How we keep missing out on female leadership – and why it costs everyone something

What makes someone a good leader? Ask it out loud and you'll get words like decisive, resolute, strategic. Don't ask it, and the images that unconsciously come into play are often still traditional and masculine: the strong negotiator, the visible leader, the direct decision-maker. The result? Women who do possess the right qualities - think of empathy, the ability to connect, long-term focus - are overlooked or given less space to grow.

Leadership is still too often measured by visibility rather than effect. By those who talk the loudest instead of those who listen the sharpest. And while stacks of research show that empathetic leadership leads to greater involvement, creativity, and sustainable results. The system doesn’t always recognize it as ‘leadership’ when it doesn’t behave the way we are used to. So women often have to prove their worth. More often ‘fitting’ into a mold that doesn’t suit them.

There is no unwillingness behind this, but an unconscious pattern. In selection committees, in performance reviews, in who gets mentored or nominated. It is no surprise that women worldwide demonstrate higher ratings on leadership skills – yet they still represent a minority in boardrooms.

And this is not just a problem for women. Organizations that cling to a one-sided view of leadership shut themselves off from growth. From innovation. From employees who feel seen and recognized. From decisions that are more thoroughly considered. More perspectives at the table mean higher quality in the outcome.

Did you know?

Companies with more women in management achieve a higher return than men (384% compared to 261% over 10 years)?
Female leaders are more often associated with empathy, and that empathetic leadership leads to 61% more creative ideas and 76% more employee engagement?
Leadership worldwide is still automatically associated with masculinity – and as a result, women are unconsciously seen less often as ‘leaders’?
Only 15% of the top companies in the Netherlands have a woman on the board, despite better leadership ratings for women?

What you do not see, you do not choose

And as long as stereotypes determine the image, we continue to miss potential – without realizing it. This does not call for changing women but for broadening our perspective on what leadership truly entails.

It’s time to look at who makes an impact, not at who shouts the loudest. Who we recognize determines who we help advance. And who we allow space for determines how far we can go together.