{"id":7759,"date":"2018-11-21T16:18:14","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T05:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.empoweringambitiouswomen.com\/?p=7759"},"modified":"2018-11-21T16:18:14","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T05:18:14","slug":"5-biggest-challenges-women-leaders-face-and-how-to-overcome-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empoweringambitiouswomen.com\/5-biggest-challenges-women-leaders-face-and-how-to-overcome-them\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Biggest Challenges Women Leaders Face and How to Overcome Them"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nWhat are the biggest challenges women in business face and what can be done to overcome those?<\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It\u2019s exciting to see women aiming for and winning leadership roles especially knowing the challenges they\u2019ve had to contend with along the way. Even though most organisations are putting effort into building gender balance, there are some things women will still face which men don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
So, what are the issues and what can be done about them?<\/p>\n
#1 Women held to higher standards<\/strong><\/h3>\n
US company, PEW Research Center<\/a> reports women are held to higher standards than their male counterparts. They need to do more to demonstrate their abilities than men. A survey by The Australian<\/a> newspaper reported the same results, with around 79% of women saying they also had to prove themselves more than their male colleagues. This plays on weaknesses most women have, which is the reluctance to self-promote or to ask for what we want.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t hold back and wait for your achievements to be noticed. Speak up and show what you\u2019re good at. Demonstrate how you meet the standards and indeed exceed them. Above all, call out double standards when you see them. Until you do, they\u2019ll go unnoticed, but when you reveal them you may find your male counterparts become your biggest allies in your fight.<\/p>\n
#2 Fighting gender stereotypes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
PEW also reported \u201cMost Americans (54%) say men would do a better job running a professional sports team, while just 8% say women would be better at this. And a 46% plurality also give men the edge when it comes to running a large oil or gas company. But the public is two and a half times more likely to say a woman, rather than a man, would do a better job running a major hospital or a major retail chain<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n
When you realise these results were collated from the opinions of the general public, you can see how big the stereotyping problem really is. Men do the business, women do the caring.<\/p>\n
Women have the skills to do what\u2019s regarded as extraordinary. The more women do it, the more common it will become, and public perception will gradually change. But it won\u2019t take just one or two women to step up. They only become \u2018exceptions to the rule\u2019 and, in many cases, are pointed to as evidence that there is<\/em> no gender problem. This is a long-term problem with a long-term solution and we all need to play our part in bringing in the change.<\/p>\n
#3 Playing the game<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Men have a way of doing things which includes building alliances, sourcing votes before meetings, and preparing their positioning beforehand. There\u2019s nothing wrong with this. It\u2019s all about strategy, like playing chess and getting your pieces into the right spaces. You can\u2019t win if you don\u2019t play the game. Give yourself a fair chance. Learn the strategy and use it.<\/p>\n
#4 Managing many roles<\/strong><\/h3>\n
More women than men end up leaving work to raise a family. It shouldn\u2019t be a case of child or career. Men don\u2019t usually have to make the same choice. Women who take leave or finish work to have a child need to plan their workplace exit and re-entry carefully. Stay up to date with technology and workplace changes and maintain contact with your networks.<\/p>\n
#5 Taking risks \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
In general, women are more cautious about risk than men and often question their own judgement. Men take risks, confident they\u2019ll handle the outcome, no matter what it is. You\u2019ll never move forward if you\u2019re not prepared to take a calculated risk on occasion. Remember, you\u2019re taking it for a reason \u2013 to achieve an outcome. Learn to focus more on the outcome and less on the risk.<\/p>\n
Of course, there are a lot more challenges to women\u2019s path to leadership than we\u2019ve covered, including harassment, lack of role models and our own ability to hold ourselves back. These are challenges most women face on a daily basis.<\/p>\n
With any conversation, it\u2019s important we don\u2019t just point to the challenges. If it\u2019s perceived as complaining, no one will listen. \u00a0Instead, we need to point to the solutions and act on them.<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
We must do it for ourselves and show what women are really made of. It takes only one person to get change happening. Why not you?<\/p>\n
For more insights by our wonderful team at Empowering Ambitious Women, please follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What are the biggest challenges women in business face and what can be done to overcome those? It\u2019s exciting to see women aiming for and winning leadership roles especially knowing the challenges they\u2019ve had to contend with along the way. Even though most organisations are putting effort into building gender balance, there are some things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,19,21,161],"tags":[57,203,181,50,51,155,202,186],"yoast_head":"\n
5 Biggest Challenges Women Leaders Face and How to Overcome Them - Empowering Ambitious Women<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n