Rising against the odds: Key lessons for promoting female leaders’ resilience

Abstract

Given the many obstacles women encounter on their path to leadership positions, resilience is particularly important for women in leadership. Nevertheless, there is still little knowledge about the specifics of female leader resilience and how it can be enhanced. Drawing on a qualitative interview study, we show how female leaders’ resilience can be promoted at individual, organizational, and societal levels. For this purpose, we conducted 48 in-depth semistructured interviews with female leaders from upper, middle, and lower leadership positions in various industrial sectors. We found that female leader resilience is shaped by individual internal resources (such as achievement orientation, self-confidence, and adaptability) and social support (such as a supportive partner, family, and friends), encouraged by enabling organizational factors (such as inclusive cultures, flexible structures, and mentoring), and influenced by societal factors (such as gender-specific role expectations, early socialization, and access to role models). We further demonstrate that due to persistent inequalities, stereotypes, and prejudices, women rely on their resilience not only in crisis situations but also in the context of everyday leadership. Thus, our study offers valuable insights for developing female leaders’ resilience in both theory and practice.