Are women to blame for lack of career success?

Women are standing in their own way when it comes to career advancement, focusing too much what they think is holding them back and not enough on what they have to offer, a new study suggests.

The Ipsos-Reid study, conducted on behalf of Randstad Canada, says many women are being bogged down by appearance and family status as potential barriers to getting ahead at work, when their own perceptions of these factors could truly be to blame.

For example, 90 per cent of the more than 500 female respondents to the survey said that they believe that overall image, including looks, have a substantial impact on a woman's career progression. Only 37 per cent thought it could have the same effect on a man's career.

Three-in-five women said managing work and family was the most challenging obstacle and nearly half believed it was having an impact on career progression. Another 24 per cent said going on maternity leave prevented them from getting a promotion.

The study says these factors can’t be addressed through corporate policies or workplace procedures, “because wider societal perceptions of women and the complexities of male and female interactions are at play.”

Whether these factors are real, or just a perception among women isn’t necessarily the point, says Gina Ibghy, chief people officer at Randstad Canada.

“If women chose to believe this perception they are going to act that way,” she says, while calling for a change in attitude that starts with women themselves.

“The concept is turning that around and not focusing on whether it’s appearance or whether it’s that you are a mother and have a family, but focusing on what you have control over to drive your intellectual property and value in a company.”

The advancement of women in the workplace has long been a subject of debate and scrutiny, but has come to the forefront again recently in Canada. Earlier this month, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan said it wanted Ontario’s securities regulator to mandate public companies have at lease three women on their boards.

Women are making strides in Canada. For example, this summer, Kathleen Taylor became the first female chair of a major Canadian bank when she was appointed to head the board of Royal Bank. A record number of women are also leading Canadian provinces and territories today including in B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Still, women have a long way to go when it comes to leadership positions. A Conference Board of Canada report released in May shows the number of women in middle and senior management roles has stalled over the past 20 years. It also said men in these top positions are part of the problem because they don’t recognize the lack of female advancement as an issue.

The Randstad study asked Canada's female business leaders if having a male or female boss impacted their career advancement, and found the answer was evenly split.

“Interestingly, those stating that gender plays a role feel that a female boss is more likely to inhibit their progression than a male superior,” the report says, which goes against the perception that women support each other at work.

The study also asked women participants whether women or men made better leaders. Not surprisingly, 65 per cent chose women, citing better communication and organization skills and increased empathy.

What’s more, 77 per cent say they believe women need to work harder and longer hours than men to be the boss.

Randstad is using the study to launch the Women Shaping Business campaign, which it hopes will drive positive change for women in the Canadian workplace.

"There is no doubt that women are strong leaders. Our goal is to encourage executives, employees and all Canadians to have an open discussion about the last workplace taboos that create obstacles for female executives," says Ibghy.