Women in leadership – from appointment to influence

Across Africa, organisations have invested significant effort in addressing barriers to entry, improving representation and creating pathways into senior leadership. These efforts have delivered meaningful progress. As a result, more women are sitting on boards, leading business units and occupying executive positions than ever before.

Yet a less-discussed challenge is emerging.

While organisations increasingly appoint women to leadership roles, many women do not remain in those positions as long as men. The challenge is no longer simply about access. It is about tenure.

It is about understanding how women can convert appointment into sustainable influence. Organisations must also ensure that leadership opportunities translate into long-term impact for their women leaders.

Representation is only the start

South Africa has become a recognised leader in advancing gender diversity in corporate governance. According to the SNG Grant Thornton Women in Business 2026 Report, female representation in senior management positions in South Africa reached 47.3%, significantly higher than the global average of 32.9%.

This upward trajectory is reinforced at board level. The 2024 Spencer Stuart South Africa Board Index reports that women occupied 37% of board seats among JSE Top 50 companies, including 40% of non-executive director roles.

These figures suggest important progress. However, a closer examination reveals a more complicated reality.

According to the Spencer Stuart South Africa Board Index, women directors serve an average of 4.9 years. By comparison, men serve an average of 6.9 years.

Women in board leadership positions serve an average of 4.1 years. Meanwhile, men remain in similar positions for approximately 7.5 years.

In other words, women spend almost three fewer years building influence, authority, relationships and institutional credibility in these roles.

Why tenure matters

This gap matters because leaders rarely achieve effectiveness immediately. Instead, organisational influence accumulates over time. Leaders build influence through experience, trusted relationships, strategic decision-making and the capacity to shape long-term outcomes.

When women occupy leadership roles for significantly shorter periods, organisations may lose the benefits that diverse leadership can create.

Research has consistently demonstrated the value of diverse leadership. Nearly a decade ago, McKinsey’s Women Matter Africa report highlighted the positive link between women’s leadership and business performance across the continent.

More recent global research shows that organisations with diverse leadership teams tend to achieve stronger financial outcomes. They also achieve better decision-making and greater innovation. However, organisations can only fully realise these advantages when leaders remain in their positions long enough to influence strategy.

Leaders also need time to influence culture and organisational direction. Therefore, representation alone is not enough. Sustainability matters.

The dynamics of influence

The question is not simply why women leave leadership roles earlier. A more useful question asks whether organisations distribute authority differently once women arrive in senior positions.

Too often, leadership development focuses on skills, competencies and performance indicators while overlooking the realities of power. Yet both formal structures and informal networks shape influence within organisations.

The formal organisation appears on organisational charts. However, the informal organisation operates through relationships, alliances, sponsorship, trust and institutional memory.

Many women leaders navigate these informal dynamics from a different starting position. One example is the well-documented “glass cliff”. Organisations often appoint women into leadership roles during periods of organisational uncertainty, crisis or transformation. Success under these conditions requires far more than functional expertise.

From access to influence

The conversation must therefore shift from access to influence. Securing a leadership role is important, but lasting impact depends on the ability to build credibility, navigate organisational dynamics and shape decisions over time.

Women leaders can strengthen their ability to sustain influence by:

• Building strategic alliances early and intentionally

Influence is rarely sustained in isolation. Developing trusted relationships with sponsors, peers, board members and key stakeholders creates a support network that can provide advocacy, perspective and credibility during periods of uncertainty.

• Understanding the organisation beyond the organogram

Every organisation has formal structures and informal networks. Successful leaders invest time in understanding how decisions are made, where influence resides and which relationships shape strategic outcomes.

• Establishing a clear leadership mandate from the outset

The first months in a leadership role are critical – defining priorities, communicating expectations and demonstrating early wins helps build confidence and reinforces authority.

• Linking leadership to measurable business outcomes

Technical expertise may secure the appointment, but enduring influence is earned through visible contributions to organisational performance, growth, innovation, governance or transformation.

• Developing leadership capital

Leaders who mentor others, create opportunities for emerging talent and build high-performing teams often strengthen their own credibility and influence in the process.

• Building resilience for high-pressure environments

Many women are appointed during periods of organisational change or crisis. Maintaining composure, communicating transparently and making disciplined decisions can help leaders navigate scrutiny and strengthen trust.

• Focusing on legacy

Lasting influence comes from building systems, capabilities and governance structures that continue to deliver value long after an individual leaves a role.

• Advocating for organisational accountability on tenure

Boards and executive teams should measure retention and tenure alongside representation, ensuring that women are supported to succeed and remain in leadership positions.