Not everyone wants to be the boss. Just ask your coworkers. The economic, status and access rewards that accompany positions in top management are not enough to attract every talented, crush-it over achiever. This is especially true for millennial women, ages 18 to 32, entering the workforce during the past decade. Being leader of the pack may be on their bucket list but never checked off. Often what is possible is just a drop in the bucket compared to what is expected to be on the short list, a rising star, or even a future SheEO at a Fortune 500 company.
The continuous demands of work and family are nothing new to women. With not enough time in the day already, we still manage to locate and tap into reserves for the benefit of our team, our workplace, and even our bosses. The iconic image of Wonder Woman with a dashing red cape is not far off from our superhuman powers and what any woman can get done in the average day. Still, our rise to the top may get derailed from this thing called life, parental and family responsibilities that compete for our attention, leaving very little flexibility to climb the corporate ladder after hours.
Ultimately the decision to walk away from advancement shows up in the pocketbook as I can attest. Those early years of staying home to raise my kids and help take care of my father and loved ones were some of the best memories of my life. I wouldn’t have traded being the Chief Everything Officer for the world. However, it meant being accessible after school, during summer and holiday vacations, and on call for anything. Being the boss was the furthest thing in mind then -- a complete opposite to my career today as CEO of SheCapital.
With the rise of female millennials in the workforce, things have not changed all that much. According to a recent study by Pew Research Center on pay gap and women, a whopping 34 percent of the 810 millennials polled state they are not interested in becoming a boss or top manager citing responsibilities of parenthood and family as concerns. Furthermore, approximately four-in-ten women with children have reduced their hours at work in order to care for a child or family member while 13% of mothers have turned down a promotion in order to care for a family member. See 5 Statistics Every Woman Must Know
Many women find themselves in this same predicament, however, they need not leave money on the table because of position alone. As a 48 year-old gen x female, Chief Everything Officer, and SheEO, I have come to discover five important strategies to help other female professionals wanting to aspire to future positions of leadership in their careers today: