Role models matter… especially for women!
With the gender pay gap standing at 136 years and women continuing to be disproportionately affected in the workplace compared to their male-counterparts, we need all the visible female role models we can get.
A google image search of a CEO reflects the state of where we are.
It’s assumed that a CEO, or people in senior roles, are going men. It’s an unconscious bias within organisations and their workforces.
Female role models are needed to inspire future generations and show them it’s possible. But they’re also needed to show women who are already at the top that they are not alone.
As Dr. Nina Ansary said, “It’s hard to be what we cannot see.”
It’s so important to have people around you that inspire you and show you it’s possible by treading the path to where you want to go.
It gives a sense of belonging and shows women that they can get to that same place.
It’s much more difficult if you feel like you are the only one going in that direction or the only woman to be in that type of role.
For many of my clients, they talk a lot about being the only woman in the room or being one of very few. And for some women, not only are they the only women in the room, but actually on a certain level or area of the whole organisation.
Research shows the power of role modelling and the benefits it can have on organisations and everybody in them.
- Role models represent and expand what is possible
- They inspire women to be more ambitious and aim higher
- They demonstrate the mindsets and behaviours on how to grow.
Studies also found that 36% of women in leadership cite role models as providing the confidence to make decisions that they otherwise would not have taken.
Female role models give women the power to be braver, to be bolder, to speak up and to push forward more. Otherwise, it becomes a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy that you can’t be what you can see… so you don’t aspire to be it.
You don’t take the steps to get there because that road hasn’t been trodden before.
What is a role model?
Before looking at the benefits of role models, it’s important to understand what one is.
A role model is not a mentor. A mentor is someone that gives you advice, acts as a soundboard and advocates for you.
A role model is not a coach. A coach will be someone like me that creates a safe space for you to set goals, take brave and bold actions and get clarity on things that are keeping you stuck.
A role model is someone:
- That you can look up to
- That you can be inspired by
- That you can aspire to be like
- Trodden the path you want to be on
They’re not always someone you have a direct relationship with and they don’t always have to be positive role models.
If I think back to my career in the corporate world, I certainly had role models around me that were negative and positive… I had the best and most inspirational leader and then the most difficult, challenging, and draining leader that really impacted my confidence.
From the positive role model, I knew I wanted to mirror and take on some of those behaviours. Then from the negative I learnt how not to show up as a leader and how I wouldn’t manage and support my team.
What are the benefits of role models for women?
1. Help you to visualise your goals
You will go through different stages of work and most likely have career goals and a strategy in place.
In the day-to-day of being a woman in leadership, you can often lose sense of that.
Role models help you to visualise and keep your goal at the front of your mind. They show you it’s possible for you too… if they can achieve it, why not you?
Finding someone in the position that you want to get to can not only inspire you but helps you see how you can achieve it too. Look at what they’re delivering, what capabilities are needed, what the success criteria is for that role and what behaviours you need to develop or adopt to take the next step in your career.
2. They inspire you
Role models help you to see that actually, despite the gender imbalance in leadership, you can still get there.
You can do great things, join the board and influence the direction of the company.
Inspiration like this builds confidence that they have done it so you can do it too.
Seeing someone else achieve the goals you want to achieve can help build confidence that you can take the steps needed.
3. Role Models can be a mirror for you
Role models can be a mirror for you and create a framework for your leadership identity.
They help you to see what skills and behaviours you already have, and what areas you need to invest in to develop and work on.
Again look at positive and negative role models. What things do you want to take on? Which behaviours don’t you want to mirror?
4. Provides you with a template for success
For many women, role models show what’s possible, bridge the gap and open up a world of possibilities.
They help women think “why not me?”
By being honest and sharing all sides of their career… the good, the bad, the ugly… shows that it might not be easy but it is still possible.
Role models still get nervous, feel like an imposter sometimes, be spoken over and question their ability… so it’s okay that you do too! It doesn’t mean you can’t get to the level you want.
It provides a template for success that shows the way and allows women who come after to learn from them.
5. Role models can become a mentor
Although role models and mentors are not the same thing, this doesn’t mean role models can’t also take on that mentorship role.
If someone in your network inspires you and you aspire to be like them, reach out to them. Spend time working with them or have informal meetings and get their advice on how they’ve got to that point in their career.
Not only could they be a mentor, they can also become a really powerful advocate for you as well.
How to be great role model
Now you know the power and benefits of role models for women at the top… I invite you to pay it forward and become a role model for other women.
It’s not about someone taking on your every behaviour and adopting every skill that you have. You’re going to become a mirror to help them to develop their own sense of self and show them that they can be where you are… and they can do it as their true and authentic self.
Sheryl Sandberg advises women to accept any invitation, regardless of why they were invited and use it as an opportunity to champion other women to ‘lean in.’
Regardless of what or where it is, lean into every opportunity and champion other women to do the same.
If you are a woman reading this, I encourage you to be the role model you wished you had when you were the only woman in the room or just starting out and a bit like a rabbit in the headlights.
If you’re asked to be a mentor, say yes.
If you’re asked to be interviewed, say yes.
If you’re asked to be on a panel, say yes… and invite more women to join you!
Your story will inspire other women to have the confidence to take that leap of faith in herself that she never would otherwise.
Want to hear more?
I talked more about the power of role modelling in an episode of the Women at the Top of Telecoms and Tech podcast.
Nic
P.S If you need my help supporting women in your organisation and closing the gender pay gap you can contact me below.
