According to UNwomen.org, countries led by women fared better in their pandemic responses than countries led by men.
And while there are many other variables in this scenario, it’s undeniable that women have a powerful and transformational role to play in leading governments, companies, and communities around the world.
Not only does female leadership inspire other women to aspire to the same positions, but women have an important variety of experiences and viewpoints to bring to the table.
So whether you are looking to add more diversity to your company’s leadership team or are looking to fellow women for inspiration, you can learn some important business and leadership lessons from female leadership.
Curious to know more? We’ve curated the 11 most powerful benefits of female leadership below.
1. Multitasking Skills
Since many working women have children and families to take care of, they become very efficient at multitasking over time.
This is because women often have to balance different roles in their personal and professional lives. For example, these roles might include:
- Mother
- Wife
- Family support
- Breadwinner
- Manager
- Mentor
- Mediator
One of the top benefits of multitasking is the ability to adapt to new situations. This is a vital skill in the workplace, as women who are quick to adapt can also work on quickly finding solutions to urgent issues at work.
So not only can a female CEO multitask with her own work and juggle meetings and mentorship, but she can help the employees she manages to do better and more efficient work.
2. Effective Communication Skills
According to studies, women focus on building rapport when they’re communicating. In contrast to men, who tend to report events, facts, and numbers when communicating, women focus on building relationships with other people.
This means that they also tend to share anecdotes and try their best to include all the speakers in a conversation.
This type of skill is vital for the workplace. While employees are used to receiving instructions and project deadlines, no one wants to feel like they are an object or robot when their employer or manager is talking to them.
While women will of course use the “report” style of communication when conducting a workplace presentation or writing a company report, their more relationship-focused style of communication is a huge benefit to the workplace.
This style of communication is very important for helping new employees. Having a manager or CEO who has good communication skills can help give new employees clearer instructions and give them the support they need.
3. Teamwork Mindset
While women are just as capable as men at giving direct instructions and orders as needed, women do tend to show more of a teamwork mindset, even when making decisions.
This is a vital part of managing teams, as everyone needs to feel like they are contributing and that their ideas are valuable to other members of their team, no matter how experienced each employee is.
When leaders have a teamwork mindset, they also motivate their employees and team members.
And while female leaders also need to have authority and delegate tasks in order for the team to function, they’re also more likely to foster a collaborative environment.
An authoritarian environment may get things done, but you can guarantee that employees won’t be happy or enjoy themselves. This is going to decrease their job satisfaction overall and make them more likely to leave the company.
4. Acknowledging Employees
Another area where female leaders excel is acknowledging employees. In fact, a recent survey found that company teams who were in the top 20 percent of employee engagement had a 59 percent lower turnover rate.
This is a huge statistic, as companies spend hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on hiring, training, and onboarding new employees.
And often, employee dissatisfaction comes from feeling unappreciated by your employer or team manager, as well as from feeling like your concerns aren’t being heard.
Women CEOs also tend to acknowledge employees who work hard. This helps foster a more honest work culture that’s built on hard work rather than “sucking up” to the boss.
And when star employees are acknowledged and rewarded for working hard and exceeding project expectations, this also encourages other employees to do the same.
Plus, recognizing employees can also make them feel more optimistic about promotions and know that these are possible for them.
5. Mentorship
For many employees, going to work isn’t just something they do from 9-5 and then go home.
Especially for very career-oriented individuals, one thing that will make employees stay at their jobs is knowing that they are supported in their professional development.
And since women tend to focus on building relationships in their communication, this makes them great mentors.
Mentorship by a female mentor is also vital for up-and-coming female employees. While there’s no doubt that experienced male leaders can also be great mentors, it’s helpful for women to have someone like them to aspire to.
6. Helping Close The Gender Pay Gap
It’s a well-known fact that the gender pay gap is large, even in western countries like the US and Canada.
While some companies are hiring more women as part of their plans to increase workplace diversity, this isn’t the same thing as hiring female CEOs.
This is often because men tend to get more opportunities than women as they work their way up the corporate ladder.
For the gender pay gap to get smaller, more companies need to hire women in leadership roles. This also paves the way for other female employees to get promoted, as more and more people will see it as normal to have a female boss or manager.
7. Encouraging Innovation
Having women in leadership roles is vital for traditionally male-dominated fields like tech companies.
In fact, studies show that having women in leadership roles causes companies to be more open-minded and flexible.
For example, having more gender diversity in the workplace makes employees more comfortable working with female executives.
This not only helps the women in charge but also encourages junior-level female employees to aim for CEO positions.
And when companies become more flexible and hire more women for leadership roles, these companies become more flexible as a whole. This flexibility is key for pivoting business when things get tough or sales go down.
8. Increased Employee Morale
Since women tend to lead with more empathy and collaboration, this also helps with employee morale.
Some of the benefits of increased employee morale include:
- Higher productivity
- Higher quality work
- More attention to detail
- Better work attendance
- Improved creativity
When the entire team has higher morale, this will help to motivate everyone on the team and make each member feel supported. This is especially true when the team has to face tight deadlines.
9. Diverse Experiences
Women CEOs also bring more diverse experiences to the table. For example, let’s say a company only hires the same type of person for leadership roles.
This could be middle-aged men with the same educational background and career history.
This type of CEO may be effective, but only having one type of experience doesn’t cover the range of experiences that employees (or customers) have. When employees are able to directly relate to their CEOs or managers, they’ll have an easier time asking for help and getting empathy from their managers.
Another reason that diversity helps the workplace so much is that leaders are expected to lead by example.
This means that female CEOs can be effective leaders while showing values like empathy, teamwork, and acknowledgment.
Then, the people working under them can embody these values too. This ultimately makes a better workplace for everyone.
10. Empathy
According to Louann Brizendine’s book The Female Brain, people tend to consider female bosses are more empathetic and friendly.
Part of this comes from the fact that women are good listeners in general. Combined with women’s ability to communicate effectively, women are in a good place to listen to and resolve employee concerns.
When leaders show more empathy in the workplace, they create a more open environment where employees feel safe to voice their concerns.
It also helps lower employee stress, especially when they’re going through difficult personal situations and may need to take time off.
11. Leadership Values
While women may show their leadership a little differently, they still hold leadership values as very important.
For example, leaders like US Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark value innovation and service, whether businesses are large or small.
Other important leadership values that female CEOs often have are passion, commitment, respect, vision, and effective communication.
Get Inspired by Female Leadership
Whether a company is new or established, female leadership can be the necessary change for creating a more inclusive, collaborative, and enjoyable workplace.
And by harnessing the talents of these female leaders, companies can work to build more diversity and inspire generations of up-and-coming CEOs with their rich and varied experiences.
We hope this article showed you the many benefits of increasing female leadership in your workplace. For even more blog posts about business, leadership, and more, be sure to check out the rest of our site!