Women on board: Breaking the corporate glass ceiling

“The day will come when men will recognise women as his peer.” This prediction was made nearly 200 years ago by Susan Brownell Anthony, a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women’s rights movement in the US.

In today’s corporate world, things are slowly but surely changing to reflect just that. More women are entering the workforce and forging careers of their own. They now have access to good education and better work opportunities, just as men have had for years. For instance, 71.7% of women aged 25-54 had jobs in Singapore in 2010 – a record high for the island state. Countries such as Norway are pushing the boundaries even further by legislating that women fill 40% of the country’s corporate board seats or risk being shut down.

The impending retirement of the current generation of leaders has also created a new urgency for more female leadership. A recent report by Europe-based executive search firm, Transearch International, says, “Given the projected talent deficit that will follow the retirement of millions of so-called Baby Boomer managers and executives over the next 20 years, women leaders may invariably be seen by an increasing number of employers as an untapped source of talent, experience and senior-management leadership,” said the report, Scratching the Surface: Women in the Boardroom.

Despite these developments, female voices in Asian boardrooms struggle to be heard. “Educated women in China and India are ambitious by any standards, and there are statistics to prove it,” says Vishaka N. Desai, President of the Asia Society in New York. “They are entering the workforce in huge numbers, but there is a dearth of senior women in management positions (and) governmental ministries.”

Mars and Venus

A number of characteristics distinguish women leaders from men when it comes to leadership qualities, according to a year-long study conducted by consulting firms Caliper and Aurora. Women leaders were found to be more assertive and persuasive, had a stronger need to get things done and were more willing to take risks than male leaders. Women leaders were also found to be more empathetic and flexible and possessed stronger interpersonal skills than their male counterparts, enabling them to read situations accurately and take information in from all sides.

“These qualities combine to create a leadership style that is inclusive, open, consensus-building, collaborative and collegial,” says Herb Greenberg, President and CEO of Caliper. “These women leaders are able to bring others around to their point of view… because they genuinely understand and care about where others are coming from … so that the people they are leading feel more understood, supported and valued.”

Desai believes that it simply makes good business sense to ensure more women reach the very top of business and government. She says that women often make the majority of financial and consumer decisions in many Asian families. “This alone behooves companies to have women in senior positions to understand better the purchasing habits and financial power of women,” she says.

Greenberg concludes that female leaders are beneficial to companies as their “personality qualities combine to create a leadership profile that is much more conducive to today’s diverse workplace, where information is shared freely, collaboration is vital and teamwork distinguishes the best companies.”

While better education and a slow but steady breaking of stereotypes have helped women in Asia gradually make it past the glass ceiling, they still face a number of barriers in their ascent towards the C-suite.

Career hurdles

The primary reason women opt out of professional careers is to raise children. Desai says that for women, especially in Asia, there is some stigma associated with a woman if she continues to work after the birth of her children.

Secondly, women continue to have a disproportionate share of responsibilities when it comes to taking care of their elderly parents and parents-in-law.

The Transearch International report also says that many women find it exceptionally hard to resume their careers at the same level, because they are unable to stay connected with their professional networks and also because many employers allow only for linear career development.

As such, women end up choosing between their ‘corporate family’ and their personal family as both start demanding similar amounts of attention, time and physical presence. “It is no surprise, for instance, that some women in Singapore and elsewhere are delaying marriage and even opting not to have children,” says Desai.

All in the mind

There are some women though, who believe that the “obstacles” to a woman’s rise to the top are all self-created or just excuses.

“In this current world where we are operating in an increasingly global environment, it is really just how much drive one has to put herself on the map and to succeed,” says Corrinne Chan, Regional HR Director, Developing Markets, Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals. “It is an equal playing field for all.”

She believes that challenges are similar for both men and women and if there are any differences, it is mainly for women to break into a male-dominated industry, such as the construction industry. “It will be indeed tougher, as the female leader has to show that she is as capable as any other man on the job – so being able to speak the lingo, gain staff respect and take the lead is crucial.”

Alysson Do, Head of HR – Southeast Asia Partnership, Nokia, says she has never come across a glass ceiling either. “I did however work very hard in my early days and had a natural curiosity to learn about the business, engaging leaders in discussions and candid dialogues whenever possible,” Do recounts.

Yet another female leader in the traditionally male-dominated paper and pulp industry says she hasn’t faced any gender-based discrimination. Having been MD of PaperlinX Singapore for five years now, Genevieve Chua has been in the industry for over 20 years – starting as a Chief Accountant.

“Any issues I’ve faced are still what my male counterparts would also experience. Increasingly, I also see my customers – printers for example – with more women being involved in the family business,” Chua said.

“At the end of the day, it is how we (be it men or women) are able to gain respect on a leadership role – and it is always in being able to walk the talk and get your hands dirty to have a good feel on what is on the ground (what the people need/want),” says Chan.

HR’s role

The Transearch International report recommends that in order to retain talented women for key management positions, employers must recognise the unique obstacles they face as they build careers and families and search for opportunities and options to re-engage at the management level.

Karine Becker, a consultant in the Brussels office of Transearch, says, “Employers need to adopt more flexible career options as they compete for leaders whose lifestyles are subject to change, but who may seek new and creative options for sustaining their careers during any break from the full-time workforce.”

In Singapore, for example, some companies such as McDonalds and Motorola have specialised programmes for the advancement of women. As a result, about 50% of director and senior management roles at McDonalds are taken up by women.

“In this second decade of the 21st century, it behooves us to be mindful of both the need for more Asian women voices at the top and for greater empowerment of women at the lower levels of the social ladder,” says Desai.

“Ultimately, including women in the slate for all senior positions and requiring CEOs and other senior leaders in the company to sponsor women and support them once they are there is the only way.”