Women’s Leadership in Panama
Reality
Panama occupies the position 43 in the world ranking in 144 countries of the World Economic Forum’s Gender Parity Index, but 71% of companies do not have women at the highest management level.
According to the study “Women in business management: gaining momentum in Panama”, the percentage of representation of women in management positions varies by level and becomes narrower as we rise in level. In the supervisory ranks, we have a level of representation of women of almost 37%, at the mid-level 34%, at the senior level 22% and at the top executive level only 8%.
The difficulties for women to be in management positions (CEO or member of the Board of Directors) increase with the size of the company, reiterating that large companies have the lowest representation of women in senior management positions.
The lesser presence of women is felt in areas of operations and research and development, with women in Panama occupying more relevant positions in areas of marketing, sales and human resources.
90% of companies agree that women lead as effectively as men, but different barriers were identified in the study, the first related to a lack of general or line management experience and the second to stereotypes about the role and skills of women, which seem to reflect a contradictory view with the first statement.
Other important barriers identified in the study were women’s limited availability or time flexibility to travel, lack of support to combine work with relationships/family, and leaders’ lack of commitment to the advancement of women.
In the study’s focus group, women identified the main obstacles as: the dilemma between family/career balance, the organisation that is not very conciliatory, and spaces of power that are not very inclusive.
70% of the companies surveyed declare they have a balanced and inclusive culture, but only 30% of them recognise that, with the same skills and professional qualifications, women find it more difficult to reach senior management positions.
There are limitations such as social conditions and an exclusive corporate culture and there are limitations imposed by the women themselves due to personal beliefs or family conditions.
Important benefits obtained with the implementation of diversity and gender equality initiatives in companies are recognised in the surveys, the most relevant being: the increase in business results, including profitability and productivity, the increase in the ability to attract and retain talent and the improvement of the company’s reputation.
It is important to promote and disseminate these important benefits, promoting successful good practices and working with different actors jointly to reduce the identified barriers.
Among the measures aimed at overcoming the dilemmas and internal contradictions that women face when reaching positions of responsibility, the study identifies mentoring programmes, coaching and career development plans.
Coaching supports change
The coaching process is key to identifying beliefs that can limit a woman’s professional and leadership growth, and to breaking habits that hold back progress in her professional career, such as a promotion, a successful salary negotiation or a professional change.
In the coaching process, objectives are identified, objective and subjective reality is reflected on, options are generated and an action plan is implemented.
The action plan stimulates the implementation of actions, accompanied by the development of relationships and feedback, which allows the desired changes to be implemented by measuring their effectiveness.
The coach accompanies the professional in their executive and leadership development and the process can be implemented at the initiative of the company or directly with the professional who is committed and responsible and wants to enhance their professional career. The key indicators or KPI’s They are established case by case. In the case of processes contracted by an organisation, it includes evaluations of leadership growth by the stakeholders or interested parties selected as significant to the process, being a measurable and quantified process.
In my article “Are you a woman? Develop your leadership potential” You can find more information about female leadership development.
References: The study “Women in business management: gaining momentum in Panama”, promoted by CoNEP – National Council of Private Enterprise and ILO – International Labor Organisation, and prepared by Stratego and Enred Panamá.
