Female Leadership

I was shadowing a coaching client in her leadership meeting when I watched this brilliant woman apologize six times in 30 minutes. 1. “Sorry, this might be off-topic, but..." 2. “I'm could be wrong, but what if we..." 3. “Sorry again, I know we're running short on time..." 4. “I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but..." 5. “This is just my opinion, but..." 6. “Sorry if I'm being too pushy..." Her ideas? They were game-changing. Every single one. Here's what I've learned after decades of coaching women leaders: Women are masterful at reading the room and keeping everyone comfortable. It's a superpower. But when we consistently prioritize others' comfort over our own voice, we rob ourselves, and our teams, of our full contribution. The alternative isn't to become aggressive or dismissive. It's to practice “gracious assertion": • Replace "Sorry to interrupt" with "I'd like to add to that" • Replace "This might be stupid, but..." with "Here's another perspective" • Replace "I hope this makes sense" with "Let me know what questions you have" • Replace "I don't want to step on toes" with "I have a different approach" • Replace "This is just my opinion" with "Based on my experience" • Replace "Sorry if I'm being pushy" with "I feel strongly about this because" But how do you know if you're hitting the right note? Ask yourself these three questions: • Am I stating my needs clearly while respecting others' perspectives? (Assertive) • Am I dismissing others' input or bulldozing through objections? (Aggressive) • Am I hinting at what I want instead of directly asking for it? (Passive-aggressive) You can be considerate AND confident. You can make space for others AND take up space yourself. Your comfort matters too. Your voice matters too. Your ideas matter too. And most importantly, YOU matter. @she.shines.inc #Womenleaders #Confidence #selfadvocacy

💬 “I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny" More than a decade after her iconic speech heard around the world, I spoke with Australia's first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, to discuss what's shifted and what still holds women back in global leadership positions. Our conversation drew from her book Not Now, Not Ever and key findings from the King's Global Institute for Women's Leadership (GIWL), which she founded. 🎯 Three insights we can’t ignore: 1️⃣ Gen Z is not united on gender equality Despite growing up in a more progressive world, young men are increasingly less supportive of gender equality than older generations. GIWL’s 2024 global polling found that Gen Z men are more likely than men over 60 to agree that “a man who stays home to care for his kids is less of a man.” 2️⃣ The DEI backlash is real and it’s going global Companies worldwide are quietly walking away from diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Countries like the US are using procurement power to discourage companies from maintaining DEI policies warning that contracts may be withheld from businesses with active inclusion programs. There needs to be greater transparency and monitoring of which organisations are abandoning DEI efforts. 3️⃣ Bias still shapes who leads Barriers don't just exist on the path to power, it is also how power is perceived and policed once women attain it. A 2023 Ipsos study across 30 countries found that only 47% of respondents believe women are as competent as men to lead in high-level political positions. Women in power continue to be judged on appearance, tone, and likeability not just results. 💡 While the challenges are real, so are the solutions. Julia shared many of them which I will be releasing in due course on the podcast. 👇 In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you: Which of these challenges do you think we most underestimate and why? #Leadership #GenderEquality #JuliaGillard #TalkingForeignAffairs #GIWL #NotNowNotEver #Inclusion #GenZ #WomenInLeadership #FutureOfWork #Equity #DEI

“Really? Has your country never had a female Prime Minister?” Friends from across the world are often surprised to learn that the Netherlands – widely regarded as a progressive country – has never had a female head of government. I used to think the same. But I was wrong. When recently visiting the @Rijksmuseum, I discovered that long before modern times, three remarkable women once governed the ‘Northern Netherlands’. Brief context: The Habsburg Netherlands rule (covering the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and part of northern France) began in 1482 and ended when the ‘Seven United Provinces’ seceded in 1581. The Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands was a representative appointed by the Holy Roman Emperor (1504-1556) and, later, the King of Spain (1556-1598). 1.     Margaret of Austria (1480-1530) was the first woman to serve as Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands – from 1507 to 1515, and again from 1519 until her death. Considered a competent diplomat by historians, she promoted peace, trade and neutrality. She had a significant library and art collection, reflecting her appreciation for culture and intellect. Under her rule, the economy flourished. 2.     Mary of Austria, also known as Mary of Hungary (1505-1558) took over governance in 1530. She never took pleasure in governing and on several occasions even requested if she could resign. Despite this reluctance to rule, she played an important role in unifying the provinces, strengthened Dutch autonomy from the Holy Roman Empire, and balanced tolerance for Protestantism in the Netherlands with the Catholic nature of the Habsburg empire. When she finally resigned in 1555, she was still asked to resume her post, which she declined. 3.     Margaret of Parma (1522-1686) served as Governor from 1559 to 1567 and again from 1578 to 1582. Governing during a period of mounting Dutch discontent against the Inquisition and Spanish repression, she consistently sought compromise and conciliation.      In 1581, the United Provinces of the Netherlands declared independence. Since that day, all government leaders have been male. I am not turning to LinkedIn to assess these women, nor to compare them to male leaders of their time. My point is that they have been largely written out of our national narrative. When wealthy women in positions of great power are so easily forgotten, it is a stark reminder of how many others have never received the recognition they deserved. We all benefit from truly understanding how the society we live in now, has been shaped. That understanding must include knowing and acknowledging the role that women of all classes and across the entire political spectrum have played, both in the spotlight and behind the scenes. May this note inspire the current generation of Dutch girls and young women to play their role in shaping the future lying ahead of us. And I hope that one day we will have our first female Prime Minister….  

🧾 The cost of being seen isn’t the same for everyone. For women, it’s a "Surchage" no one talks about. 👩 Take Ling, a regional sales director. When she speaks up in strategy meetings, she’s told to “be mindful of her tone.” When she stays quiet, she’s labeled “not strategic enough.” It’s not a leadership gap. It’s a cost-benefit calculation, rigged against her. 👩 Meet Rina, a product lead. She’s built three go-to-market launches. Each one a success. But when promotion time comes, her boss says: “You’re doing great. Let’s not disrupt the team dynamic.” Her competence became the excuse to keep her contained. 👩 And then there’s Julia, a COO candidate. She’s been asked to mentor the next generation of women leaders. But no one’s sponsoring her to be the next CEO. 👉 Because championing others is celebrated. Championing yourself gets complicated. But the problem is, the system charges women extra for the power move: • Speak up? Pay the “too aggressive” tax. • Stay humble? Pay the “forgettable” fee. • Stay silent? Pay with your career.    ⚙️ So how do you stop overpaying for power? You fix it by changing the cost structure. Here are 4 strategic power moves to change the terms: 1️⃣ 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲. Most women try to optimize for comfort: "How can I be visible without making anyone uncomfortable?" Wrong question. Ask: "What does this room need to believe about me to attach power to my name?" Then behave in a way that enforces that belief, consistently! 2️⃣ 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁. Workhorses get thanked. Strategists get promoted. Shift the conversation from "how hard you worked" to "what changed because of you." Make people dependent on your thinking, not your labor. 3️⃣ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁, 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺. When women lead, people often don’t know how to process it. So they fill in the blanks, with assumptions. Don’t let the room guess. Tell them why you’re doing what you’re doing. Say 👉 "I’m recommending this because it moves us closer to the long-term goal." 👉 "I’m raising this because keeping quiet will cost us more later." 4️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺’𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Decisions about you happen in rooms you’re not in. Those rooms won’t remember your to-do list, they’ll remember the shortcut version of you. Make sure the phrase people repeat about you is a power narrative, not a service narrative. Keen to own your narrative? 📅 Join our online workshop on July 24th 7:30 to 9pm SGT 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 👉 https://lnkd.in/gVT2Y59Q 👈 For women who are done paying extra just to be in the room. 👊 Because if you keep paying the power tax quietly, you’ll be subsidizing other people’s promotions forever.

Despite making up 30% of the STEM workforce, women in Africa face significant barriers to career advancement, including gender bias and limited opportunities for skills development. By addressing the systemic barriers that prevent women from reaching their full potential in tech, African corporates can unlock the continent's full potential for innovation and growth. At a country level, South Africa and Nigeria emerged as leaders, with the largest number of listed companies having women occupying CxO roles. Notably, nearly two-thirds of companies with female tech leaders are in financial services, energy and materials, or consumer goods and retail, with financial services having the highest female CxO representation at around 20 percent. Read the report by my McKinsey Africa colleagues, Mayowa Kuyoro, Umar Bagus, and Krutika Dharmadhikary: https://mck.co/46sIE7i #WomenInSTEM #DiversityAndInclusion #AfricaTech

There is a dearth of women in leadership positions across India’s healthcare sector, even after occupying a sizeable number of entry-level roles, Sreeradha Basu reports for The Economic Times, citing a study by philanthropy foundation Dasra. While 29% of medical doctors and 80% of nursing staff are women, only 18% of leadership roles have women representation. This divide between entry/middle managerial positions and senior management roles is apparent in private hospitals, health tech, financial institutions (insurance), medical equipment and supplies, and the pharmaceutical and biotech segments, the study shows. Dr Naresh Trehan, MD of Medanta - The Medicity in Gurugram, says that women dominate leadership positions in pathology, while there is a healthy mix in radiology. However, there are fewer women in a field like cardiac surgery because of the long working hours, he adds. Women earn 34% less than their male co-workers on average, the study shows further. The lack of flexible work arrangements and deep-seated gender biases are primary contributing factors, the report says. More women are likely to fill support roles like HR, administration, R&D, and legal, among others, even though there is potential but less representation of women in sales, marketing, or operations, says Shailja Mehta, Director at Dasra. India’s private healthcare sector employs 85% of the workforce and has a 70% market share. It is expected to create eight million additional jobs by 2030 alongside 40,000 new leadership roles, the study adds. However, men are projected to occupy 90% of the positions. An inclusive environment, seamless integrating women into the workforce after career breaks, safe recruitment, and governmental support are possible solutions, according to another report by Livemint. The study surveyed 107 organisations for overall representation numbers and 26 for leadership positions, the report adds. How can the healthcare sector in India increase the representation of women in leadership roles? Share your take in the comments section. Source: The Economic Times - https://lnkd.in/dqV3qHn7 LiveMint - https://lnkd.in/g_9mCaKv ✍: Abhiraj Ganguli 📷: Getty Images #healthcareindia #womeninleadership #india #doctors #nursing #pharmaceuticalindustry

It will take 134 years….       … to reach full gender parity. Last week, the latest Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum was published. While we move overall slowly but steadily toward gender parity, there are some facts and figures that caught my attention: ➡ Women make up 28.2% of the STEM workforce but 47.3% of the non-STEM sectors. ➡Women make up a quarter of non-STEM leaders but just over a tenth in STEM. ➡Gender parity in online skilling is currently too low: AI and big data (30%), programming (31%), and cybersecurity (31%). ➡Women hold nearly half of entry-level jobs but only a quarter of C-suite roles. ➡Women's hiring into leadership fell from 37.5% in 2022 to 36.4% in early 2024. Economic downturns decrease the hiring of women in senior roles. Higher female workforce representation boosts resilience to downturns. 💡 On a good note, however, sectors like Technology, Information, and Media have seen significant increases in female AI talent. ❗ Gender parity can be advanced through quotas, policies, and professional networks. However, governments and businesses must shift resources and mindsets to embrace it. Funding gender equality efforts is crucial for equitable and sustainable growth.   Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/d_ETDCid #genderparity #diversityintech #womenintech

Are women making progress or falling further behind in High Tech leadership? According to DDIs Global Leadership Forecast, women in tech leadership roles has fallen from a high of 33% trending down to 28% in this past year. In a field that is already facing a large gender disparity, this is a disturbing trend. Organizations need to look beyond their formal policies and examine the underlying informal structure of their operations to uncover ways to address this challenge. Very often, the growing gap is the result of deeply embedded inequities that create added stress and result in burnout for women. Building a scaffolding of support through intentional coaching, programs that create greater visibility for remote workers, opportunities for networking and allyship training programs can help organizations reverse this disturbing trend. #allies #leadership #dei #genderequity https://lnkd.in/gipzscu2

She said yes to every single project. Yet, she was overlooked for the promotion. They said: “She’s irreplaceable.” “We’d be lost without her.” But when it came time to lead the next big thing - She wasn’t even on the list. Over the past decade working in women’s leadership, I’ve seen this story play out far too often. Women staying in roles long past their expiration. Not because they lack clarity - But because they’ve been conditioned to confuse loyalty with worth. Loyalty to a team. To a leader. To a company culture that praises their reliability... But never promotes their vision. So how do you ensure you’re valued - not just used - for all that you bring to the table? Here are 5 practical, research-backed strategies I’ve seen top performers consistently use: ✅ Be Known for Vision, Not Just Execution ↳ “She delivers” is solid. ↳ “She sets the direction” is strategic. ↳ Build a reputation rooted in foresight - not just follow-through. ✅ Document and Distill Your Wins ↳ Don’t wait to be noticed. ↳ Capture and communicate your impact consistently. ↳ Think: outcomes, initiatives, feedback snapshots. ↳ This becomes your proof of value during reviews, promotions, or pivots. ✅ Speak the Language of Business ↳ Translate your work into metrics that matter: revenue, retention, growth, efficiency. ↳ When leaders see your contribution tied to business outcomes, you shift from “nice to have” to “can’t afford to lose.” ✅ Build Cross-Functional Credibility ↳ Influence isn’t built in silos. ↳ Make your value visible across teams. ↳ When multiple departments rely on your insight, you become a strategic connector - not just a contributor. ✅ Create Strategic Allies, Not Just Mentors ↳ Power isn’t just about performance - it’s about proximity to influence. ↳ Nurture relationships with decision-makers, peer champions, and collaborators. Influence grows through meaningful connection. The truth is - being essential isn’t the same as being seen. You can be deeply loyal to others - and still loyal to your own growth. These shifts aren’t just career strategies. They’re acts of self-respect. Because when you decide to lead from alignment, not obligation - You stop waiting to be chosen. And start choosing yourself. 💬 Which of these strategies feels most relevant to where you are right now? I’d love to hear in the comments below. ♻ Repost if you believe it’s time to stop rewarding quiet loyalty - and start recognizing conscious leadership. 🔔 Follow me, Bhavna Toor, for more. 📩 DM me to bring our holistic leadership development programs to your organization - that are a powerful combination of inner-work and real-world strategy.

Breaking Barriers and Embracing Opportunities: Empowering Women in Healthcare Leadership. As a woman who has navigated the healthcare landscape over the decades, I've witnessed firsthand the transformative power of leadership. Yet, despite the immense contributions women make to this sector, we continue to face a stark reality: women hold only 18% of leadership roles in India's healthcare sector, and our pay lags 34% behind that of our male counterparts. This disparity is not merely a statistic; it's a reflection of deeply ingrained societal biases and systemic barriers that hinder women's advancement. However, amidst these challenges, I see an incredible opportunity for change. By 2030, India's private healthcare sector is projected to expand by 8 million jobs, creating 40,000 additional leadership roles. This surge in opportunities presents a golden moment to bridge the gender gap in leadership and unleash the full potential of women in healthcare. Reflecting upon my journey as a woman leader, I realize that triumphs and tribulations have significantly shaped who I am today. I've faced moments of self-doubt and imposter syndrome, questioning my abilities and place in the leadership arena. Yet, these challenges have also served as catalysts for growth and resilience. The turning point came when I realized that leadership is not about standing alone but lifting others and creating a supportive environment where everyone can thrive. Mentorship has been a cornerstone of my growth, and I've witnessed its transformative power in the lives of countless women. Over the years, I have focused on mentoring several women to embrace their accomplishments, amplify their voices, and demand a seat at the table. My advice to aspiring women leaders is simple. Find your power. Refrain from self-editing and believing in yourself. Ask for help while balancing work and life priorities. Leverage your emotional quotient consciously to identify with a larger purpose. My success mantra is always to continue learning and do the right thing even when no one is watching. Remember, leadership is not about titles or positions; it's about making a positive impact, inspiring others, and creating a better future for all. Together, we can dismantle systemic barriers, promote inclusivity, and foster a supportive environment where women can thrive as leaders in the healthcare sector. Let's seize this moment and pave the way for a more equitable and inclusive healthcare landscape. #healthcare #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #healthcarejobs #mentorshipmatters #genderequality #womeninbusiness #womenempowerment #womenleaders