The role of women in politics and leadership positions in business is one of the most significant societal issues of our time.
Text by Maria Rauch-Kallat
It is a debate that extends far beyond questions of fairness and equality, touching the very core of our democracies as well as the future competitiveness and innovative capacity of our economies. Although historic milestones have been achieved over the past decades, full equality—commonly referred to as parity—remains an unfinished and ongoing project in many areas. The journey from the pioneering advocates of women’s suffrage to female heads of state and senior corporate executives has been long and challenging, and it continues to be marked by specific obstacles, resistance, and structural barriers.
In politics, the picture has changed considerably in the 21st century. Women now hold positions that were denied to them for centuries. They serve as chancellors, prime ministers, foreign ministers, and leaders of international organizations. Yet a closer look at parliaments around the world reveals that women remain underrepresented on average. The parliamentary arena was historically created by men and for men. Its institutional structures, rigid schedules, and unwritten rules of power often continue to reflect this legacy.
Nevertheless, social science research clearly demonstrates that the presence of women in politics makes a measurable difference. When women participate in political decision-making and legislative processes in critical numbers, priorities often shift. Issues such as social justice, educational opportunity, healthcare, family policy, and ambitious climate action demonstrably receive greater institutional attention. Female leadership has shown, particularly during times of crisis, that an inclusive leadership style grounded in consensus-building and evidence-based decision-making can be both highly effective and remarkably resilient.
At the same time, women in politics face intense and often disproportionate scrutiny. They are subjected to a persistent double standard: when they display determination and political toughness, they are frequently perceived as distant or cold. When they emphasize empathy and a willingness to compromise, patriarchal structures often interpret these qualities as signs of weakness. Moreover, women politicians are affected to an alarming degree by online harassment, sexism, and organized hate campaigns, discouraging many talented young women from pursuing political office.
A similar, though often even slower-moving, picture can be observed in the corporate world. While the proportion of women in top leadership positions—particularly on executive boards and supervisory boards of large multinational corporations—has gradually increased due to quota regulations and growing societal pressure, the much-discussed “glass ceiling” remains firmly in place. Women frequently encounter invisible psychological and structural barriers that hinder their advancement to the highest C-suite positions. These obstacles often emerge much earlier in their careers, at the transition to middle management, a phenomenon commonly referred to as the “broken rung.”
The economic case for significantly increasing the number of women in leadership roles is both compelling and well documented. Numerous global studies consistently show that diverse teams and gender-balanced boards make better and more informed decisions. They demonstrate greater innovative capacity, understand a broader range of customer groups more effectively, and achieve stronger and more sustainable financial performance. It is difficult to understand why market-oriented companies would choose not to capitalize on this opportunity. In addition, women often bring a transformational and highly collaborative leadership style that benefits organizations as a whole.
Why, then, does progress remain so slow? The answers lie in deeply rooted biases and historically established networks that unconsciously tend to promote individuals who resemble those already in leadership positions. Furthermore, the unequal distribution of care responsibilities persists. Childcare and caregiving duties continue to fall disproportionately on women worldwide. Addressing this challenge requires flexible working models, effective top-sharing arrangements in leadership roles, and a fundamentally fairer distribution of responsibilities.
We must stop trying to “fix” women so that they fit into outdated systems. Instead, we must redesign those systems to achieve genuine parity and secure the best possible leadership for our shared future. This is the most important societal task –and responsibility – of the coming decade.