There are 26 women CEOs at S&P 500 companies – or 5.2% of the total. A total of 27 women hold CEO positions atFortune 500 companies, and the number is set to decrease to 24 by April 2018. Despite ongoing calls to push the number up, getting more women into the C-suite has been painstakingly slow.

The proverbial glass ceiling poses a major barrier. “We get a lot of women in the entry-level positions,” Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, said in an interview with Freakonomics aired on 31 January. “As you get to middle management, women rise to those positions, and then that’s the childbearing years. And when they have children, it’s difficult to balance having children, your career, your marriage, and a high potential and out-performer who’s going to grow in the company, in an organization that is a pyramid.”

A recent study by the Korn Ferry Institute, titled “Women CEOs Speak”, found that female CEOs on average were four years older than their male counterparts. The research, based on interviews with 57 current or former women CEOs at US-listed Fortune 1000 companies, also discovered that only 12% of them always knew they wanted to be a CEO, while 65%, never thought about it until a boss or a mentor told them they had potential.

Once these women do enter the C-Suite, the research shows that their leadership style takes on a different form from their male counterparts. While both male and female chief executives are highly driven, excel at being positive and demonstrate agility, women CEOs tend to be more purpose-driven, more likely to focus on investing in a company’s culture and more humble. 

The study highlighted the importance of having a mentor or sponsor. “Affirming women’s leadership talent early in their careers – either one-on-one or through high-potential development programs – will help steer more of them into leadership roles,” its authors wrote.

At TWF, we know about the importance of mentoring and our Mentoring Programme for Women Leaders, part of TWF’s work on increasing the number of women in policy and decision-making roles, pairs seasoned female executives and aspiring women leaders in a year-long mentoring relationship. Since its inception in 2009, more than 800 women have taken part in the programme (watch out for information session dates in August 2018 if you’re interested in applying for the 10th cycle!). Other Pipeline Initiatives include our 30% Club Hong Kong Chapter where we work with the business sector and other stakeholders to boost the representation of women in Hong Kong’s boardrooms and build the pipeline of “board-ready” women. 

True leadership should unlock untapped potential ­— especially women’s leadership skills.

As usual we would love to hear from you. Get in touch at Fiona.Nott@twfhk.org.