Less than a fifth of China’s executives are female
Chen Shen
Partner at Bain & Company.
Based in Shanghai
Women’s representation in executive teams is not a question of being ‘fair’. It is an important lever for value creation. When women do not rise to their full potential, neither do their companies.
Chinese female executives surveyed by Bain & Company and global leadership advisory firm Spencer Stuart highlighted five key drivers - proactively seeking challenging opportunities to improve capability, comprehensive exposure across functions and roles, achieving extraordinary results, getting sponsorship from senior executives, and expressing opinions confidently to drive key decisions – and two must-haves - setting and planning for executive role as career ambition and getting sufficient work-life support - that contributed to their success, and are aligned with the observation in the executive search market. These elements helped Chinese female leaders perform to their potential, earn recognition and sponsorship, and be fully devoted to their careers.
Christina Zhu
Co-head of Spencer Stuart’s Greater China region
As China is still a developing market, we often hear from employers that they are seeking executive candidates who are fully committed to their careers, who proactively seize opportunities to break into white space and are skilled at navigating complex stakeholder networks.
Based on Bain’s interviews and survey, four challenges derail women’s career progression.
Family responsibilities weigh on women more than men
About
83% of the women surveyed said family duties prevent them from being fully
dedicated to work. Sixty-eight percent of women said their families do not
understand their career ambitions. Women need more support from their employers
too. More than 70% of respondents said a lack of parental support at work
prevents them from advancing in their careers.
- Women hesitate to speak up and take opportunities
Respondents
said Chinese women spend more time on major decisions or wait to express their
opinions, which can be perceived negatively. More than 80% of respondents said
being risk-averse or waiting to be well-prepared before speaking is a barrier
to their advancement.
Women
also find it harder to pursue challenging assignments that widen their
skillsets. Nearly 60% of women said they hesitate to reach out to senior
leaders for opportunities out of fear of making mistakes.
- Women feel excluded from male-dominated networks
Since
most leadership circles are composed of men, networking opportunities and
social norms are male-dominated and harder for women to break into. Being
excluded from social events can shorten women’s careers as it prevents them
from gaining sponsorship. In the survey, about 80% of women said the lack of
access to executive networks makes it harder to get senior sponsors. More than
half said it was more difficult to build high-level connections across the
business.
- Women are unconsciously biased by an ‘average’ view
Women
also face unconscious biases, namely that all women are ‘average’ and perform
the same. In contrast, men are usually recognized by their individual
capabilities and characteristics.
According
to Bain’s research, women in the workplace are perceived to be less committed,
less confident, and less ambitious. As a result of bias, nearly half of
respondents believe they receive fewer challenging tasks and opportunities to
develop at the workplace.
If
a man and a woman deliver the same results, women believe the company would
favor men. Forty-seven percent said bias about women ‘being average’ makes it
harder for them to receive due recognition. The ‘average’ bias also limits
women’s career potential. Women stop being promoted to CFO and CEO positions at
around age 50, and leadership is turned mostly over to men.
Companies
in China need to create an equitable environment for men and women. First, they
should ensure leadership commitment. With top-down support, companies can
create gender targets for the organization including identifying high potential
women and building a career progression plan with them. Second, companies
should work to remove unconscious biases and ensure both genders are treated
fairly at work, including during selections and performance reviews. Then, they
could build more equitable support systems such as flexible working options
with leaders setting the example, as well as encouraging more men to take
parental leave. Finally, companies should establish more female-focused
networking opportunities.
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