Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to examine the gender leadership gap: According to a 2022 World Economic Forum report, only 31% of global leadership positions are held by women.
Photo by Sarah Whitman.
Networking is one effective way to bridge this gap, but research shows that women are disproportionately at a disadvantage in this field. Sarah Whitman, assistant professor of management at George Mason University’s Costello College of Business, unravels this complex issue and offers some potential research-based solutions.
To rise to the top, you need to know and be known. You need social capital, and a social network that makes a difference. Of course, no one wants to be seen as “that person” who uses others to get ahead. But research shows that in professional networks, women are less likely than men to network instrumentally or accumulate instrumental ties, and therefore less likely to have powerful people in their network who can help them get ahead or get things done. Over time, women’s network deficits accumulate. Especially in the age of online social media like LinkedIn, if you weren’t connected to your colleagues in your last job, you may not be connected to them in your current job. And those are the people who know you and can help you get your next job.
One piece of advice, of course, is to shift your mindset: make networking about relationship building, not just contact accumulation. That fits better with what is expected of women and is less likely to backlash. If networking is “just” relationship building, it’s less intimidating and, frankly, less pragmatic. Especially if you don’t need anything right now, you can creatively focus on what you can offer. Instead of thinking about resources you need, think about what kind of resource you can be to others. The universe will reward you, and having established contacts at a time of need is invaluable.
Second, make networking easy for yourself. Just do it. LinkedIn and other similar online social media in particular are incredible tools with both personal and surprisingly impersonal features. These days, we connect with people we perceive as working in the same industry or in a related role, even if we don’t actually know them. Not only is connecting with potentially relevant people low risk (you might get told “no” without meeting in person), but wherever you engage with platforms, the professional content you create will get you and your resources noticed in your contacts’ feeds.
It’s easier to start with the networks you legitimately belong to (high school, college, sorority alumni, or people with whom you share a past or present professional connection (former or current coworkers)). You never know what someone does or how it relates to your career.
Without even realizing it, you may already have valuable social capital at your fingertips in the form of so-called “multiplex” connections — connections that serve multiple purposes. Do you know what kind of work your neighbors do? What about the parents of your kids’ friends? What about the spouses (or kids) of your spouse’s coworkers? But again, the more decent you are in these relationships, the more likely they are to offer professional value, too.
No! Scholars have written extensively about the so-called “double bind” that exists for women, especially in leadership positions. Research shows that no matter what you do, you will be judged negatively based on your warmth and competence. Too nice? Not smart enough, you won’t be respected. Too strategic? Cold, sneaky, you’ll be disliked. This also applies to networking: women who “shoot their way to the top” in networking will not be seen as team players (violating feminine norms of communalism) and may be at a disadvantage in status compared to women who don’t have more practical networks. But women who don’t have those practical connections won’t get promoted.
“Fixing women” is not the answer. Executives must back up their empowering words with actions. Senior leaders must be ready to appoint capable and deserving women to key positions in their organizations.
Closer to home, men who love women and have seen women’s challenges firsthand tend to be our greatest allies. CEOs with daughters, for example, are more likely to have women on their boards of directors. Men, know that the advancement of the women you support today will be role models that pave the way for many of your own daughters, nieces, and granddaughters.
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