Women hold up half the sky - Mao Tse-Tung, but Women are the most under-utilised resource in the planet - Hilary Clinton Although women are now able to access Executive and Board positions in both the private and public sector, their number is still very low and progress is very slow. In South Africa, The 2014 Department of Labour’s Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) report shows that 46% of the economically active population are women. This is good news, as it means that we are nearing a 50-50 mark, where as much women as men are employed. The bad news is that, although many women are joining the workforce, they get stuck in middle management. Only a few of them make it to top management. The top management. Is comprised of only 20,6% of women. In the 10years between 2003 and 2013, the number of women in top management has only grown by 6,6%. Around the world, the situation is not much different. A 2012 Mckinsey study titled Unlocking the Full Potential of Women at work found that out of nearly 140,000 women who have already made it to midlevel management at the companies that were surveyed, only about 7,000 have become members of the C-suite.I Ever wondered why this is the case? Why there are still few women in top management across most countries worldwide? Why most women get stuck in middle management? Why the rate at which women access executive positions is painfully slow? It is clear that there are obstacles that face women who want to access executive positions. The good news is that governments across the world have recognised that the advancement of women into top management is not only essential for purposes of gender diversity, but is critical for business sustainability too. As such, various policies that are aimed at accelerating women’s advancement to executive levels have been implemented. In South Africa, one such policy is Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE), which call for the progressive realisation of at least 50% representation of women in all decision-making structures. Opportunities are opening up and the time for women to take action and position themselves for careers in top management is NOW. However, barriers still exist. So, how can women navigate through these barriers to get ahead? In my MBA research, I interviewed women in the C-Suite, to find out what obstacles they faced in their career paths and how they worked through them to achieve success. I used their input to put together this book, with the aim of empowering other women with ambitions to get into the C-Suite, particularly those in junior to middle management. The book teaches women how to work through barriers and position themselves for promotion into the C-Suite. The title of the book - THIS IS HOW WE DO’ - captures the essence of the book beautifully. It is simply about sharing how other women work through obstacles that face women in the workplace to advance their careers into the C-Suite.
