Breaking Barriers: How Women Leaders Overcome Unconscious Bias

Overcoming unconscious bias is crucial for women to ascend to the highest levels in their companies. While it’s primarily the organization’s responsibility to address this issue, women can navigate it effectively if they are savvy and practical.

Successful women leaders “round off the sharp edges” of male-associated characteristics; that is, they blend traditionally male-associated characteristics with female-associated traits in their leadership style. This approach allows them to sidestep the infamous “bitch” label making all the difference between being passed over and being promoted. Their collaborative leadership not only mitigates unconscious bias but also enhances their ability to engage others, achieving and sustaining extraordinary outcomes.

Sally Helgesen identifies common triggers that inhibit our ability to form strong relationships across gender or other boundaries. Triggers – such as others being recognized when you are not or being treated unfairly –  can lead to negative assumptions about others and cause us to act in ways that rarely serves our interests. Positive reframing, such as giving someone the benefit of the doubt, can enable us to act in a way that avoids inflaming a situation. Helgesen points out that the resulting “behavioral tweaks” allow women to build a broader network of relationships. essential for advancement. It also reduces both conscious and unconscious bias.

While unconscious bias can cause us to discount women’s leadership prowess, evidence shows that companies led by women often perform better than they did under their male predecessors. And the investment community is taking notice. The book The XX Edge by Patience Marime-Ball and Ruth Shaber highlights that companies in the top 25% of gender-diverse executive teams were more likely to outperform peers in profitability and value creation. Female CFOs deliver a six percent increase in profits and an eight percent stock performance bump compared to overall performance under their male predecessors.

America’s 27^th largest company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), led by CEO Lisa Su, exemplifies this success with a one-year return of 77.2% compared to the S&P’s 22.4% where the 26 other top companies are led by men. Despite her achievements, Su faced unconscious bias from a reporter at a Formula 1 racing event where AMD was a sponsor. The reporter questioned her presence at the starting lineup and her ability to speak English. It was the racetrack equivalent of the female executive being mistaken for the admin in the boardroom. Lisa Su’s modest response, “We’re sponsoring the Ferrari car,” illustrates the humility and resilience of women who have risen through the leadership ranks. She felt no need to assert her status or remind the reporter to not make assumptions.

Our understanding of women’s success continues to emphasize empathy, nurturing, and inclusiveness. These leadership traits help them establish a strong network of diverse connections, achieve excellent outcomes, and begin to dismantle systemic unconscious bias.