mentors receive from the mentoring program?
Mentors
Develop new or different perspectives or awareness of other perspectives (59%)
Mentees
What are the top benefits mentees receive from the mentoring program?
- Professional development (36%)
- Better understanding of organizational culture (30%)
- Develop new or different perspectives or awareness of other perspectives (27%)
- Personal development (24%)
- Increased network (23%)
Source: Mentoring Matters: Developing Talent With Formal Mentoring Programs, Association for Talent Development, 2017
