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