Why There Are So Few Women Leaders, and What Women Can Do About It

TEDWomen took place here in DC earlier this month, and one of the speakers was Sheryl Sandberg…the COO of Facebook. As second in command of the mulit-billion dollar company, she’s one of the most powerful women in the world. Check out the video where she explains why there are not enough women at the top, and listen to her three main messages for women who want to make it to the corner office:
1. Sit at the table
2. Make your partner a real partner
3. Don’t leave before you leave
Some of the points from her talk that I liked best:
Women are not making it to the top of any profession anywhere in the world. Of 190 heads of state, a mere 9 are women. Of all the people in parliaments all over the world, only 13% are women. C-level corporate jobs and board seats for women tops out at 15%, and have not moved since 2002. Even in non-profit, women at the top are only 20%.
Recent study in the US  of married senior managers, showed 2/3 of men managers have children, only 1/3 of women managers have children.
How do we change the numbers at the top? Keep women in the workforce.
The problem is that women are dropping out.
Women need to sit at the table, not on the side of the room.
Women systematically underestimate their own ability.
Women do not negotiate for themselves in the workplace.
Men attribute their success to themselves, Women attribute their success to other external factors.
No one gets to the corner office by sitting on the sidelines.
No one gets the promotion if they don’t think they deserve their success, or they don’t even understand their own success.
Believe in yourself, negotiate for yourself, own your own success.
Data shows that success and likability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women.
Reach for the promotion, believe you got the A, sit at the table.
Keep your hand up.
Reach for opportunities.
Research: If a woman and a man both work full time and have a child, the woman does 2x the housework and 3x the childcare the man does.
Households with equal earning and equal responsibility have half the divorce rate and more sex.
Your work should challenge you. Keep your foot on the gas pedal until the very day you need to leave for whatever reason. Don’t make decisions too far in advance.
Here’s the video: