y career has taken me across the globe the past 19 years—from Germany, Italy, and the U.S. to Pakistan, Japan, and Singapore. I’ve worked in nearly every sector and capacity, from serving as a political–military affairs officer in the U.S. Department of State and teaching international affairs to consulting for a public–private partnership and running a non–profit. Regardless of affiliation or job title, one of my professional throughlines has been empowering women politically, economically, and academically. The countries I’ve lived in these last two decades range from among the World Economic Forum’s top 10 for global gender parity (Germany) to a depressing 125th (Japan). Despite the unique cultural contexts of each of these countries and their relative WEF rating, the challenges for women’s empowerment are universal. So are the narratives on solutions: increasing access to skills and labor markets of the future while building robust support networks.
Upskilling women
Academic degrees provide students with in–depth knowledge, critical thinking skills, and early networks in their respective fields. They will also remain an important prerequisite for certain career paths, particularly in STEM fields. But academic degrees alone are insufficient to close the gender gap. In both the United States and the European Union, women earned more degrees than men for decades, but fewer women entered the workforce after graduation. Those who did were more likely to enter fields with lower income potential. In the U.S., even though college–educated women in the workforce overtook college–educated men in 2019, women who do the same work as men still earn less despite having the same credentials. Globally, women remain underrepresented in the labor market, and the gaps are greatest at the top and in fields with the highest income potential.
Academic parity was not the panacea that many hoped, but the changing nature of work and revolution in AI offer “leapfrog” opportunities that can help expand women’s employment opportunities. Recent breakthroughs in AI are already disrupting the global economy and have massive implications for the future of work. New sectors will provide women with more opportunities for advancement, but harnessing this opportunity will require women to develop new skills and gain greater access to the sectors that are most likely to grow in scope and significance. The rise of remote work and online learning platforms has democratized access to education and training, making it more accessible to women who may face barriers such as caregiving responsibilities or geographic location. And as employers increasingly embrace skills–based hiring, underrepresented talent and skilled workers without college degrees—a major portion of the global workforce—will have greater mobility as they upskill and reskill, regardless of background or previous experience.
Mentorship and resilience
Helping women to acquire critical skills in upwardly mobile sectors is important but—much like academic credentials—focusing solely on skills development will be insufficient as we look to create and fund initiatives that will help women maximize the potential gains of AI and the future of work. I have developed, implemented, and participated in many women’s leadership programs over the years. Such programs can have outsized long–term impact if they are well designed, but all too often they end up as one–off experiences that live on only in resume bullet points. The most effective programs provide skills training while also enabling participants to build, maintain, and grow authentic connections.
While designing leadership programs in Japan for the TOMODACHI Initiative and running Young Professionals in Foreign Policy in Washington, DC, participants constantly asked for networking advice. As digital natives, Millennials and GenZers excel at online engagement but often have less opportunity to hone their face–to–face communications skills. Interpersonal skills are not innate—they are skills that require practice. I developed workshops that broke down the mechanics of networking, modeled how to use networking opportunities to build genuine relationships rather than exercises in collecting business cards, and emphasized the importance of developing both mentors—who provide advice—and sponsors: senior leaders who have influence and will proactively use it on your behalf. Cultivating sponsors is critical to career advancement, and for a variety of reasons women often underestimate its importance, are under-sponsored, or fail to make efficient use of sponsors. Leadership programs—for men and women—have to tackle this issue if we are going to achieve gender parity.
As the spouse of an active–duty U.S. military officer, I’ve seen and experienced first–hand the importance of sponsors, upskilling, and resilience. In today’s fast–paced and highly globalized world, resilient individuals and organizations are the ones that will be best positioned to adapt, thrive, and drive change. We will all find ourselves in uncharted waters as AI changes the way that we work and live. One day we will be a sponsor—the next we will need a sponsor ourselves.
a global affairs media network
A ground level view on gender parity
Mentorship is key to upskilling women and ensuring their professional resilience in a turbulent world. Photo by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash
March 11, 2024
The basic challenges to women’s empowerment around the world are universal, beyond cultural context. Upskilling women and mentorship to help them develop their leadership capabilities will build resilience—among women and organizations—to best adapt to a rapidly changing world, writes Alexia D’Arco.
M
y career has taken me across the globe the past 19 years—from Germany, Italy, and the U.S. to Pakistan, Japan, and Singapore. I’ve worked in nearly every sector and capacity, from serving as a political–military affairs officer in the U.S. Department of State and teaching international affairs to consulting for a public–private partnership and running a non–profit. Regardless of affiliation or job title, one of my professional throughlines has been empowering women politically, economically, and academically. The countries I’ve lived in these last two decades range from among the World Economic Forum’s top 10 for global gender parity (Germany) to a depressing 125th (Japan). Despite the unique cultural contexts of each of these countries and their relative WEF rating, the challenges for women’s empowerment are universal. So are the narratives on solutions: increasing access to skills and labor markets of the future while building robust support networks.
Upskilling women
Academic degrees provide students with in–depth knowledge, critical thinking skills, and early networks in their respective fields. They will also remain an important prerequisite for certain career paths, particularly in STEM fields. But academic degrees alone are insufficient to close the gender gap. In both the United States and the European Union, women earned more degrees than men for decades, but fewer women entered the workforce after graduation. Those who did were more likely to enter fields with lower income potential. In the U.S., even though college–educated women in the workforce overtook college–educated men in 2019, women who do the same work as men still earn less despite having the same credentials. Globally, women remain underrepresented in the labor market, and the gaps are greatest at the top and in fields with the highest income potential.
Academic parity was not the panacea that many hoped, but the changing nature of work and revolution in AI offer “leapfrog” opportunities that can help expand women’s employment opportunities. Recent breakthroughs in AI are already disrupting the global economy and have massive implications for the future of work. New sectors will provide women with more opportunities for advancement, but harnessing this opportunity will require women to develop new skills and gain greater access to the sectors that are most likely to grow in scope and significance. The rise of remote work and online learning platforms has democratized access to education and training, making it more accessible to women who may face barriers such as caregiving responsibilities or geographic location. And as employers increasingly embrace skills–based hiring, underrepresented talent and skilled workers without college degrees—a major portion of the global workforce—will have greater mobility as they upskill and reskill, regardless of background or previous experience.
Mentorship and resilience
Helping women to acquire critical skills in upwardly mobile sectors is important but—much like academic credentials—focusing solely on skills development will be insufficient as we look to create and fund initiatives that will help women maximize the potential gains of AI and the future of work. I have developed, implemented, and participated in many women’s leadership programs over the years. Such programs can have outsized long–term impact if they are well designed, but all too often they end up as one–off experiences that live on only in resume bullet points. The most effective programs provide skills training while also enabling participants to build, maintain, and grow authentic connections.
While designing leadership programs in Japan for the TOMODACHI Initiative and running Young Professionals in Foreign Policy in Washington, DC, participants constantly asked for networking advice. As digital natives, Millennials and GenZers excel at online engagement but often have less opportunity to hone their face–to–face communications skills. Interpersonal skills are not innate—they are skills that require practice. I developed workshops that broke down the mechanics of networking, modeled how to use networking opportunities to build genuine relationships rather than exercises in collecting business cards, and emphasized the importance of developing both mentors—who provide advice—and sponsors: senior leaders who have influence and will proactively use it on your behalf. Cultivating sponsors is critical to career advancement, and for a variety of reasons women often underestimate its importance, are under-sponsored, or fail to make efficient use of sponsors. Leadership programs—for men and women—have to tackle this issue if we are going to achieve gender parity.
As the spouse of an active–duty U.S. military officer, I’ve seen and experienced first–hand the importance of sponsors, upskilling, and resilience. In today’s fast–paced and highly globalized world, resilient individuals and organizations are the ones that will be best positioned to adapt, thrive, and drive change. We will all find ourselves in uncharted waters as AI changes the way that we work and live. One day we will be a sponsor—the next we will need a sponsor ourselves.
