Move away from conventional solutions and transform reality
For years, companies have been working to encourage women to take their place in management positions. They offer leadership training, mentoring, and bias awareness programs. Yet, despite all these initiatives, the numbers are barely changing. If these approaches worked, we wouldn’t be seeing the same discrepancies year after year
The problem is not a lack of skills or ambition. It comes from an environment that, although often unaware of its own mechanisms, continues to favor male progression models.
As long as women are asked [and other minorities
To adapt to existing rules rather than change the rules themselves,
Nothing will change in depth.
That’s why it’s time to propose a different approach, no longer based on awareness-raising or individual coaching, but on a structural transformation of selection, promotion, and leadership methods
Rather than waiting for women to apply when they don’t, why not reverse the logic?
Imagine a system where initiative no longer rests with individuals but with the organization itself. A program where anyone who has reached a certain level of performance and seniority is automatically considered for promotion. No more self-censorship or discussions about why women don’t “come forward”. The onus is no longer on them. It’s the company’s responsibility
Promotion is often based on a linear career path, predictable experiences and well-orchestrated visibility. But what if, above all, we assessed the ability to make strategic decisions, manage a crisis, lead a team towards an ambitious goal?
Changing selection criteria also means transforming.
what we consider to be a “good” candidate.
Rather than simply selecting candidates on the basis of their CVs, introducing an obligatory passage through anonymized role-playing exercises would make it possible to identify real talent, including those who, until now, have remained on the sidelines of traditional promotion circuits.
What if the issue wasn’t just promoting more women but rethinking what leadership means? In many organizations, key decisions are made in small circles, often of the same profiles and operating modes. As long as this dynamic persists, underrepresented talent remains on the margins of strategic opportunities. We need to create spaces where gender diversity becomes not a constraint but a performance lever.
Forcing managers to justify every appointment, measuring the proportion of women in high-profile projects, ensuring that every management committee includes a diversity of experience – all these require a rethink that goes beyond mere goodwill
Far from the umpteenth mentoring program,
the idea is to set up an programactive sponsorship ,
with each executive personally committed
to promoting one or more under-represented talents.
It’s no longer enough to encourage or advise. We need to bring these talents into strategic discussions, give them a voice in decisive meetings, and assign them responsibilities that expose them to decision-making. This is no longer an option; it’s a measurable responsibility.
Because power also lies in the way decisions are made on a day-to-day basis, it’s essential to transform the dynamics of meetings. Who speaks? Who decides? Who decides? The same voices often monopolize the floor, reinforcing the impression that certain profiles naturally embody authority and legitimacy.
Redistributing the floor, introducing rules that balance contributions, changes not only the perception of leadership, but also the confidence of under-represented talent in their ability to influence decisions.
They call for an immediate overhaul of our selection and governance methods. Change will not come from a gradual awareness but from a firm decision to structure an organization where diversity is not decreed but imposed naturally because it has finally become the norm.
