6.3.1 Barriers identified in Chapter 2 in relation to interventions

In Chapter 2 seven barriers are identified that hinder women from advancing to the corporate top in Europe. The seven barriers are: (1) psychological processes, which include gender stereotypes and biases, (2) devaluation of women, (3) career preferences, (4) organizational culture and organizational processes, (5) work-family balance/work-family conflict, (6) professional support, and (7) the leaky pipeline.

The first barrier that was identified was the barrier gender stereotypes. This barrier was identified in Chapter 2 but was not specifically mentioned as a barrier in the study on organizational interventions (Chapter 5). However, indirect reference to the barrier gender stereotypes was made by interviewees when discussing the barriers and their assumptions about women and gender roles. No interventions were found that could specifically eliminate the gender stereotypes barrier. One of the reasons for this may be that gender stereotypes are not only present in companies but in the whole of society. Gender stereotyping usually begins at an early age, or even before we are born, by deciding, for example, that the nursery should be blue for a boy and pink for a girl. Also, from a young age, children are told that boys are adventurous and tough, whereas girls are caring and polite. This is also noticeable in adult life, where gender stereotypes uphold the idea that men are, for instance, doctors and women are nurses.1 Gender stereotypes cannot be eliminated by governmental or organizational interventions, because changing gender stereotypes requires an integral change in people’s mindset concerning the role of women and men in society. Consequently, this barrier needs to be eradicated by society. Society at large has an important role to play in openly addressing and eliminating deeply engrained gender stereotypes in the mind and hearts of people. However, companies can also play a role. Companies can implement interventions aimed at creating an (gender) inclusive working environment in which everyone feels accepted and respected. Such an environment can be created by means of several of the identified interventions aimed at realizing an (gender) inclusive workplace. One of such interventions is the inclusive leadership assessment, by means of which leaders learn what inclusivity entails and how it can be practiced in their work (Chapter 5). By means of such interventions, people become aware of gender stereotypes and other preconceptions and prejudices, such as biases, that prevent people at the corporate top and in the rest of an organization from being inclusive.

The barrier bias refers to processes by which women might not be selected for certain positions or promotions because of preconceptions regarding women, for instance because people are more likely to select those who resemble them the most. The analysis of the organizational interventions identified in Chapter 5 identified several interventions that could help in overcoming biases, such as: unconscious bias trainings, a gender diverse panel for selection and promotion, and a training on how to conduct interviews objectively. These interventions can eliminate biases in the workplace. By requiring an unconscious bias training for people who are involved in the recruitment and selection process, they become aware of the unconscious biases that they (may) have, and the training equips them to better detect and counter these biases when they occur. The intervention of a gender diverse panel can also help to overcome biases because the chances of a woman being chosen increases when the panel is gender diverse. A training in objective interviewing may also eliminate biases, as it increases the chances of people being selected based on merit rather than based on, for instance, preconceptions, such as biases, which might, for instance, also be driven by gender stereotypes.

The barrier devaluation of women entails that women are disregarded because they are seen as not having the competencies for corporate top positions. This barrier can be overcome by equipping women for leadership positions by means of leadership development programs and women’s development programs. By doing so, they can build the competencies for becoming a leader. Unfortunately, however, these types of programs that are aimed specifically at building female leadership inherently suggest that women do not have the competencies for corporate top positions to start with, which is not a valid statement. Women can be devalued, not only because they do not have the required competencies, but also, for instance, because they are regarded as not having the ambition or motivation for top corporate positions. These notions about women can be reinforced by gender stereotypes and as noted, that barrier is difficult to overcome.

No interventions were found that could specifically help to overcome the barrier career preferences. This may have to do with the fact that it was found that women can be assigned to certain positions because of biases, or because women may prefer to be in other positions than men, as the study in Chapter 2 on barriers has shown. Those positions, usually staff positions that encompass support positions, typically do not prepare people for the experience required for corporate top positions. Therefore, women’s chances of being appointed to top corporate positions could be less than men’s, because women are better represented in support functions than in line positions. However, stereotypical norms might also steer career preferences. These stereotypical norms can also be embedded in women’s choice of study that eventually also affects whether women will pursue a career in a particular sector. For instance, stereotypical norms still dictate that women are not expected to opt for studies in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). If the career preferences of women are indeed steered by stereotypes, these stereotypes need to change. As discussed, however, no singular governmental or organizational interventions can be implemented that would solve this. If the fact that women choose different careers because they are assigned to different roles because of bias, the interventions can be implemented that are needed to overcome the barrier bias.

The culture within an organization, including organizational processes, was also found to be a barrier to women’s advancement. Organizations are male gendered. As a result, commitment is also defined in male-terms, for example by working long hours. This is less easy for women (with children) to manage, because it is still expected of women that they shoulder most of the household work and take care of the children. The barrier organizational culture was also found to be a major barrier in one of the companies investigated in the case study research described in Chapter 5. The barrier organizational culture could be overcome by the organizational intervention culture compass or by other interventions that aim to define or change the company culture. A culture compass allows companies to define what their cultural values are and what values the company aspires to. This barrier, in particular, must be tackled at an organizational level, because things like culture are so very hard to define and organizational culture differs from company to company. However, it is also extremely hard to change an organizational culture, because a culture is generally deeply embedded in an organization and is often enshrined in different practices. A culture change requires a change in mindset, which is not something that is done overnight.

The barrier work-family balance/work-family conflict indicated that women are often forced to choose between career and family due to role expectations about women. Due to these expectations, women also find it difficult to balance work and family life, which may in turn result in work-family conflict, which may then cause women to refrain from pursuing corporate top positions. Furthermore, women are sometimes not considered for leadership positions (or not as often as men) because they are perceived to be less committed to their jobs once they have a family. The barrier of work-family balance/conflict can be overcome by the deployment of the family supportive organizational interventions identified by the study in Chapter 5. These family supportive interventions include family support programs (such as proud parent) and various forms of work leave for parents. Although most of the policies are designed for women and men, these policies are especially important for women, because women usually invest more hours in fulfilling household duties and taking care of the children than men. However, these policies are also important for fathers, because when the interventions are implemented effectively, for example by permitting men to take (paternity) leave, this enables men to invest more time in household duties which can in turn increase women’s chances of working (more hours). That consequently also increases the chances of women becoming candidates for corporate top positions due to the fact that they can then invest more time in their career than would, for instance, be the case if they worked part-time, which is a common phenomenon in the Netherlands. Furthermore, if men also avail themselves of family support programs, the stereotype that women are usually the ones who avail themselves of these policies and, therefore, are considered less for promotion will also decrease or be eradicated.

The barrier professional support indicates that women are excluded from networks, lack support from mentors and have limited role models to look up to. Interventions to eliminate the barrier professional support are the interventions of mentoring and a women’s network. These interventions are not specifically related to increasing the number of women at the corporate top, but they could be incredibly important for women’s career advancement. For instance, networks provide women with contacts and information concerning upcoming promotion opportunities and role models can motivate women to put themselves in the race for corporate top positions.

The last barrier that was identified in Chapter 2 is the barrier of the leaky pipeline, meaning that there are simply not enough qualified women. As explained in Chapter 2, the phenomenon of the leaky pipeline was identified as a barrier, but it was not explained why it is considered a barrier as such. This could be, for instance, because women are not considered qualified because of stereotypes or because they are devalued. It is, therefore, not clear how this barrier can be overcome because it is not explained in literature why it is a barrier. An intervention that could help overcome the effects of the leaky pipeline is strategic workforce planning. If it is planned how the workforce develops over time, a company can already estimate who will be in the pipeline within a few years and can act upon that. If the problem is that women are not properly equipped for leadership positions, the company can factor this into its workforce planning in order to ensure that the pipeline is filled with qualified women by the time they are needed.