The Importance Of Community: Research Suggests Women Who Have A Strong Friend Circle Are More Likely To Land Executive Positions And Earn Higher Pay
When it comes to career advancement, who you know matters just as much as what you know. The right connections can help you obtain opportunities and reach your goals more smoothly and quickly.
That’s why the act of social networking is constantly stressed among young professionals. Networking is crucial to success. However, there is a difference between the networking approaches of men and women.
According to a study from the Harvard Business Review, men who get better job opportunities are central in their network, or in other words, they are connected to numerous people across multiple different groups with lots of contacts.
Women also benefited from being central in their network, but that is usually not enough to launch them into the same high-level positions as men, even with similar qualifications.
A literary club called “Women Who Get It” (@womenwhogetit) shared a clip on TikTok about how women with a tight-knit community of female friends are more likely to land positions of executive leadership with higher pay.
Written on the text overlay of the video are the words, “Never underestimate the power of a group text with your girlfriends or being part of a larger community. Having a place to commiserate and support other women can enrich your life on all fronts.”
This idea is also supported by the published study from Harvard Business Review. Researchers found that a key ingredient to a woman’s success in the workplace is a solid inner circle of close female contacts.
What works for men does not necessarily work for women. It is not essential for men to have a close group of male friends in order to land a leadership position.
“While men had inner circles in their networks too—contacts that they communicated with most—we found that the gender composition of males’ inner circles was not related to job placement,” stated the Harvard Business Review.
Delmaine Donson/peopleimages.com – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual people
Women face cultural biases that men do not. Therefore, having a strong community of friends to turn to, in addition to centrality, can help with navigating their career journeys.
In these groups, they can provide advice to each other and share how they overcame difficult situations.
The support that comes from this type of group can lead to a better understanding of how to interview, negotiate, and search for jobs. For women, being part of a female inner circle is directly linked to job placement and success in the workplace.
“Women who were in the top quartile of centrality and had a female-dominated inner circle of 1-3 women landed leadership positions that were 2.5 times higher in authority and pay than those of their female peers lacking this combination,” stated the Harvard Business Review.
It was also found that women who ended up in leadership roles with networks that closely resembled those of successful men were actually among the lowest in power and pay.
So far, it’s been established that having an inner circle is important for women. However, women also need to focus on creating a diverse network within the community, as it allows them to consider new insights and perspectives.
“The more you associate with similar-minded or experienced people, the less likely you will be to diversify your network and inner circle,” wrote the Harvard Business Review.
People tend to gravitate toward others who are most like themselves, but that is not always beneficial in enhancing careers. It is recommended to randomize the networking process, increasing the odds of befriending those with different experiences and connections.
Overall, women need more types of networks to succeed than men do. They face a greater challenge in finding professional opportunities, but with a good group of women to seek support from, they have a better chance of advancing their careers and helping their peers do the same.
@womenwhogetit As a bookclub, not only do we read books but we also strive to create a safe space for women to connect, empower, and share knowledge so that we can all create the life we cannot wait to wake up to! ? Become a free member on our website www.womenwhogetit.com HBR Research: ‘Men and Women Need Different Kinds of Networks to Succeed’ #fyp #bookclub #nyc #madrid #womenempowerment #hbr #femalecommunity
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