Letters To Daughters Of Tomorrow: Shamoly Khera's Success Mantra For New Women

Are women genetically better leaders? Are women naturally more emotionally intelligent? Do women need to adopt masculine traits to seem more leader-like? Is our society ready for what women are really capable of?
While women have come a long way from being subservient and mute spectators to their strong, independent counterparts, there is more distance to cover, especially when it comes to breaking gender and societal stereotypes.

In her book Letters to Daughters of Tomorrow, author Shamoly Khera highlights the stereotypes that women have been facing through generations—years of conditioning under the veil of tradition and culture—that needs to be conquered to make space for the new women of tomorrow. This book gives insights into how a woman can overcome everyday obstacles that her own conditioning creates, as well as challenge the stereotypical perceptions of those around her.

Excerpts from Shamoly Khera's Letters to Daughters of Tomorrow

Dear Daughters,

If someone tells you, you aren’t tough
Let them know what your flesh is made of
For I see it absorb every inch of the world
With curious eyes and intelligence.

If someone asks you to back off
Let them know what your soul is made of
For I see it shine with sparks extraordinaire
A leader within, a woman of unimaginable flair.

For a considerable length of time, I’ve been trying to research why there are fewer women in leadership positions. Why aren’t there more women at the top? Why is there such a low representation of women in conferences and panels? I soon realized the root of this gap. To cultivate leaders of tomorrow, we need more women in the workforce to start with. Only when more women enter at the base of the ladder, can more of them ascend to the top. In my lifetime so far, I have witnessed a few inspiring women leaders. However, I didn’t want to blindly romanticize about great women leaders without solid evidences. So, I dug a little deeper, and the findings on women leaders were both intriguing and enlightening.

Women Leaders: A Natural Creation

 In 2011, researchers Øyvind L. Martinsen and Lars Glasø conducted a study based on the theory of human personality. The study describes personality as stable response patterns in thinking, emotion and behaviour, identifying five key traits. The research demonstrated that women are better suited for leadership than men. Before delving further into the study, let’s reiterate that our fight is not against the men but against the opportunities that seem to land so naturally on their laps. The aim here is to have more life-changing opportunities come to women with equal vigour, without any prior prejudice.

Regarding the study, Martinsen and Glasø stated, ‘For leaders, personality plays an even bigger role than for many other professions.’ Their research identified five key traits that painted a better picture of our personalities. Referred to as the Five Factor model, the five traits are: emotional stability, extraversion, openness to new experiences, agreeableness and conscientiousness. These personality traits are measured on a scale from high to low 

1. Emotional stability: A high degree of emotional stability signifies the ability to withstand job-related pressure and stress, qualities essential for effective leadership.

 2. Extraversion: Leaders who are outgoing, have the ability to take initiative and communicate clearly.

3. Openness to new experiences: Leaders who are open to new experiences can innovate, remain curious and develop ambitious visions.

4. Agreeableness: Agreeable leaders have the ability to support, accommodate and include employees.

5. Conscientiousness: Leaders who are generally very methodical and organized have the ability to set goals, be thorough and follow up effectively.

It was observed that the most skilled leaders achieve high scores across all five traits. And now, for the drumroll—the results: Female leaders scored higher than men in four of the five personality traits. Let’s take a moment to absorb this study and reflect on which of these traits can one identify within oneself and the women around.

This is not an astrological prediction—these are hard facts based on evidence. The results indicate that regarding personality, women are better suited for leadership roles than their male counterparts, especially when it comes to clarity, innovation, support and targeted meticulousness. So, if women are better suited for leadership roles, why aren’t there more of them? Another research, conducted by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) India, may have the answer.

It noted the reason for why women aren’t at the top—it’s not because of lack of ability, it is because of traditional sidelining. ‘Gender stereotypes and lack of infrastructure has traditionally sidelined women from core manufacturing functions. As a result, not many are able to reach leadership roles,’ the report indicated. Clearly, stereotypes can be harmful if they undermine our ability to achieve certain goals. So, how can we fight these stereotypes? How can we handle someone else’s perception of our own gender? Let’s consider society’s point of view for a minute. Stereotypes exist because of certain cultural conditioning, as that’s what most people have seen while growing up, and thus they might not know any better.

Extracted with permission from Shamoly Khera's Letters to Daughters of Tomorrow; published by Rupa Publications