10 Ways to Help Break the Glass Ceiling on Women in Leadership

Women make up approximately 50% of the global population, so there is no shortage of them in the world. However, there is a low number of women in prominent professional roles. In most industries, women are significantly underrepresented in leadership roles.

• 10.4% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women (Lindahl, 2024)
• Less than 1% of Fortune500 CEOs are women of colour (Lindahl, 2024)

Let's discuss the challenges women face in leadership roles. We can also explore ways to support women in achieving equal representation. Here are the 10 ways to help shatter the glass ceiling for women leaders.

What is equality in the workplace?

Firstly, it makes sense to define exactly what workplace equality means. Understanding what the issue is can help companies break down these barriers.

What obstacles women currently face in the workplace

While that is a nice idea on paper, it can be difficult to implement in reality.

• From 2014 - 2024, women are still underrepresented at every stage of the corporate pipeline (McKinsey & Company, 2024). While there has been an increase, the levels are not what they could be.
• Companies have achieved significant progress, particularly in the C-suite, yet they continue to show little movement at entry and management levels (McKinsey & Company, 2024).

Here are some of the most common barriers women face in the fight for gender equality in the workplace.

❌ Outdated and old stereotypes

Men have been in charge for a long time. Because of this, many people view traits linked to leadership positively for men. However, these same traits often have a negative meaning when describing women.

• Assertive vs. bossy
• Emotional vs. passionate
• Empathetic vs. hormonal
• Strategic vs. calculated
• Overreact vs. react

Can you tell which words are used for which gender?

❌ Discrimination, bias, and harassment

Building on stereotypes, women often face more discrimination and harassment at work. This can include sexual harassment and hostile work environments, especially in male dominated fields such as medicine or IT. Women of colour are even more likely to experience these unfortunate situations.

❌ Gender pay gap

In the UK and globally, women still earn significantly less than men in almost every industry. Therefore, women are more likely limited in their financial independence compared to their counterparts. With the rising cost of living, this has a global negative impact.

What men earn: 100%

What women earn: 64%

From 2022 to 2023, women have decreased the gender pay gap from 63% to 64%. (World Economic Forum, 2023). However, key findings show this is still far from ideal. This also does not account for women of colour, who often face more discrimination and less wages.

❌ Struggles for flexibility and work-life balance

Even in our modern society, women often take over most of the burden of household and childcare work. This means, women are more likely to take part-time positions, which in turn hinders their professional growth trajectory. The struggle leads to the question, which is more important for women? A professional life or a personal one.

❌ Fewer connections through networking

Men are more likely to have connections as they have been invited to networking events longer than women. In the business world, connections can help advance careers. Women often have fewer opportunities to make connections. Ultimately, this hinders them from climbing the ladder as high or as quickly as men can.

10 ways to (finally) break the glass ceiling

The world cannot be changed immediately overnight. One person cannot fix this issue alone. A large change or movement needs to happen within the culture. Once the culture shifts, it will become normal for women to hold management and leadership positions.

Until then, here are 10 ways you can make a small change. Small changes by a lot of people can help to shatter the glass ceiling.

💡1. Examine your own bias

This can be done on a personal level, but also on a corporate one. When hiring candidates, are you only choosing to interview one or two types of candidates? Do you make an effort to reward a variety of employees?

The best way to avoid your own bias is to become a sponsor, ally, or a mentor towards advancing women in the workplace. Through this small check on your biases, you can already begin to see cracks in the glass.

💡2. Change the culture

In order for this to take a strong hold, it needs to be a cultural shift. This means the office culture needs to shift. See the way people discuss gender equality in the workplace.

Make sure to call out and change any sexist language or policies your company might have. This is the first step to making impactful change.

💡3. Support internal growth opportunities

Make sure to offer internal growth opportunities for candidates who show dedication and have a great performance. Be sure to continue to provide professional development and skill training for the women in your teams.

Companies are 21% more likely to do better than the national average. This happens when they have gender diversity on their executive teams (Source: Women Deliver, 2018).

💡4. More inclusion and inclusivity

Women in leadership positions are more likely to have an inclusive leadership style. When given the chance, females demonstrate more transformational leadership styles (Eagly, et. al., 1992).

Team collaboration, in general, is greatly improved by simply having women in the group (Williams Woolley, et. al., 2010). This can include improvements in overall intelligence, team work, and problem solving abilities.

💡5. Promote networking and building connections

Let women into the room where connections can be made. This will lead to more women finding mentors who can support them through their career growth.

The more women are in networking spaces, the more women can join. This leads to more women in senior leadership roles. More women with leadership skills means more networking opportunities. This cycle keeps going.

💡6. Set goals to hold accountability

Having the idea to make change is great, but setting goals gives your brand accountability. By taking responsibility, you can see your actions clearly. You can also understand how these actions affect your goals.

💡7. Close the gender pay gap

Look at your payroll. Do you have women who are making less than their male counterparts for the same position? Consider closing the wage gap to show that you value your female employees just as much. At the end of the day, salary should reflect work performance, not sexist stereotypes and gender bias.

💡8. Use technology to break barriers

Making use of technology is a great way to level the playing field for all employees. By allowing the possibility of remote work allows for better work-life balance. Employers can use technology to educate female employees. This gives women a better chance at promotions and advancing their careers in general.

💡9. Promote transparency in all processes

When starting the hiring process, make sure you are being transparent throughout. This can include transparent salary structures and clear guidelines for promotions. By clearly showing potential career paths, companies can help ensure women receive fair pay for their work.

💡10. Keep up the good fight

This is not a one time solution. This needs to be a systematic change in order for real change to occur. Consider checking in on your employees or goals once a year (or more) to make sure you are continuing down a path your company can be proud of.

Final thoughts on equality and diversity in the workplace

We want to celebrate women of all backgrounds and colors throughout the year. However, it needs to go beyond celebrating. We want to help support and back women in various professional circles.

What can you do from here? Reflect on your own company, your industry.

Can you take some of these 10 tips and implement them? Maybe we missed some tips that you think could be a great way to boost women in the workplace. Overall and long-term change takes every one of us and there is no time like the present.

More resources from us

If you are interested in reading more about this topic, read our interview with experts on female leadership.

Sources

1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisalindahl/2024/02/05/is-this-the-age-of-women-in-leadership/ - Lindahl, Lisa Z., 2024
2. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace - McKinsey & Company, 2024
3. https://www.weforum.org/press/2023/06/gender-equality-is-stalling-131-years-to-close-the-gap/ - World Economic Forum, 2023
4. https://womendeliver.org/womensleadership/ - Women Deliver, 2018
5. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.111.1.3 - Eagly, A. H., Makhijani, M. G., & Klonsky, B. G., 1992
6. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1193147 - Anita Williams Woolley, Christopher F. Chabris, Alex Pentland, Nada Hashmi, and Thomas W. Malone, 2010