Giving Compass' Take:

• Unfortunately, women are still underrepresented in leadership roles according to a report by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org titled "Women in the Workplace 2018".  Here, four women CEOs share insight as to how they rose to the top. 

• Are there spaces for women CEOs to share their experiences with each other?  How can more CEOs create female mentorship programs to bring about more gender diversity in leadership positions?  

• Read about how to create a pipeline for more women leaders in business. 

The number of women leading Fortune 500 companies in 2017 broke a record at 6.4%, or 32 women in the top spot at companies on the list. But when the 2018 list was released in May, that number toppled with just 4.8% of listed companies led by women.

“Women in the Workplace 2018,” a report McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org found troubling data well before women reach the top. Women earn more bachelor’s degrees than men, and ask for promotions, negotiate compensation, and stay in the workforce at the same rates as men. But, they’re also less likely to be hired for manager roles and face a bigger gap when it comes to being promoted into manager roles. Here, four women CEOs share their advice for making it to the head of the C-suite.

Find the right fit. Until companies improve their diversity efforts, women need to first seek out organizations committed to diversity and developing women as leaders, says Stacey Caywood, CEO of Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory, a $1 billion global legal and compliance firm with roughly 3,500 employees.

Grow strategically and boldly. Good CEOs understand every aspect of a company’s operations, so your career trajectory will look more like a lattice than a straight line. You need to learn different functions, says Diane Dietz, president and CEO of Rodan & Fields, a $1.5 billion direct sales skincare and beauty products company with more than 700 employees.

Embrace risk. Taking the tough assignments—overseeing a struggling business line or managing an overseas assignment, for example—means you’re going to fail sometimes, too. But it’s important to own those failures and not sweep them under the rug, says Carol Lavin Bernick, former executive chairman of Alberto-Culver, which her family sold to Unilever in 2011 for $3.7 billion.

Read the full article about women CEOs by Gwen Moran at Fast Company