Do Women Shy Away from Promotions?

Do Women Shy Away from Promotions?, that question was recently asked in a post on Knowledge@Wharton Today.  According to the article, women tend to feel the need to know their current job close to 90% before they feel empowered for the next step. But in reality, knowing about 50% of your current role is all you need for that next promotion, according to Deirdre Woods, former Associate Dean and Chief Information Officer at Wharton. Men, however, do not feel such pressure and often “start thinking about their next promotion right after they start their new promotion,” says Woods. By not putting yourself up for promotions, women are holding themselves back.

Woods also states, “Women tend to be ridiculously over-prepared for everything. But at a certain point, over-preparedness doesn’t get you moving forward. It doesn’t leave you open to other opportunities. They should be thinking about the next step even if it feels overwhelming.” Her recommendation is that women should be able to clearly define what type of job they want to do next.

To read the full article, click here>>

According to a McKinsey study, “women get 53% of entry level jobs and “make it to ‘the belly of the beast’ in large numbers.” But then “female presence” drops sharply, “to 35% at the director level, 24% among senior vice presidents and 19% in the C-suite.”

What’s your take on this drop off among women leaders? We’d love to hear from you.