Organizations should review and update the initiatives they introduced to promote diversity and foster inclusion.
Education about gender bias can increase awareness about practices and behaviors which are seemingly gender neutral, but in reality are harmful to women and their career prospects. Some tough conversations can be initiated in the process.
Question of self-worth: Are women ready?
Men usually feel ready to proceed to a higher position when they feel that they possess about 60% of the knowledge and skills required. Women usually play it safe and tend to wait until they feel 90% ready.
According to Center for Creative Leadership website, women need to say yes to promotion quicker. How can they say yes when they don’t feel ready? They need to stay connected to see what contributions they can make. They must try to clearly understand what their value is.
Challenging stretch assignments can help
Women also need to connect with new people to grow professionally. It can be a problem that they're often assigned easier stretch assignments. That can limit their career growth, since in senior tech roles business acumen and negotiation skills are needed. Top managers must be agile when it comes to politics and networking.
With more demanding stretch assignments, women would have better opportunities to develop all mentioned skills. The key to growth is opportunities that truly stretch their capabilities.
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