1. Good afternoon everyone
Good afternoon everyone! Today, I’m going to paint a picture for you with numbers. And, I love that for once I’m in front of a group that is NOT afraid of numbers. You, more than anywhere we presented t his information, know how important numbers are to not only painting a picture of the current climate, but also in helping determine root causes of something that doesn’t “look right.” So, with that being said, let’s start with a overview of the current landscape of women in leadership!
Despite women’s impressive gains in education and the workplace over the past 50 years, men greatly outnumber women in leadership, especially in top positions. From corporate boardrooms to the halls of Congress, from universities to the courts, from Hollywood to Wall Street to Washington, DC, men are simply much more likely than women to be leaders.
Thousands of books and articles offer theories about the nature of the problem and advice to individual women on how to stand up, step up, lean in, and make their voices heard. But the leadership gender gap is significant, persistent, and systemic. Individual choices alone simply will not solve the problem.
Today we’ll take a look at AAUW’s Barriers and Bias: The Status of Women in Leadership, which examines the environment in which leadership unfolds—in the classroom, in the workplace, and in politics, and what can be done to overcome some of these barriers.

2. There is no one “women’s experience” of leadership, nor is there one definition of leadership.
Women come from different backgrounds and experiences. All women bring a race and an ethnicity to the equaltion, as well as different backgrounds in terms of education, income, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Leaders also come in all shapes and sizes. A leader may be defined by the position occupied, by personality or charisma, by tenure, by moral authority, by power held, or by intellectual contributions.
Leadership can be exercised by individuals at any level of an organization’s hierarchy, by people without formal authority, as well as by CEOs or presidents. Interestingly enough, those informal leadership positions tend to be male dominated as well.
Because it’s difficult to assess AND solve the world’s problems in an hour…today we’ll focus solely on “positional leaders,” – people who occupy positions of power that are recognized and rewarded in observable ways.

3. WHAT IS THE GENDER LEADERSHIP GAP?

4. In K–12 education, women make up
76% of public school teachers but only
20% of school superintendents.
In nonprofit organizations, women are
75% of all employees but only
43% of executives—and just
18% of executives at organizations with budgets greater than $50 million.
The major takeaway from these statistics is that the more powerful the role, the less likely a woman is to occupy it (even in fields that are largely female-dominated).
We see similar gender leadership gaps in academia, unions, and many other institutions of society, including public accounting firms. As o 2018 data, women earn just slightly over 51% of the undergraduate degrees in accounting and 54.5% of the master’s degrees. The most recent data available (which was from 2014) shows that women account for only 19% of the partners in CPA firms nationwide, and only 17% in firms with a staff of more than 50. Sadly, that is an improvement over 2010, when that figure was only 15%.
SOURCES
Schools: U.S. Department of Education 2015; Finnan et al. 2015
Nonprofits: Stiffman, 2015; Colorado Women’s College, 2013
Academia: American Association of University Professors 2011; Chronicle of Higher Education 2014–15

5. U.S. Private Sector Executives, by Gender and Race/Ethnicity, 2014
The leadership gap is systemic, but the data collected, the questions asked, and the analyses conducted often do not reflect the real experiences of—and differences among—women.
For example, white men are dramatically overrepresented at the senior executive level relative to their representation in the general population. Asian men are also slightly overrepresented among senior executives.
Women of all races/ethnicities are underrepresented at the senior executive level. But Hispanic and black women are the most underrepresented groups in top private-sector leadership.
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.) job patterns for minorities and women in private industry.

6. Women in U.S. Elected Offices, by Race/Ethnicity, 2016
Women are less likely than men to hold elective office at the state or national level, and, again, the more powerful the role, the less likely a woman is to fill it.
In the 114th U.S. Congress, women occupy 20 seats in the Senate and 84 seats in the House of Representatives; of these 104 women members of Congress, 33 are women of color and 71 are white women.
Today, only six of the 50 governors in the United States are women, and only two are women of color. Gov. Susan Martinez (R-NM), who is Latina, and Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), who is of Indian descent, were the first two women of color to win gubernatorial
elections.
And, of course, the percentage of female presidents in U.S. history is currently zero.
Source: AAUW-assembled data for this figure provided by Center for American Women and Politics (2016a, 2016b)
1 Does not include U.S. territories or the District of Columbia
2 Mayoral data are from 2015

7. WHAT EXPLAINS THE GENDER LEADERSHIP GAP?
Why is there still a dearth of women leaders in the United States? Are there not enough qualified candidates? Is there still discrimination against women leaders? Are women simply choosing to prioritize family over career? The question can be posed another, equally important way:
Why are men overrepresented in leadership roles? Are they not qualified for or interested in other kinds of work? Is there still discrimination against men who are not leaders? Are men simply choosing to prioritize career over family?

8. Explicit Bias and Discrimination
Women still experience overt discrimination in the workplace.
From 2010 – 2017 an average of 12,500 sex-based harassment charges were filed annually with the EEOC
The “Mad Men” era of high-powered men sexually harassing their secretaries without consequences was thought by many to be a thing of the past, but as we’ve seen this past year, blatant sex-based discrimination and sexual harassment are still frequent occurrences in workplaces. For every case that reaches the EEOC or a courtroom, many, many other incidents go unreported or unresolved.
Overt sexual harassment and discrimination do still take place and as you can see, the EEOX handles approximately 12, 500 cases being charged per year. Oddly enough, that data never veered radically between the low of 12, 379 in 2013 and the high of 12,860 in Note, that this also does not include charges filed with state or local Fair Employment Practice Agencies.

9. Structural Factors Caregiving and Women’s “Choices” The Gender Pay Gap
Lack of Networks and Mentors
Balancing work and family responsibilities is one of the most challenging obstacles for women seeking leadership roles. Women are usually the primary (if not the only) parent caring for children and other family members during their peak years in the workforce. They are more likely than men to work part time or to spend time out of the workforce.
Differences in women’s and men’s earnings also contribute to the leadership gap. When two parents are in the workforce and one has an option to reduce or even leave employment, the higher-paid spouse is likely to continue working. That person is still most often a man.
It can be harder for women to find effective mentors than it is for men, and studies have found that networking with influential leaders may be even more important for advancement than actual job performance.
When socializing happens outside work hours, fathers may find they have more time than mothers to attend events, and men may be more likely than women to be invited for a drink or golf game.

10. Stereotypes and Bias
A stereotype is a cognitive “shortcut” that categorizes people on the basis of characteristics such as gender, race, or age.
A bias is a semi-permanent belief based on repeated exposure to stereotypes.
People are less likely to openly admit to negative stereotypes and biases today than in the past.
A stereotype is a cognitive “shortcut” that categorizes people on the basis of characteristics such as gender, race, or age.
A bias develops after repeated exposure to stereotypes.
Even seemingly positive stereotypes can be problematic. For example, the stereotype of women as nurturers can backfire when employers and co-workers expect women to take on caregiving responsibilities that are inappropriate or discriminatory in a work setting.
We can stereotype others, as well as members of our own group; that is, women can hold stereotypes against women.
Gender and racial stereotypes can also overlap to create unique—and uniquely powerful—stereotypes. According to one study, races are perceived as gendered, with being black considered more masculine than being white, and being Asian considered more feminine than being white. The leadership experiences of women of color are not just more difficult than those of white women; they are also remarkably different.

11. Implicit Bias
Beliefs, attitudes, or biases may happen “beneath the surface.”
Most people possess subtle or even unconscious beliefs about gender and/or bias against women in leadership.
Implicit bias refers to associations or beliefs that happen “out of sight.” These may not be noticed, and they may even be completely subconscious.
Studies have repeatedly found that people tend to make certain mental associations that may affect their decisions or behaviors in subtle ways. For instance, most people tend to associate men and science more readily than they do women and science.
Similarly, people tend to associate men with leadership. These subtle connections may result in implicit bias with consequences that can affect our impressions of job candidates or influence decisions about training and promotion.
Here again, gender, race, and ethnicity intersect. Not only do women of color confront race and ethnic discrimination that white women do not face; they also experience gender bias differently than white women do—and they experience racial bias differently than do the men in their racial or ethnic group.

12. HAVE ANY STRATEGIES ALREADY HELPED NARROW THE GENDER LEADERSHIP GAP?
The leadership gender imbalance is not a new problem, and efforts to fix it are not new either. As with most attempts to change a systemic social problem, types of interventions vary and results are mixed.

13. Strategies for Narrowing the Gap
Trainings
Employment practice reform
Role Models
Implicit Association Testing (IAT)
Just as there are many articles and books on women in leadership, there are also many programs and activities that may be able to expand women’s access to leadership opportunities.
For all these efforts, the devil is in the details.
Diversity training programs and new workplace practices have proliferated in the past decade, but they are not all created equal. Some of these programs inadvertently reinforce gender and racial stereotypes or do more harm than good, but others have achieved promising results.
One promising area of research is Implicit Association Testing.

14. The Implicit Association Test
The IAT assesses unconscious biases or attitudes.
It measures how quickly people can sort words or pictures into categories.
People are faster to associate categories that are already connected in their minds.
The Implicit Association Test, or IAT, was developed by social psychology researchers in the 1990s. The test is designed to assess subtle or even unconscious biases and attitudes, or attitudes that people are unwilling to state publicly, like racial bias or gender bias.
The IAT asks participants to use a computer to sort words or pictures into categories, in the case of the one we developed around women and leadership, we used men’s and women’s names, and words that mean leader or follower. At key points, the participant is asked to categorize certain categories together, for instance to put men’s names and words that mean leader on the same side of the screen.
When people already associate certain concepts—like being a man and being a leader—they are faster to categorize those words when they are placed on the same side of the screen. When words that people don’t readily associate are categorized together—like women’s names and words that mean leader—people tend to slow down. This provides a measure of how strongly associated some concepts are. When those concepts are as loaded as gender and leadership, we often refer to such associations as implicit bias.
AAUW posted the IAT on our website on February 10, 2016; after just 11 days, we had received more than 4,000 completed responses. This first sample drew from AAUW’s membership as well as from people who visited our website.

15. Early Respondent AAUW IAT Score Means by Gender and Feminist Identity
Early results suggest that even AAUW members and feminist allies associate men and leadership more readily than they do women and leadership.
Early respondents to the AAUW IAT were motivated AAUW members, allies, and members of the expanded AAUW network.
The median age of test takers was 55.
40% were AAUW members.
83% were women.
86% were non-Hispanic white people.
86% identified as feminists (including a majority of both women and men who responded).
The higher the AAUW IAT score, the more strongly participants associated men with leadership. Negative scores—where people associated women with leadership—were possible and did happen! But on average, even women who identified as feminists still showed a very slight bias toward associating men with leadership. But men and people who did not identify as feminists both showed stronger bias toward associating men with leadership.
Early IAT results are not representative of the general public. Data collection is continuing.

16. Average Gender/Leadership IAT Scores by Gender,
Comparison of AAUW IAT with Recent Study
AAUW researchers contacted a Vanderbilt University professor, Cecilia Mo, to compare our early data with some of her data from a 2015 study. Her study used a gender and leadership IAT similar to the AAUW IAT, but with a more representative sample. The women and men in her study showed stronger a bias toward associating men with leadership than the early AAUW participants did.
Source: Mo, C. H. (2015). The consequences of explicit and implicit gender attitudes and candidate quality in the calculations of voters.
Political Behavior, 37(2), 357–95. Mean IAT scores by gender provided by author.

17. HOW DO WE CLOSE THE GENDER LEADERSHIP GAP?

18. Recommendations for Individuals
Become a student of leadership.
Seek evidence-based leadership training.
Find a sponsor or become one.
Look for volunteer opportunities that develop leadership skills.
Explore and address your biases. Start by taking the AAUW Implicit Association Test at
There are many commonsense steps we can take as individuals, employers, and policy makers to create significant change.
1. Become a student of leadership. There are thousands of academic and popular books, journals, and webinars for women seeking leadership roles. Immerse yourself in the leadership literature most relevant to your own career path.
2. Seek evidence-based leadership training.
3. Find a sponsor or become one.
4. Look for volunteer opportunities that develop leadership skills. Volunteering can be a wonderful way to develop your leadership skills while helping to make a difference in the world. AAUW is a great place to start!
5. Explore and address your biases. Start by taking the AAUW Implicit Association Test at
6. Plan for potential career interruptions. Although women are still more likely than men to handle the housework and caregiving, men are increasingly taking on these roles. Taking time out of the workforce can be the right decision for both men and women.
7. Seek out employers that promote women’s leadership. Before you join a company, take a look around: Do you see women and people of color in leadership roles? Blazing a trail is a possibility, but it can also be challenging.

19. Recommendations for Employers
Offer flexible schedules.
Focus on productivity, not face time.
Offer evidence-based diversity training.
Actively encourage sponsorship programs.
Make women the “Norm” in leadership candidacy.
1. Offer flexible schedules, and focus on productivity, not face time.
Flexible workplaces help everyone. Some jobs do require fixed times and places. But when managers focus on employees’ contributions rather than watching the clock, productivity and morale may improve.
2. Offer evidence-based diversity training.
Diversity training programs should reflect best practices. There are many programs available, and employers should look for those that take into account the latest evidence-based findings about bias and stereotypes.
3. Actively encourage sponsorship programs.
While mentoring programs can be useful, sponsorship involves the sharing of credibility and standing in the field.
4. Design and use better human resource materials. Policies and programs designed to reduce bias, such as blind review of résumés, can limit bias in crucial aspects of the hiring process. An interesting recommendation I recently heard at a White House briefing was proposed by two researchers from the University of Colorado. If you are committed to hiring a more diverse leadership, racially and gender, then you simply need more than one candidate representing that group. To quote “Standing alone makes them stand out as different, tripping the unconscious bias most of us have in our human tribe mentality.”
Another phenomena is between women themselves in leadership positions. Who has ever been in this situation – You are the only woman in a leadership position. Come on, raise those hands. OK, now they hire a second woman. Who thinks – Hmmm, they just hired or promoted a second woman, they must be trying to get rid of me? It’s only when that third womanis hired that we realize it’s a conscientious effort!

20. Recommendations for Policy Makers
Strengthen pay equity laws.
Create incentives for workplace flexibility and fairness.
Update laws to protect pregnant workers.
Barriers and Bias contains many recommendations for policy makers.
1. Strengthen pay equity laws. Many of the factors that hold back women’s pay also hold back opportunities for women to advance. Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act is one effective way to improve federal equal pay laws.
2. Strengthen leave policies. While some employers choose to provide these protections as a benefit to some or all employees, many U.S. workers do not have guaranteed paid annual leave, paid time off for illness or family care, or paid parental leave. Without these policies, caregiving responsibilities can hinder women’s career trajectories and leadership opportunities.
3. Update laws to protect pregnant workers. Pregnancy and child care should not prevent a woman from pursuing her career. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would require employers to make reasonable accommodations to protect the health of pregnant workers and ensure that they are not forced out of their jobs or denied leadership opportunities.

21. Programs and Resources
The AAUW Implicit Association Test on Gender and Leadership
AAUW Start Smart and Work Smart Salary Negotiation Workshops
AAUW offers many programs that help tackle bias and encourage women to lead on their campuses and in the workforce.
The AAUW Implicit Association Test on Gender and Leadership can help you find out if you have unconscious biases about women leaders.
AAUW Start Smart and AAUW Work Smart Salary Negotiation Workshops teach women effective techniques to negotiate their salary and benefits at different stages of their careers.
Find out more about all these opportunities at

22. Questions?

23. Thank you for taking part in this discussion about women and leadership.
You can download a copy of AAUW’s Barriers and Bias report for free from the AAUW website.
[Discussion/Q&A]