A Hewlett Packard internal report found that female employees applied for a promotion only when they believed they met 100 percent of the qualifications listed for the job, whereas male employees were happy to apply when they thought they could meet 60 percent of the job requirements.

Now more than ever in modern history, women are as competitive for positions as men are. Women in America now earn more college and graduate degrees than men do. We make up half the workforce, and we are closing the gap in middle management.

Half a dozen global studies, conducted by the likes of Goldman Sachs, Columbia University, and others have found that companies employing women in large numbers outperform their competitors on every measure of profitability.

Yet, men have continued to get promoted faster and be paid more. The statistics are well known: At the top, especially, women are not fully represented, and their numbers are barely increasing.

  1. HR managers can educate women about the hiring process and that it is OK to apply if they don’t meet every single one of the criteria. For example, HR managers can use language in the job descriptions that clearly indicates that qualifications are desired, not required.
  2. Workplaces can also neutralize the perceived sexism of discussing this issue for women and men supervisors who wish to talk about this with female reports. Executives and leaders who are women should be encouraged to speak openly about their own trajectory to leadership within companies.
  3. Leadership can do their part to reach their internal gender parity commitments, and appoint more women to senior leadership positions.
  4. Women and men alike can be empowered through career coaching that increases their self-awareness, self-confidence, and resilience to achieve leadership goals.

Read the full article on getting women in leadership positions by Yvonne Chen at Devex International Development