Women & Leadership in Canada: Confidence and the Rise to the Top

• In Event: Connecting Identity and Confidence in Girls' Leadership

Short Description

This in-depth study of 18 female leaders across Canada shows the importance of confidence in women’s rise to leadership. A C.A.R.E. leadership model was formed, representing the four main characteristics that led these 18 women to the top: courage, ambition, resilience and education. External support received by the participants from their parents, spouses, and mentors — combined with their own self-confidence — allowed these women to achieve their dreams of independence. This paper shares their personal stories and secrets of success.

Detailed Abstract

While the overall workforce has a strong female presence, leadership in organizations is still predominantly male. A 2018 McKinsey Report showed the following statistics on female presence throughout the corporation: women comprise 31% of entry-level workers, 27% of managers, 26% of directors, 24% of vice-presidents, and 19% of senior vice-presidents and C-suite executives (McKinsey 2018).

Why is the glass ceiling being shattered by some and not others? Why are so few women reaching the top? Why are the majority dropping out of the leadership race? One barrier is confidence and self-authorization. Self-confidence and resilience have long been recognized as essential qualities in a CEO (Bennis 2003; Collin 2001). Claire Cain Miller wrote in the New York Times an article entitled “The Problem for Women Is Not Winning. It’s Deciding to Run.” In it, Miller quotes Senator Kristen Gillibrand about her run for office: “It took 10 years volunteering to have the actual self-confidence to say, ‘I can run for office. Women are the biggest self-doubters” (New York Times). Miller continues by saying “when women run for political office, they are just as likely as men to be elected. The main reason they are so underrepresented is that they don’t run in the first place” (New York Times). Internally, women are experiencing great doubt about their abilities and thus end up opting out of the leadership race and prioritizing their domestic roles.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Who is this elusive woman who broke through boundaries, powered through the corporate landscape and reached the executive level? What did it take for her to climb the corporate ranks? The purpose is to understand if any traits are shared among these female leaders. How was she raised, how supportive were her parents when she was growing up, how involved her is spouse with household and childcare responsibilities, and what is her advice for the next generation of female leaders? This study looked specifically at Canadian female executives.

METHODOLOGY

This research gathered primary data from one-on-one interviews with 18 female leaders across Canada. The purpose of this research was to look into the lives of these women and understand their childhood upbringing, career paths and thoughts about the future of women in leadership. All 18 women were at the Vice-President level or higher at the time of the interview.

CONFIDENCE

This research showed that leadership development begins at childhood with parental influences and education. It continues with spousal involvement in domestic chores, as well as mentorship relationships. Most of this study’s participants said they succeeded because their parents pushed them, their husbands supported their careers by helping with the kids, and their mentors provided guidance along the way. Aside from all the external support they received, how did their own confidence play into their success?
All the parents of the participants were unanimously supportive of their daughters. Their parents’ support created confidence and self-authorization early on in these women. As young girls, their mothers told them, “don’t marry young, know what you want to do”, and “you can do and be anything you want, you’re very smart.” Later as adults, the participants built more of that similar support system by choosing the right spouses and mentors. Any disapproval, obstacle or discrimination they faced in their career was tackled head-on thanks to this internal anchor built in childhood. One participant said: “I built a self-confidence in the household that I think made me able to go out there and be myself.”

One participant said she was pushed aside for a promotion. Her company had decided to move her job to the United States and started doing interviews to find a new candidate. She approached her boss and asked why he assumed she didn’t want the job. He said he thought she wouldn’t want to move to the U.S. She told him she wants to go through the interview process, and she did. One month later, he called her and offered her the position; he said “you’re the best man for the job.”

LACK OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

So how did these women make it to the top, but many others don’t? Why after all this time do we still not have enough female leaders? One recurring response to this was that women wait until they’re 100% ready before going for a promotion: “women have a tendency to feel they need to be fully ready, they question a lot. And by the time they decide, the job is gone.” Other responses spoke directly of confidence: “women need confidence”, “women must build confidence”, and “women seek perfection and lose confidence”.

C.A.R.E. MODEL

Based on the study’s responses, a C.A.R.E. leadership model has been formed which encompasses the four predominant characteristics these women embody for leadership success and confidence: courage, ambition, resilience and education. It took courage for the women to say yes and allow themselves to go for their jobs and their promotions. They fully assumed their ambitions and pursued them head-on. They had incredible resilience to be able to power through countless obstacles and move forward. Finally, their strong education gave them the knowledge and training for their respective fields. This built the foundation of their self-confidence, allowing them to achieve anything they wanted and reach their leadership roles.

Presenter

• Christina Paylan, Concordia University