Continuing my tradition of Sunday shout-outs of amazing leadership I’ve encountered, I’ve got a good one today. 📢
ESPECIALLY in the context of one of my favorite topics: women in leadership. Major spoiler though - it's not a woman.
To set the stage, consider this from McKinsey’s 2023 Women in the Workplace Report:
"Myth: The biggest barrier to women’s advancement is the ‘glass ceiling’
Reality: The ‘broken rung’ is the greatest obstacle women face on the path to senior leadership
For the ninth consecutive year, women face their biggest hurdle at the first critical step up to manager. This year, for every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, 87 women were promoted (Exhibit 2). And this gap is trending the wrong way for women of color: this year, 73 women of color were promoted to manager for every 100 men, down from 82 women of color last year. As a result of this “broken rung,” women fall behind and can’t catch up."
And as we enter Black History Month, look at the data for women of color - Black women in particular.
Do you know what we need more than anything? It’s not training, it’s not lessons in confidence, or workshops on executive presence.
We need the people already in power (often cis, straight, white men) to be our SPONSORS. Speak up for us when we’re not in the room. Give us credit because sometimes your voice is more palatable than ours.
And coach us on navigating the rough seas while ACKNOWLEDGING we face more (and/or different) hurdles and biases than you did in your path to where you are.
You know who does this better than almost anyone I know? Jeff Galas
Again - our time together was brief, but his advocacy and support when I was beyond frustrated was one of the most powerful lessons in leadership I’ve ever witnessed.
So as we go into this week, I have a message for all the cis, straight, white men in power and positions of leadership: use your voice to sponsor those you believe in - loudly.
Be like Jeff.
#sundayshoutout #lessonsinleadership #sponsorwomen #advocacymatters
Founder, Insurgents - Branding Agency ✔️ Brand Strategist & Sherpa ✔️ Storyteller, Name-meister & Wordsmith ✔️ Virtual Swiss Army Knife of Creative.
2moBravo Jenny Belknap. Well deserved. Glad I was able to be there to cheer you on. And Jane Lauder Great to see you. You looked gorgeous - as always.