‘Women’s leadership’ has become the new buzzword in workplaces all around the world—from conferences, reports, surveys, and awards to leadership development programmes, everything talks about the need and relevance of women in leadership. As a leader, I am wholly committed to endorsing this agenda of increasing women’s participation in the workforce and supporting their journey towards leadership.

However, when leadership is viewed through a gendered lens, the conversations surrounding women leaders’ achievements often only emphasise their resilience in fighting against the odds to get to the top. While these stories are inspiring and must certainly be celebrated, this outlook can unintentionally reinforce the notion that women leaders are an exception and that their leadership qualities are characteristically different from those of men. Moreover, they can inadvertently support the stereotype that women must prove themselves in ways men do not. This sets different expectations for women and overlooks the diverse paths men and women take to leadership. Also, when it comes to the choice of words used for leaders, men can be inspiring, emotional, empathetic, resilient, and kind, just as women can be ambitious, authoritative, assertive, practical and decisive. Therefore, we need to reset how we talk about leadership beyond gender labels to focus on the core qualities and effectiveness of leaders, irrespective of gender.

Read more at: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-insight/gender-equality/shifting-the-narrative-from-women-leaders-to-leaders-101720606072413.html