How do we cultivate ambitious,
leadership-oriented dietitians of the future?
Temperatures warm and flowers
bloom, there is no doubt that spring has arrived in St. Louis. The change in
temperatures and vegetation mark the beginning of a new season, as well as a
signal that the dietetic internship is coming to a close. Just as the bees buzz
with excitement for spring, many interns dream of entering into a field they
love and paying bills with the compensation they receive. Saint Louis
University dietetic interns joined with other local internships on March 26th
for “career day.” We received instruction on resume development, interviewing,
and even some words of wisdom from professionals in the field. Questions were
posed, questions were answered, but leaving career day I felt as if one day
could not possibly be enough to equip young professionals with the tools to
navigate a saturated job market.
Nonetheless I pondered the words
of wisdom we received. Words shared included; job satisfaction above
compensation,get your foot in the door, be persistent, and my personal favorite
“be fearless.” I thought about the term fearless and the related character
attributes of confidence, risk taking, and at times a willingness to “fly by
the seat of your pants.” Like a good dietetic intern, I took the inspiration of
the day and dove into the research. Some of the questions I want to answer
through this post include: What does the employment marketplace look like for
women, especially at the senior-executive level management sectors? What
factors influence women’s aspirations to become leaders? Are there gender
differences and or perceived gender differences that add additional challenges
for women entering the c-suite? Finally, tying all these factors together, what
areas of professional development can the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
focus on to increase the propensity for dietitians to assume executive
leadership roles?
What does the labor marketplace look like for
women, especially at the senior and executive management levels?
According to the Center for
American Progress women are responsible for earning 60% of undergraduate and
master’s degrees, 47% of law degrees and 48% of medical degrees. In totality
women compromise 47% of the U.S. labor force and 49% of the college-educated
workforce. Though women are now steady stakeholders of the employment and
collegiate marketplaces, only 25% of women are executive- or senior-level
officials and managers, 20% are board-members, and most importantly only 6% of
CEOs are women.
If my fellow interns assigned me
a superlative it would state “person
most likely to quote a recent NPR article, show, or podcast and/or person most
likely to bring up campaign finance issues in a public setting,” but
nevertheless the point is that in a recent NPR series of Freakanomics Radio
titled The Secret Life of CEOs, host
Stephen Dunbar explored what it takes to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. One
particular expert titled After the Glass
Ceiling, a Glass Cliff examined the phenomenon that occurs when the 5-6% of
women actually do become CEOs. This phenomena is referred to as the Glass
Cliff, meaning female CEOs are significantly more likely to be given the job if
the ship is sinking (After the Glass Ceiling, a Glass Cliff). The episode concluded that women in
leadership are subjected to greater critique from shareholders, frequent
challenges to their authority, as well as less praise for saving the ship from
total destruction. Psychologists and CEOs featured in the episode point to the
natural tendency for women to be risk averse, lack self-confidence, and the
fact that women are held to significantly higher standards as compared to their
male counterparts as reasoning to why women do not rise to the top of the
employment pyramid. Several female CEOs, including the likes of Pepsico CEO
Indra Nooyi and Ex-CEO for Yahoo, Carol Burtz, also pointed to the “old boys
club” infrastructure of middle and upper management and the blockade it often
puts in place for the elevation of female leaders.
What factors influence women’s aspirations to
become leaders?
A 2017 report by Egon Zehnder
titled Leaders & Daughters: Cultivating the Next Generation identified that
74% of young female respondents aspired to reach executive level leadership. Of
the greatest influencers for professional development, women ranked mothers as
one of the key components of success, as well as the influence and support of
fathers and husbands. This relationship between mothers and daughters also
appears to be strengthening in the younger generation of respondents.
Additionally, this study examined the role of mentorship as a provision of
support to women. 55% of women reported having a senior mentor or manager
acting as an advocate for their professional growth instilled a sense of
confidence. Though providing maternal figures is not currently part of the
Academy’s member benefits, providing platforms for mentorship, as well as
advocating for work-life balance for women seeking leadership and family-life
has the potential to impact current and future dietitians.
Are there gender differences and or perceived
gender differences that add additional challenges for women entering the
c-suite?
If you weren’t aware, there are
significant gender discrepancies in risk taking behaviors, as well as
confidence ratings between men and women. Men are significantly more likely to
take part in risk-related behaviors in the domains of health/safety, financial,
recreational and ethical decision making as compared to females (Harris,
Jenkins,& Glaser, 2006). Along with being risk averse, a recent Harvard
study demonstrated that women are less confident than men in their ability to
answer questions accurately and women are also less likely to provide answers
that strongly agree or disagree (Sarsons & Xu, 2015). In this case,
acknowledgment is power and helping women to understand these potential
challenges (whether innate or socially constructed) can equip women with the
tools to propel themselves forward into the executive levels that they desire.
What areas of professional development can
the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietetic Internships focus on to
increase the propensity for dietitians to assume executive leadership roles?
1.
Increase
student awareness of the Academy’s mentoring program. The Academy offers students and professionals
with the opportunity to network and gain a mentor/mentee relationship by
matching individuals based on area of practice, interests, and aspirations.
2.
Utilize the
Academy’s Diversity Mentoring Toolkit. Did you know that of the 100,000 RDs/RDNs
in the United States, 76% are white, 11% are unreported or prefer not to
disclose, and 9% are individuals of color? It’s 2018, increasing racial
diversity is good for our profession, it’s great for our patients, and it’s
what we need to move forward.
3.
Think
outside of clinicals. Though dietetic internships are a combination of
community, food service, and clinical rotations the largest emphasis always
seems to fall on clinical nutrition. Perhaps it is the allure of the white coat
or the fact that we spend a lot of time committing ourselves to clinical
practice, but the world of leadership and dietetics is much broader than
hospital walls. Providing dietetic interns with the opportunity to see what the
profession looks like in executive leadership roles could provide young
professionals with inspiration to create a path to the C-suite.
4.
Leadership
skills are not developed through PowerPoint presentations. Academia has a
propensity to utilize class presentations as a means to develop “leadership
skills.” I am a firm believer in the use of such presentations to increase an
individual’s comfort in front of an audience, but true leadership skills
require the development of critical thinking, confidence, and risk taking
behaviors (most often under pressure). Therefore….
5.
Role playing
isn’t just for practicing patient interactions. Role playing future employment
conversations such as goal setting, self-advocacy for increase responsibility,
and salary negotiations are just a few scenarios that could be worked through
with dietetic interns or young professionals seeking advancement in their
field.
As a final point to ponder, I
would like to take a minute to acknowledge that this fight for leadership has
been long fought by the women that have come before me. Many women have endured
bias, harassment, disrespect, and much more. While the fight continues, I would
also like to put a final spotlight on women of color. Women of color share the
smallest portion of leadership roles in our employment marketplace, despite
numerous studies pointing to the importance and benefits of both gender and
racial diversity in the workforce. As we march forward together, let us
continue the movement towards the top, making sure to advocate for all women
and call out discrimination in all forms. I love this profession and I believe
that the capabilities of the women in this field are endless. To that end, I
believe that a profession comprised of 95% female members should work
tirelessly to insure that women are able to elevate themselves to the level of
leadership they desire.
References
EgonZehnder (2017). Leaders & Daughters
Global Survey 2017
Jenkins, M., Harris, C., & Glaser, D.
(2006). Gender Differences in Risk Assessment: Why do women take fewer risks
than men?. Judgement and Decision Making 1(1).
Sarsons, H.,& Xu, G. (2015) Confidence Men?
Gender and Confidence: Evidence among Top Economists.
Infographics
& Photos
3 Barriers: Center for Creative Leadership
Breakdown of RDs & RDNs by Race: The Academy
of Nutrition and Dietetics Commission of Dietetic Registration
We Can Do It: http://www.alinaanjum.com/2017/08/16/an-inferiority-complex/
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