The Journey from Potential to Power in Women's Leadership
- Priya Venkatesan
- Mar 4
- 2 min read
Women make up at least 28% of high-potential pools in companies with strong leadership bench strength. As of 2024, women hold only 8.2% of CEO roles in S&P 500 companies (Catalyst, WBC).
So what happens in the chasm of career growth?
Why doesn't potential not translate into holding positions of power?
Women have some hard real challenges to overcome including:
Time (Split between work & home)
Snowball of unequal work at home
Bias at the workplace (Having to 2X on effort to be seen)
Unfriendly policies (Time off, workplace location, child/elderly care)
This begs the following questions in every woman's head:
Is it worth it to struggle at work and life like this?
Where do I find time to invest in my learning?
Will my children miss me?
Why can't I be recognised for the value I bring in thats offered to others?
Running on a treadmill trying to answer all the above questions, all the power is lost to resistance, exhaustion and frustration.
If this has to change, women have to bring the centre of self power within themselves. While external reinforcements might make the journey a little easier to bear, the fortitude comes from the power that emanates from within.
There are three questions that can get women started in their journey:
Who do I want to be in this world? -->Eg: The best Engineering leader, the best mother, the best cheerleader, the best politician, .........
What is the purpose behind being this person? -->Eg: I care about the best product, the planet, the future generation....
Who will be around me when I am this person? Eg:My Strategic community, friends, family, organisation....
Once the above answers are clear, you can create your own source of power to be this person through Capability, Character & Voice. You can read on how to here.
If you are a L&D leader, HR leader or a Business leader, looking to empower your women on capability, character & voice, explore our "Women of Power" offering.
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