Career advancement of senior women through executive leadership development programmes

Abstract

Despite government polices and organisational practices intended to redress this imbalance, women in business continue to face what they have faced for many years already: under-representation. More specifically, under-representation in the upper echelons of higher management, under-representation on company boards, under-representation in senior positions within firms. Despite more years in the workforce, more woman systematically entering previously labelled “male” fields, despite more years receiving higher education, women still don’t often find the road to senior positions a road easily travelled.This research seeks to explore one very specific approach to advancing women’s careers—women’s leadership development programmes designed for women identified as potential senior managers, leaders and board members. As a number of these programmes exist, this research sought to explore the programmes’ strengths and weaknesses, to explore ways to improve such programmes to the increased benefit of women in business, and finally, to investigate ways that businesses themselves can support such programmes to the benefit of their female employees: more representation in higher positions.Findings showed that women’s leadership development programmes do in fact provide a safe and supportive environment for nurturing confidence, acquiring new business skills, and learning from the experiences of successful women role models. They are a useful addition to other strategies designed to increase the number of women in senior positions, as factors such as organisational culture and commitment from CEOs also impact on a woman’s career progression. This research proposes a model to organisations that can be used to design and position future women’s development programmes. For maximum benefit, programmes should be strategically positioned, taking into account the environmental context and should help women identify and tap into existing networks and access suitable mentors. Further, elements unique to women must be inherent in the design of these programmes in order to facilitate career advancement, with the goal at hand: equal representation in senior positions