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January 15, 2010
New Research Explores Women's Representation in Senior Leadership Roles
While Women Continue to be Underrepresented in More
Strategic Roles, they also Self-Rate Their Contribution
Lower than Men
BOSTON, MA, January 15, 2010 — a research study
measuring employee development and contribution by global
talent development firm Novations Group, Inc. (www.novations.com) found that women continue
to be underrepresented in strategic and leadership
roles. Additionally, the research shows that women
self-rate their contribution slightly lower than men.
The white paper Close the Gap: Overcoming Gender
Differences in the Workplace, investigates the
discrepancies, explores some of the root causes, and
recommends competencies women need to develop to overcome
the perceived discrepancies.
Novations partnered with several leading organizations to
study employee development and contribution. The research
commenced in 2007 and the resulting data set includes
information on the contribution and development of over
2,000 managers and direct reports. Contribution was
measured using the Four Stages® of Contribution model
(see below for more details).
The research exposed a higher representation of women in
Stage 3 roles, more traditional manager roles, but a lower
representation of women in Stage 4 roles, those focused on
contributing strategically.
Table 1: Stage Representation
| Gender |
Stage 3 |
Stage 4 |
| Men |
42% |
59% |
| Women |
58% |
41% |
Additionally, the research shows that women self-rate their
contribution slightly lower than men.
Table 2: Self-Rating
| Rater |
Dominant Stage |
| Men |
2.47 |
| Women |
2.30 |
Figure 2: Mean dominant stage rating by managers (on their
direct reports) and by direct reports (self-ratings).
Dominant stage was defined as the stage selected most often
to describe behavioral contributions in response to the 20
survey items.
This means that men more regularly identified their
contribution as Stage 3, or more influential and working
through others, while women saw their contribution as more
Stage 2, or less strategic.
“The underrepresentation of women in senior
leadership positions has been well documented, but what was
surprising was the discrepancy between the self-ratings of
men and women,” said Paul Terry, vice president of
Global Partnerships for Novations. “It
certainly calls into question that there may be a
correlation between this mindset amongst women and
perceptions about their contribution from male
counterparts.”
Potential Causes and Strategies to Overcome the
Discrepancies
Novations research is unique because of its recency and
behaviorally-based approach. The research findings
and thirty years of development work allow us to provide
insights into the potential root causes of the ratings
discrepancies:
Socialized modesty: a plausible explanation
is that women have been socialized to be modest about their
work, particularly in areas traditionally deemed as
“men’s work.”
Reluctance to showcase their own skills:
women who do not self-promote are less likely to have their
skills, abilities, and successes accurately assessed because
these skills, abilities, and successes may be less
visible.
Different work styles: we need to consider
that women tend to go about their work so differently that
the benefits of their unique approaches to work go
unmeasured—or unnoticed.
Close the Gap outlines strategies women can embrace to
achieve parity; from focusing on developing specific
leadership competencies, to mastering the art of
self-promotion. The complete recommendations and
white paper can be accessed online at: http://www.novations.com/publications/white_papers/close-the-gap-overcoming-gender-differences-in-the-workplace-,108.html
The complete Four Stages of Contribution research findings
will be published in late Q1 2010.
About the Research
Novations partnered with several leading organizations to
study employee development and contribution. The research
commenced in 2007 and the resulting data set includes
information on the contribution and development of over
2,000 managers and direct reports.
Participating managers were asked to rank order their
direct reports in terms of contribution and performance. By
completing a behavioral and competency-based survey about
each direct report, managers also assessed how their direct
reports contribute to their respective organizations. The
direct reports were asked to complete the same survey,
providing their own assessment of their contribution
The current research is unique in two ways. First,
the data was collected purely for the purpose of research
and, therefore, was in no way tied to performance
appraisals or 360-degree surveys. Second, because of its
ability to provide insight on the behavioral contributions
of employees, the Four Stages® of Contribution model
was used as the foundation for the current research.
About The Four Stages® of Contribution model
The Four Stages of Contribution model is based on the
research of Drs. Gene Dalton and Paul Thompson and provides
a framework for increasing one’s organizational impact
and influence over time. According to Dalton’s &
Thompson’s research, there is a direct correlation
between a person’s “stage” and his/her
contribution to the organization. Over the course of their
careers, employees can move through as many as four stages,
as outlined below, although organizational needs and
employee goals can affect movement between and within the
stages.
Stage 1: Contributing Dependently
Stage 2: Contributing Independently
Stage 3: Contribution Through Others
Stage 4: Contributing Strategically
Organizations need employees who are continually learning
and willingly accept
supervision (Stage 1) as much as they need employees able
to mentor and coach (Stage 3). However, behaving in ways
associated with latter stages means impacting a larger
cross-section of the organization. Therefore, high
performing organizations must ensure that people
contributing within each stage are also developing
behaviors associated with the next stage. This stretching
and growing prepares employees to, over time, have greater
influence in the organization. As employees develop their
individual capacity, organizations also increase their
overall capacity.
About Novations Group, Inc.
Novations is a talent development firm that provides
consulting, training, and measurement solutions to create
leadership and high performance at every level. For
more than 30 years we have partnered with organizations of
all sizes to unlock the potential of their employees, with
talent development strategies that establish a mindset for
success, a framework for development, and a process for
testing the effectiveness of their efforts.
For more information, visit www.novations.com.
Media Contact:
Clint Poole
617-254-7600
cpoole@novations.com
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