Where are all of the women design leaders?

Over half of all design roles are held by women.

Women hold 53.5% of all design roles but represent only 11% of leadership.

This means that somewhere along the line, women are falling out of the upward move towards leadership. And in a big way. But why is this happening? And what impacts does it have on other women trying to climb the corporate ladder?

When I first read this statistic, I thought it couldn’t be true. And I certainly don’t mean to sound naive. I’m well aware of the issues many women face in the workplace and know that large gaps exist despite concentrated efforts to change. But as I started to think more about it, I realized how lucky I’ve been in my life and career. I have had female role models my entire life who have pushed me to pursue my ambitions. These role models have shaped the way I view the world and led me to believe that I can be just as successful.

My mother worked while I was growing up as an executive at IBM and I knew I wanted to be just like her. Not in her particular role, but in the way she exuded confidence, controlled meetings, and generally didn’t take sh*t from anyone. My managers at my first internship and in my first job out of college were also strong and successful women. As a very junior employee, they were critical in helping to build my confidence in the workplace.

And I continued to be lucky all the way to my current UX team, led by a woman. My company strives to encourage women and has even designated a women empowered group that holds events and meetings geared towards furthering our careers.

Because of all of this, I mistakenly fell into a trap. I’ve been primed to believe what I’ve encountered in my life. I never stopped to think how someone without sufficient role models might be impacted.

“You can’t be what you can’t see”

And this is really important to note. Research shows that female role models are key in encouraging other women to excel in areas where they may be underrepresented.You can’t be what you can’t see — and for women, that often translates to senior leadership positions largely held by men.

If you can see and work with a successful woman in a leadership role, you can more easily picture yourself in her shoes. Even if it is unconsicous, you may think that if she can do it, so can you. She’s also likely had to deal with gender discrimination at some point in her career and can help you address concerns or questions in that area.

I also believe male mentors in the workplace can be equally as valuable. Unfortunately, many men shy away from mentoring women as they worry that their relationship may be misconstrued. This means, male leaders are more likely to mentor men and further perpetuate the gap.

And while all of this is supremely frustrating, the first step is understanding the challenge we face so we can be better equipped to handle it. While I don’t yet hold a leadership position, I know I will make a concentrated effort to reach out to younger employees when I do. It’s also my hope that more male mentors will open their doors to junior female employees and encourage them to pursue their career aspirations. As a leader, be aware of the employees you are helping to develop and know that your actions have a larger impact than you may realize.

Many people and companies are striving to make a difference, but there is still a long way to go. Unfortunately, mentorship isn’t the only issue holding many women back in the workplace. Other examples include sexual harassment, uneven household chore distribution, and general daily discrimination. If you’d like to read more, McKinsey released this really interesting report in 2018 about women in the workplace.

We can’t solve all of these problems overnight, but we can each look at our own workplace and vow to make changes. Ask your employee about her career aspirations. Set up a meeting to discuss an employee’s role and how she might like to expand her skillset. It will take time for women to bridge the inequities in design leadership, but small changes can make a world of a difference.