Women have made remarkable strides in education and the workforce. Yet, gender disparities persist, especially in corporate leadership. While women earn the majority of advanced degrees in the United States, their representation in leadership roles remains disproportionately low. Overcoming this gap is essential not only for achieving gender equality but also for enhancing organizational success. Research shows that companies with diverse leadership teams, including women, experience better performance and profitability, making gender diversity a competitive advantage.
This article will explore the challenges women face in corporate leadership, the benefits of promoting women to leadership roles and how leadership assessments — also called talent assessments — can help bridge the gender gap. We’ll examine the components of leadership assessments, the role of unbiased psychometric tests and the importance of partnering with an external assessment provider to ensure a fair and objective selection process. By the end, you’ll understand how leadership assessments can not only empower women in leadership roles but also drive long-term success and innovation within your organization.
Despite significant progress in recent decades, women remain underrepresented in corporate leadership roles. The gender gap refers to the unequal opportunities and barriers women face as they advance in their careers, particularly when moving into management and executive positions. These disparities are driven by factors such as implicit bias, limited access to career development opportunities and workplace structures that have traditionally favored male career trajectories. As a result, women are often promoted at lower rates than men, leading to a narrower talent pipeline at senior levels.
This gap emerges early in women's careers and persists as they move upward. In the United States, women earn 59% of bachelor’s degrees, 63% of master’s degrees and 57% of doctorates. Yet, they represent less than half of the corporate workforce. The disparity widens with career progression: for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 81 women achieve the same advancement. At senior levels, women hold just 37% of vice president roles and 29% of senior vice president and C-suite positions.
However, closing this gap is not only a matter of equity — it’s a business imperative. Research from McKinsey reveals that companies with gender diversity and a significant number of women in leadership positions experience profitability increases of nearly 50%.
The reason for an improved bottom line? Diverse leadership teams bring a broader range of perspectives, improve decision-making and foster inclusive workplace cultures that drive innovation and employee engagement. By supporting women’s advancement, organizations unlock greater performance, resilience and long-term success.
Leadership or talent assessments play a crucial role in reducing implicit bias and promoting fairness in the hiring and selection process. These research-backed evaluations measure candidates based on their skills, competencies and leadership potential, ensuring that decisions are driven by objective data rather than subjective judgments. By focusing on measurable abilities, assessments help organizations identify the best candidates for leadership roles, regardless of gender — creating a more equitable pathway for women and other underrepresented groups.
More than just tools for hiring, leadership assessments are structured, science-backed evaluations designed to measure an individual’s leadership capabilities, decision-making skills and cultural fit for a specific role. Unlike traditional methods that often rely on first impressions or unconscious biases, assessments provide objective, data-driven insights that increase hiring accuracy and support long-term success. By evaluating how individuals think, act and lead, these assessments help organizations identify high-potential talent, make more informed decisions and ensure they select the right leaders for critical roles.
A comprehensive talent or leadership assessment typically includes the following key components:
By combining multiple evaluation methods, talent assessments create a comprehensive and objective picture of each candidate’s strengths, development areas and overall fit for the role. This data-driven approach not only improves hiring decisions but also helps organizations build stronger leadership pipelines, reduce turnover and foster more inclusive and effective teams.
One of the key benefits of leadership assessments is their ability to minimize bias and promote fairer outcomes in hiring and promotion. Traditional decision-making processes, including interviews, can be influenced by unconscious stereotypes, personal preferences or assumptions about a candidate’s background. Research shows that traditional interviews are often poor indicators of future success, as interviewers may unconsciously favor candidates who look, think or act like themselves.
In contrast, well-designed assessments offer standardized, objective measures of leadership potential. Tools like the Hogan Personality Assessment and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal are scientifically validated, ensuring that all candidates are evaluated based on their abilities rather than subjective impressions.
By focusing on measurable skills and leadership behaviors, these assessments help organizations shift from a “who you know” mentality to a “what you can do” approach. This is particularly important for women, who may face barriers to leadership opportunities due to systemic biases and limited access to key developmental experiences.
Leadership assessments level the playing field by identifying high-potential individuals who may have been overlooked using traditional methods. At the same time, they support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) by ensuring that all candidates are assessed fairly, fostering a culture where leadership roles are accessible to individuals from diverse backgrounds. This demonstrates an organization’s commitment to DEI and reinforces its corporate responsibility to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace.
In practice, these assessments support organizations in several key ways:
Ultimately, assessments empower organizations to create more inclusive, high-performing leadership teams by ensuring that every candidate is evaluated fairly and objectively. By reducing bias in the hiring and selection process, assessments help organizations build a more equitable workplace while enhancing the organization’s long-term success and corporate reputation.
To further enhance fairness, organizations should consider partnering with an external assessment provider. External providers bring expertise in designing and administering high-quality assessments. Their outside, objective perspective helps organizations maintain the integrity of the selection process, ensuring that decisions are based on data rather than internal politics or personal preferences.
External providers also offer a range of assessment tools that can be tailored to the specific needs of an organization. By selecting assessments that align with their leadership competencies and organizational culture, companies can identify candidates who are not only capable of leading but also aligned with their long-term goals.
Leadership assessments are a powerful tool for promoting gender diversity and supporting women in leadership roles. By evaluating candidates based on their skills and competencies, these assessments help eliminate bias, standardize the selection process and identify individuals with the potential to succeed. Reliable, research-backed tests like the Hogan Personality Inventory and Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal ensure that hiring decisions are objective and data-driven. In short, these assessments lead to fairer outcomes, stronger leadership teams and enhanced organizational performance.