Written by: Sarah Needham, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Have you been considering a job change? Have you been considering moving business? Perhaps you have been considering changing your career?
Well, the next 12-18 months are the perfect opportunity… let me explain why!
Why now?
There is a building body of research that shows that having a higher proportion of women in leadership positions is proportional to higher levels of employee engagement in part because women build more open and inclusive team environments and “are champions of DEI” {1} The data is also clear that they have a positive impact on the “bottom line” i.e. are more profitable in the long run.
“The evidence on women in the C-suite is robust: no matter how we torture the data we get the same result: women in the C-suite are associated with higher profitability,” ‒ Marcus Noland, the Peterson Institute. {2}
So, the stats now prove that women “really” bring a business benefit and have the skills tech companies need to grow. Quotas are also now coming into effect in many areas, irrelevant whether you like this or not!
What’s the consequence?
There are not enough female leaders to meet the growing demand from industry. You are a scarce resource ladies. You are in demand!
This means you are valuable, your net worth is increasing! What a great opportunity!
So the questions to ask yourself are:
Do I WANT to take advantage of this opportunity to develop?
If so, how can I make the MOST out of this opportunity?
Forbes research {3} shows that 69% of women in tech don't see a clear path forward in their careers at their current companies. AND 39% of women in tech view gender bias as the main reason for not being offered a promotion.
Unfortunately, but perhaps not surprisingly women of colour are 27% less confident in getting the next promotion in the coming two years than their white female counterparts, and 37% of women of colour believe their chances for promotion are influenced by racial bias. {4}
Ladies, all of this together means that to take advantage of this opportunity you may well NEED to change business!
If you do not see a way to progress in your current business then you need to leave to allow yourself the opportunity to grow!
Deciding to change jobs can be difficult!
We know that women are less likely to leave their current business when they are unhappy or don’t feel valued in their jobs. If they are unhappy then they are often struggling with the self-confidence to apply for jobs because they feel that there is a higher potential for rejection which would compound their current negative feeling.
The TrustRadius 2021 Women in Tech Report states “78% of women in tech feel they have to work harder than their co-workers to prove their worth” (source).
If you feel you have been fighting against the system in your current business then you may well be worn out andd it may have led you to question your worth because you feel under-appreciated.
This has a direct impact on your work as you cannot be fully engaged at work when you are feeling like this. Gallup workplace studies in 2021 show that globally only 20% of employees are engaged at work! {5} So you are not alone.
In fact, it is almost impossible not to question yourself because women and other minority groups are still subjected to everyday unconscious bias in the workplace that has a cumulative effect on self-confidence over time. As Mary Ann Sieghart asserts in her book the ‘Authority Gap’:
“The covert bias can be just as damaging if not more so than the old-fashioned overt kind. These more subtle acts of discrimination are much more frequent and their effects accumulate quickly over time. Being interrupted, ignored, challenged, talked over, undervalued and underestimated could be called a microaggression, but the macro-effect on women is cumulatively as large as the traditional forms of bias when women simply weren’t allowed to do certain jobs.”
Another reason you might accept staying where you are is that your current business has given you lots of opportunities in the past.
Maybe your current business helped you to get where you are today but perhaps it is no longer serving you based on what you want to achieve tomorrow!
Other reasons for accepting to stay include:
feeling that you should be grateful for the security, the freedom or the respect you have internally and a little part of you is thinking it will take a lot of time and energy to re-build this somewhere else.. or;
perhaps the grass is not greener on the other side.
However, if you know what you want to achieve by changing business and why that is important to you, then it is not that difficult to get it right… remember you are now a scarce resource.
In fact, none of the female leaders who participated in my programs who have changed business has regretted it.
Most have wondered why it took them so long to move and why they spent so long questioning themselves!
I can guarantee that there are businesses out there that better align with your values and the way you want to work. These businesses do exist!
The additional dimension to the opportunity that COVID has enabled is the opening up of more remote working and an acceptance that you do not necessarily need to be located where the business you work for is located. This opens the playing field further for the businesses you could work for, even if you do not want to physically re-locate.
The cherry on the top is that you can often get a better pay increase moving company than getting an internal promotion!
Your decision to change can also have a positive impact on future generations!
As a B-Corp, purpose-driven leader myself, I also feel obliged to remind you that real change happens over time when individuals vote with their feet! Your action can help change the stats this article references if you choose to put your energy into something you believe in, something where you can make a difference in the world!
Give yourself permission to find a job or career that fills you with energy, where you feel valued and you can contribute your strengths. By doing this you are also taking a step towards creating a better world for future generations!
By walking away from businesses where you do not feel that you can thrive you also have the opportunity to give them a gift. That gift is truth and awareness, don’t shy away, tell them why you are leaving. If the business hears a similar message enough times then they may understand that they need to transform to create a sustainable business.
So if you have been considering making a change, then NOW is the time to take action. In summary:
You are worth it! You are a scarce resource! Only you can decide to take advantage of this opportunity.
You have a unique set of skills and experience that has a lot of value to many different businesses. I guarantee that your skills are transferable.
Know what your definition of success is today! What are you trying to achieve and why?
You can find a business whose culture aligns more consistently with what is important to you. Look for job adverts that excite you, not just in the content of the role, but in how the advert talks about their business values. Remember interviews work two ways, don’t be scared to ask about the business values and how you can see these values lived within the organization on a day to day basis. This is just as important as finding an exciting role!
It is normal to feel scared about moving business especially when you have been there for many years. There is never a good time to make a big change so ask for help and advice from people you trust in your network or from a professional coach.
You can join one of the fabulous growing networks of Women in Tech to gain skills, network and find support such as WomenTech Network and Women in Tech series.
Personally, I run Mastermind Peer Group Programs for female leaders in tech called ‘Design Your Career To Succeed’ where we use a proven system to build your confidence in your ability, the value you contribute and your unique leadership skills.
You will walk away with a clear vision and an implementable plan of what you want to achieve and WHY! This enables you to either re-engage boldly in your current role, step up into a new challenge within your business or step out into a new and exciting business!
So if you don’t know where to start or perhaps you don’t believe that the statements above apply to you then email me sarah@unique-u.de and I will send you a short quiz to help you see a new opportunity to re-design your career!
P.S. To any CEOs or CHROs or CTOs reading this who are now concerned about losing your female leaders then let’s talk about how to create the environment to encourage them to stay! You see I help ambitious tech businesses unlock new growth opportunities by putting inclusive leadership at the heart of innovative technology!
If this is what you want for your business but are struggling to achieve the outcomes you want then drop me an email sarah@unique-u.de
Sarah Needham, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sarah helps female leaders in tech stop apologising for being different and step boldly into their unique strengths to create positive change so they feel excited and energized each day! You see she is a coach with an extraordinary vision: “To create a world where everyone feels they can stand up and engage in discussion about what matters most”. She wants us all to take off our invisibility cloaks; to share courageously what we think and feel and then create the space to listen to other perspectives. Sarah believes that we are all unique for a reason and we should challenge ourselves to step proudly into our uniqueness, our own SUPERPOWER! As a coach, she challenges herself to inspire people and building supportive communities where people can thrive. Sarah’s work brings together her three core values: technology, sustainability and challenging others to embrace their uniqueness. She speaks boldly and shares courageously about what is important to her in creating a more sustainable future for life on earth! Sarah is an engineer with many years as a leader at one of the world's leading global engineering corporations. She is British ex.pat living in Potsdam, Germany with her husband, two adopted daughters, two cats and dog!
References:
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/352949/employee-engagement-holds-steady-first-half-2021.aspx
