I recently started my morning with a very early flight back to Madison, Wis., from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Luckily, I was two time zones ahead of my family and so once settled at the gate, FaceTimed with my daughter MacKenzie who is about to turn seven. She was telling me about her friend's favorite animal and I asked, “MacKenzie, what's your favorite animal?” She said, “A black panther.” I asked “Why?” and she replied, “Because they are fierce. Fierce and brave.”

The Case for Being Fierce and Brave

A smile spread on my face. My heart sped up because these strong traits that she admires are exactly what she'll need as she forges her way into the future. The Newnan Times-Herald article, “Female CEO Speaks of Lack of Women in Leadership Positions,” details a speech given by Citizen's Trust Bank President/CEO Cynthia N. Day. Day shared a story demonstrating her need to show both bravery and a fierce determination. In her early days in an accounting firm when she showed up in a meeting, “Many thought she was just a secretary.”

“I had a meeting to run and had one opportunity to show them why having me as a woman and their new audit manager was impactful and meaningful,” she said. “This was one of the best things that happened to my career from many perspectives. I learned how to navigate and operate in a male-dominant and fast-paced environment.”

The challenges for women are real. The recent Susan Chira New York Times piece, “Why Women Aren't CEOs, According to Women Who Almost Were,” highlighted, “More than 40 years after women began pouring into the workplace, only a handful have made it all the way to the top of corporate America. The percentage of chief executives of Fortune 500 companies who are women just passed 6%, creeping up (and occasionally dropping back) at a glacial pace.”

The length of the path ahead was well documented through Egon Zehnder's 2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis. While progress is being made, “For gender diversity to have meaningful impact at the board level, representation by three or more women is required to reach the tipping point for transformative and sustainable change. If progress continues at the same global rate as the last two years (2014 to 2016), the average number of women per board will reach three by 2021, while gender parity remains 20 years away.”

Actions for Credit Unions to Drive Leadership Diversity

Specific to credit unions, in “Women in Leadership: Obstacles and Opportunities” (Thomas-Hunt and Nagpal, 2014), Filene Research Institute identified that, “On the one hand, credit unions in the United States have a higher percentage of female CEOs than other institutions. On the other, most of those leaders serve at credit unions smaller than $50 million. In the $100 million to $500 million tier, about one out of five CEOs is a woman. One in eight CEOs of credit unions larger than $500 million is a woman.”

Credit union leaders and board members must take action to change the entrenched dynamics Chira's article describes: “The impact of gender is hard to pin down decisively. But after years of biting their tongues, believing their ranks would swell if they simply worked hard, many senior women in business are concluding that the barriers are more deeply rooted and persistent than they wanted to believe.”

Source: 2016 Egon Zehnder Global Board Diversity Analysis

Credit union leaders can support diversity, drive even stronger bottom line results and support our brave and fierce women leaders by putting these ideas into practice from Filene's report, “Five Challenges: Enhancing Women's Leadership in Credit Unions” (Thomas-Hunt, 2015):

Help build the pipeline of women. According to the report, “Credit unions should consider whether they are trying hard enough to recruit women with functional backgrounds and degrees that will propel them into the highest levels of the organization. Additionally, they should consider whether men and women with similar credentials are being sorted into different functions upon entering the credit union.” How might your organization build systemic processes to ensure your funnel of talent includes all the best options among both genders?

Consider leadership style and selection. The report finds that, “Women are a bit more likely to set objectives in isolation and less likely to seek input from subordinates, suggesting that women may engage in more authoritarian styles.” Is an authoritarian leadership style that is “a bit more likely to set objectives in isolation and less likely to seek input from subordinates,” simply more effective or can the organization flag this possibility to “get women to consider how their leadership style is perceived?”

Evaluate the credit union climate. The study revealed that men and women employees have different perceptions of collaboration and signals for the importance of roles along gender lines depending upon the gender of the CEO. “Having a female CEO significantly improves the way women experience their credit union. Nevertheless, those same benefits do not translate to men. And in many instances, having a female CEO diminishes men's comfort within their credit union.” Invite your organization to have open dialogue about the impact of the gender of leaders on team members and how that is translating into the perception of opportunities across gender lines.

Create sponsor and mentorship opportunities. The study demonstrated that, “Building mentoring and sponsorship relationships in order to reach the top of the organization has been found to be beneficial for both men and women. Mentors counsel and advise on professional and life decisions. Sponsors, however, move beyond advising and advocate for individuals, often increasing individuals' visibility within the organization and actively creating career opportunities.” Is your credit union being purposeful in its approach to ensuring there is a hand helping to pull up your best and brightest talent?

Develop systems that support family issues. Many of us who juggle a full work life and a full family life wonder if any of us can really have it all? The report highlights, “For high-level managers or board members, the percentage of men who have children remains at 59% but the percentage of female high-level managers with children drops to 41%. This divide, in particular, suggests that high-level leadership coupled with motherhood may be less tenable than high-level leadership and fatherhood.” What structures and options can your credit union develop to ensure your talent has the balance they choose regardless of gender?

Regardless of our own personal opinions about women in leadership, solving these challenges makes good business sense. According to “Women in Leadership: Obstacles and Opportunities,” “In the United States alone, women control over 50% of private wealth and head one-third of households. Globally, women generate 65% of consumer discretionary spending, but the chasm between women's presence in the global economy and their representation in leadership roles within corporations, especially financial institutions, is notable. Many organizations have become concerned that if their leadership team and employee base do not reflect women's presence in the global economy, opportunities to engage women as clients, customers, members and shareholders will disappear.”

Credit unions have the potential to create significant positive change for human beings. As the “Women in Leadership” report summarized, “Those credit unions that are most serious about fully leveraging their entire pool of existing talent and attracting the best and brightest future leaders will seek to understand what is standing in their way.”

Our fierce and brave women leaders of today will inspire the next generation. Together we can close the gaps that exist for women and also grow even stronger credit unions that help improve people's lives.

Tansley Stearns is Chief Impact Officer for Filene Research Institute. She can be reached at 608-661-3753 or [email protected].