26
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Volume1 Issue1
I
ssues and
P
eople
Why is diversity in leadership important?
The answer to this question is fairly
straightforward. The behaviours, values
and decision-making strategies of
organizationsneed to reflect thoseof the
people they represent. Theonly efficient
way toachieve that is tohavean inclusive
mix of diverse individuals who bring an
added critical dimension to the skill set
required for anorganization to succeed in
serving itsmembers.More importantly, for
problem-solving teamsandorganizations,
diverse perspectives are imperative.
Members of homogeneous groups often
share the same culture, background and
points of view and may not challenge
the statusquo. Problemsare investigated
and analyzed in the sameway over and
over again, such that deep inquiry into
issues is absent and creative solutions
becomeelusive.
TheChallengeof
AchievingDiversity
Why is diversity in dental leadership
lacking? The answer to this is not so
straightforward. Although I can only
speak from the female perspective,
I have had discussions with men from
minority groups who have attained
high-level leadership positions in den-
tistry. The barriers and challenges are
similar, but different.
In terms of under-representation of
women in leadership roles, the most
obvious fact is thatmenandwomenare
different and, of course, have different
leadership styles. As Dr. Lam pointed
out, thevastmajorityof leadership roles
in organized dentistry (and academia,
with only 1 female dean of dentistry
in the history of all Canadian dental
schools) are filledbymen. It is therefore
understandable that these roles have
been definedbymen and that themet-
ric forassessingourdental leaders is from
themaleperspective.
There is a significant body of research
that describes the qualities that people,
in general, most often associate with
good leaders: thesequalities strongly re-
flect cultural norms of masculinity, such
as decisiveness, confidence, ambition,
competitiveness and being action-ori-
ented. The same research tells us that
our society considers women to pos-
sess traits such as kindness, warmth and
friendliness, and to be collaborative and
nurturing. While these latter attributes
are considered by progressive business
leaders tobe thehallmarks of emotional
intelligence and essential for transforma-
tional leadership by either gender, they
aremore often seen as prerequisites for
more subordinate roles forwomen.
Whenwomen approach their leadership
roles demonstrating the same qualities
deemed to be positive in their peer
male leaders, there isoftenadisconnect
inhow their behaviour is perceived and
what peopleexpect of them,whichcan
cause them to be judged harshly. On
the other hand, if their leadership style
reflects their feminine nature, they are
often thought of as weak. In
Lean In
,
Sheryl Sandbergdescribesmany studies
that show that success and likability are
negativelycorrelated forwomen leaders
andpositivelycorrelated formen.Wom-
enwhoachieve results in the leadership
realm are considered to be aggressive,
difficult and abrasive, whilemen are ad-
miredboth for their success and for the
very samebehaviours.
HiddenGenderBias
Much has been written about “second
generation gender bias.” It is now rare
(and illegal) for women to be exclud-
ed from leadership opportunities in a
deliberate manner, as occurred in pre-
vious generations. Second generation
bias is insidious and involves practices
that appear neutral on the surface; for
that reason, it has been called the “invis-
ible barrier.” It is subtle, usually uninten-
tional, andoftenunrecognizedbywom-
en as well as men. Deeply entrenched
cultural norms and gender-based dy-
namics can create a context that pre-
ventswomen from seeking and thriving
in leadership roles. An obvious example
is the social camaraderieandnetworking
that is important for highly functioning
teams, suchasaboardofdirectors. These
activitiesoften reflect themasculineper-
spective, which can make potential fe-
male leaders feel uncomfortableor even
excluded. However, invisiblegender bias
is usually embedded in stereotypes and
organizational practices, such as giving
women assignments with lower profile
or “invisible work” that neither develops
nor recognizes leadership skills.
Althoughabiasmaynot beovert,many
women have experienced meetings
in which suggestions frommen are ac-
knowledged while the same ideas have
been ignoredwhenput forwardbywom-
en.Womenmayalsohavenoted thepref-
erential mentoring of men in academia,
work settings and volunteerism. One of
the most interesting findings of the re-
search in this area is that attitudes canbe
changed simply through an understand-
ingof this bias by bothgenders and that
male leaders with seniority, because of
their established authority and influence,
are themost effective change agents for
enhancing leadership opportunities for
women in theirorganizations.
2
Do we need affirmative action (some-
times calledpositive discrimination)? No,
we do not. But there is a natural human
tendency for people to be drawn to,
advocate for, support and mentor oth-
ers like themselves. Unless succession
planning inour professional associations
actively considers the diversity gaps that
currently exist, our organizationswill not
functionaseffectivelyaspossibleandwill
become increasingly irrelevant to the
dentistsof Canada.
a
References
1
Lam,E.Fallingshort inorganizeddentistry:acall for increased
diversity.
JCanDentAssoc.
2013;79:d100.
2
TrefaltS,Merrill-SandsD,KolbD,WilsonF,Carter,S.
Closingthe
women’s leadershipgap:whocanhelp?
Boston(MA):Center for
Gender inOrganizations,SimmonsSchoolofManagement;2011.
Available:http://www.simmons.edu/som/docs/insights_32.pdf.
“...menare acknowledged
while the same ideas have
been ignoredwhen put
forwardbywomen.”
