Harappa Education, a learner-centered institution of the future, recently released a report on what women in leadership need. An extensive survey was conducted to better understand the prejudices and differentiated behavior towards women professionals and to incorporate their unique perspectives within curriculums designed to help empower women leaders and leaders-in-making.
The survey of more than 500 respondents revealed that while 99% of women believe it to be important for women professionals to build networks and alliances, only 47% of women actively pursue opportunities for their professional growth and learning. What's more, across the survey sample set, a staggering 90% of female respondents stated that they hesitate to ask for a raise at work.
The survey also uncovered some interesting insights regarding skills that women professionals perceive to be most important in their professional journeys. According to the data, close to 72% of women consider communication to be the top skill that continues to help them in their professional journey, followed by confidence (65%) and self-awareness (41%).
Here are some more highlights from the survey-
- 85% of the women professionals feel that at least once in their career, they have been perceived as ‘bossy’ or ‘dominating’ when they were just being assertive.
- 97% of the women consider it to be important for women professionals to cultivate a personal brand for themselves, while close to 74% of the women affirm calling themselves a perfectionist.
- From women professionals with less than 20 years of work experience, 52% stated that they feel inadequate or underqualified for their positions, despite their multiple years of experience. This figure displayed a gradual decrease for women with more than 20 years of corporate experience (37%).
- Surprisingly, a mere 21% of women felt continuously supported by their male peers at workplaces.
- The outlook for women at workplaces looks bright however as 87% of women respondents believe that the future for women in leadership looks promising in the coming 3 years.
Shreyasi Singh, Founder & CEO, Harappa Education, said, “I’ve always felt committed to learning and development and a determination to leave the world of work for women, a little better than I found it. I’m delighted about all our 7 new program offerings at Harappa but especially the Women’s Leadership Program—designed to enhance the learning journey of high potential women managers, based on our distinctive 10 on 10 pedagogy. The ‘What Women in Leadership Need’ survey research allows us to better understand the challenges women professionals face and co-build our Women’s Leadership Program, capturing what matters the most to current and aspiring women leaders.
While the future for women in leadership looks bright, the survey highlights that there are still many issues that need to be addressed for women to reach their full potential at the workplace.