Call to Action: Why Companies Need More Women Leaders

In order to become more competitive, companies need to start looking at women to fill more senior roles

By Linda Bowels, Partner, Deloitte

Back in 1984, there were no female partners at Deloitte. To become a partner, one had to demonstrate the ability to generate work (and hence, revenue) in the market.

So, a group of women — myself included — founded our firm’s Women’s Business Development Group (WBDG) in Toronto, to develop our profiles internally.

The WBDG was an action-oriented group organizing networking events for women in professional services. We weren’t radicals by any stretch, although many viewed the group’s formation as a “bold step.”

Attendees at our female-only events, which included women from other organizations, said it was refreshing to talk to other women and hear how they dealt with similar challenges. We learned women in professional services had a common issue: namely, they found it difficult to get ahead in male-dominated fields.

With almost no female role models, the WBDG filled a significant void for women professionals. Our group also assisted others looking to set up similar networks or participate in joint networking events.

Fast forward to today: Deloitte has 169 female partners and associate partners (26% of the firm’s business leaders).Yet too often, women are still excluded from marketing and practice development activities. How often are women invited to golf with the men or even go for a drink after work?

Now that there are more women leaders, it is our responsibility to provide similar networking opportunities for other women. One activity at Deloitte – our Spring breakfast, which has been running for 25 years – is so successful that men at our firm want to be included. It is a welcome sight to see men supporting women this way. We have made progress, but the trek has been a long one.

WHAT WE KNOW

Many of our challenges today remain similar to those from the mid-1980s. As an advocate for women in business, I am constantly surprised to learn that these challenges are all too common:

•The pool of talented women does exist, yet … when firms look externally for senior-level hires, everyone goes to the same (mostly male) pool of resources. If businesses are to be successful, they must look to non-traditional hires. Step outside of the box.

• A firm’s leadership team should reflect the customers served. There are as many female customers as males. Organizations need to advance more women who can develop the necessary skills to succeed — and mirror the client base. Times are changing and our leadership teams need to reflect the large numbers of women and visible minorities we serve.

• Women can succeed as business leaders. A recent Catalyst study indicates that companies with women in senior roles (more than one or two) and female representation on the board (more than one or two) were more successful than companies with no female representation. In spite of this, Catalyst found that, in 2009, only 14 percent of board seats at Financial Post 500 companies were held by women, an increase of just one percentage point since 2007.

TAKING ACTION

Women need to stand up and ask for challenging and difficult assignments. If we sit back and wait for work that proves our skills, the wait may be a long one. Next, more women need to act as mentors to other young women. The lack of inspiring role models is a deterrent to the success of future leaders. Women look up the ladder and, seeing no one like themselves, believe they can’t advance in their organization. Then they leave or stop aspiring to leadership roles.

THE FINAL STEP

In spite of all the talk – and money spent on diversity programs – women continue to struggle to obtain significant CEO-type leadership roles.Why? Because it is often believed that women either don’t have the qualifications or would not be able fulfill the requirements of the role.

I recall a story about how a leadership position became available involving significant travel.The selection team decided women would not want the promotion because they would have to be away from family. Qualified women weren’t even given the opportunity to say NO. Ironically, men offered the role declined because of the travel demands. Not every leadership choice is successful, but any unsuccessful decision focused on a woman leader often ends up tainting all women.The failures of male leaders never seem to have the same effect.

Being good at gender diversity in organizations is hard. There have to be risks taken and a willingness to accept the occasional failure – taking risks is what makes an organization grow and succeed longterm. It’s time for our professions to start taking a lot more risks. It’s time to start appointing more women to significant leadership roles.

Lynda Bowles, FCA, is an Audit partner at Deloitte. She won the YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Business in 1998. She is also involved on boards of many organizations including: West Park Health Care Centre, Bloorview Children’s Hospital, Women’s College Ambulatory Care Centre and the Toronto Zoological Society. Deloitteis the lead sponsor of the Women of Influence luncheon series.