Beyond Mentoring: Why Sponsoring Women for Leadership Matters

man woman handshake shake hands iStock_000010387373SmallIt’s time for the men running CPA firms to “man up” and get serious about promoting women into leadership roles.

By Ida O. Abbott
Sponsoring Women: What Men Need to Know

Smart accounting firm leaders want to be in the forefront of efforts to advance women. As the global economy continues to become more competitive, firms need to use all the talent they can muster — and more and more of that talent will be women.

Ida O. Abbott, Sponsoring Women
Abbott

Today CPATrendlines launches the exclusive new series, “Sponsoring Women: What Men Need to Know.” Author Ida O. Abbott delivers the tools CPA firms need to develop a new generation of women in leadership. Training, encouragement, and even mentoring are all helpful. But Abbott argues it takes person-to-person sponsorship to finally break through. Particularly, she says, it takes a man. The role of women in the CPA profession is a critical issue. Abbott’s is an eminently practical strategy. And it’s about time that men “manned up” about promoting women CPAs. – The Editors

Companies that successfully tap into the full potential of women will be far ahead of their competitors. The key to doing it is to identify women who are likely to succeed and sponsor them so they reach the top levels of leadership. This requires direct per­sonal involvement by leaders, particularly leaders who are men.