Initiative which drives change by empowering women impact entrepreneurs. “The assumption is that the workplace is neutral, but historically it has been built for men,” she says. “With the emergence of new technologies such as Web3 which are set to shape the way in which we work in the coming years, we now have the opportunity to redesign the workplace to make it more diverse and inclusive so that it is supportive of everyone. “Leadership qualities


like empathy, cooperation


Blueprint for a new, more inclusive workplace: Dr Anino Emuwa


Despite the increasing engagement of women in public life, bias against female leadership remains and in some countries is on the rise, according to the Reykjavik Index for Leadership, an annual international study, writes Marianne Curphey.


E Dr Susan Doering 4


ven though women have made headway in leading private companies and public organisations, it seems that


perception of female leadership is regressing. According to


the 2022 Reykjavik Index for Leadership, worryingly younger people demonstrate less progressive views than their parents. Against this background, Dr Anino Emuwa, Founder and Managing Director of Avandis Consulting, a strategy and financial advisory firm in France, a diversity and inclusion advocate and the founder of 100 Women @Davos, is still hopeful and positive that change is underway. A former corporate banker with Citibank, she is a member of the Institute of Directors’ Expert Advisory Group on Diversity and Inclusion. Anino also sits on several international advisory boards including Reykjavik Global Community, working to ensure that more women attain and retain power, and Empower Now which helps companies and organisations gain an overview of the status of DEI within the workplace. Anino is also a Regional Lead for Cartier Women’s


and collaboration are found in the leaders of the most successful companies in the world, both men and women. It is healthy to have feminine aspects to leadership, whatever your gender, because in leading diverse teams means it is necessary to model inclusive behaviour across a range of employees.” Dr Emuwa says that another misconception and


difficulty for female leaders is the idea that women’s career paths should follow the same route as that of men. “The career trajectory for women can be quite


different than the male template, given that women are often balancing career


progression with care


responsibilities” she says. “In terms of successful women, a career might be cyclical and progress over a longer cycle, rather than a mad dash to the top and then the drop as we see often with men.”


TACKLING UNCONSCIOUS BIAS Another issue which women are having to overcome, and which organisations need to


tackle, is that of


“unconscious bias”. This can affect companies at every stage, from recruitment through to middle management and promotion to executive leadership roles. It is also about perceptions of leadership based on the old “command and control” models, where top managers adopted a dominant rather than inclusive style. “We're used to seeing leadership as male and so there is an unconscious bias, which is inbuilt and socialised,” she explains. “In the past we have celebrated the masculine aspects of leadership and ascribed them solely to men. But in fact, successful male leaders often thrive because they have incorporated feminine leadership aspects into their leadership style – those of empathy, collaboration and communication. So it is not the case that is has to be one or the other in terms of a management approach.” She is concerned that despite the innovations that


the Covid-19 pandemic brought – hybrid working, more flexibility, and more open discussion about work-life balance – there is a danger of reverting to type. “When there is a crisis, women's rights and equality


among workers tends to take second place,” she says. This can be seen in terms of women shouldering the


greater burden of home schooling and family care, and the insistence of some organisations that all staff should now return to the office. Yet having more women in senior roles is good for


decision making, innovation, risk, for future-proofing an organisation and for society. “In countries where leadership is more inclusive


across genders, we find lower suicide rates in men,” she says. “Gender-balanced leadership is better for the good of society and for organisations in terms of business performance. Organisations are realising that the issues that they are facing in today’s world are far too complex to leave to just one half of the potential talent pool.”


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