Supporting women through understanding
The fact that such feelings are being experienced by women at the top may go some way towards explaining why there are so few women in high places in South Africa. In March this year, the 2011 Women in Leadership census
released by the Businesswomen’s Association (BWA), showed that women still hold only 4.4% of CEO/MD positions, 5.3% of chairperson positions and 15.8% of all directorships in South Africa. In an effort to make corporate South Africa more representative along gender lines, the BWA is calling for various measures to be put in place, such as the inclusion of a clause about gender diversity for all companies who want to be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. However, while this development may assist with gender
transformation, the research on guilt and shame hints that women will never be fully empowered unless some other things shift as well. The researchers call explicity for men to become equally empowered in the home so that there are fewer expectations placed on women and more support is offered to women. Equally importantly, women need to work on their own perspectives about themselves. Not many successful women will even admit to experiencing
feelings of shame and guilt; however acknowledging these feelings and speaking out is a first and important step in overcoming them. The voices of the women featured in the UCT Graduate School of Business research are useful in this regard. They could also play a vital role in helping corporates to find new ways to support women in the workplace. Top employers such as Accenture, certified in the CRF Institute Best Employers Survey in 2010, already do much to support women, including offering flexible working hours and the option of working full- or part-time. Accenture has 34.5% women in senior management positions. By understanding the unique challenges women face, and finding ways to support and develop them, employers can also play a key role in helping create a guilt- and shame-free generation of energetic and empowered women leaders.
* Names have been changed to protect identity August 2011 | Management Today 73
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118