Closing the gender gap with executive and leadership coaching

Written By Megan Gill

When it comes to empowering women to lead, the power of leadership coaching should not be overlooked.

The Leadership Gender Gap

The higher up the corporate ladder, the fewer women there are. A 2020 global study by Mercer found that while women make up 47% of entry level positions, the number declines at each level up with women representing only 37% of managers, 29% of senior managers, and 23% of executives (Mercer, 2020).

A study completed in 2021 found that only 18% of executive officers in TSX-listed companies are women which is up only slightly from the previous year and largely unchanged from 2015 when 15% of executive officers were women (Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, 2021).

The Case for Change

There is a strong correlation between gender-balanced corporate leadership and company performance (McKinsey & Co, 2018). In a marketplace defined by complexity, disruption and change, today’s most successful organizations are those that bring diverse perspectives and experiences to each new challenge. There is also a significant benefit to society and our economy for addressing the gender gap. It is estimated that narrowing the gender gap by 2025 could result in $12 trillion of incremental GDP (McKinsey & Co, 2021). 

A growing number of companies are setting gender-diversity targets for their leadership teams and beginning to improve the collection of gender data to be able to report on progress. For example, The Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment Initiative (C3E) launched the Equal by 30 campaign in recognition that the transition to a clean energy future will only succeed if we harness all possible talent. Companies and governments across the globe have signed on for the Equal by 30 pledge and have committed to supporting women to close the gender gap, with specific efforts in the areas of recruitment and career advancement.

Even with increasing awareness and action towards more gender-diversity in leadership, progress has been slow and we still have a long way to go.

the persisting challenge

A KPMG Women’s Leadership Study found that women want to lead, but something is holding them back. It was found that six in 10 professional women find it hard to see themselves as a leader. The study revealed the importance of confidence and connections in moving women forward in leadership. When asked what training and development skills were needed to help move more women into leadership roles in the future, professional working women cited leadership training (57%), confidence building (56%), decision-making (48%), networking (47%), and critical thinking (46%) most often.

The study concluded that companies need to support and empower women in the workforce to lead. That’s where executive and leadership coaching comes in.

The POWER of Coaching

Executive coaching is growing as an industry as more and more leaders and corporations that have invested in professional coaching have reported high returns on investments. Coaching is defined by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) as “partnering with clients in a creative and thought-provoking process that inspires them to maximize their professional and personal potential”. This is distinct from mentoring which is all about sharing knowledge, experience, and expertise. With executive coaching, the client and coach create a specific, detailed plan for what they want to accomplish together, which includes agreed-upon time frames, milestones and measurable results.

Coaches guide their clients toward increased self-awareness and collaborate on concrete action plans that move them forward. The process helps to create a new perspective that allows for clients to move over obstacles that have stalled personal and professional progress in the past.

Coaching women leaders has been found to help increase self-awareness, manage the politics of business, and overcome the limiting beliefs that come with being a woman leader (Forbes, 2015). Coaching helps women with performance, satisfaction, and well-being in the workplace, especially in more senior leadership positions when women are facing more complex challenges and are subject to more scrutiny.

The Call to Action

In its Women’s Leadership Study, KPMG issued a “Call to Action” for organizations to:

  • Invest in high performing women with the inclination to lead and give them the confidence and capacity to do so;

  • Build empowered and effective networks with the express goal of generating opportunities for women’s leadership growth;

  • Treat leadership as a tangible skill and provide training opportunities and confidence building for women who wish to hone their skills; and

  • Ensure a sustainable pipeline of exceptional female leaders by developing innovative programs that provide opportunities for growth and advancement, while also intentionally seeking out and encouraging these high-performing women to participate in these programs.

By implementing leadership coaching programs for women, companies can check all of these boxes and know that they are taking meaningful action to close the gender gap. Executive and leadership coaching is an often underutilized tool for developing talent. But when it comes to empowering women to lead, the power of leadership coaching should not be overlooked.

Megan Gill
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