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Essay / Future Leadership: Future Leaders of the Future
Women leaders possess the crucial soft skills of empathy, innovation, facilitation and active listening (Masaoka, 2006). They also have direct life experiences that bring technical skills and experiences from street level to the workplace (Masoka, 2006). Women often build stronger relationships with clients and outside contacts than their male counterparts. This relationship building skill is a key aspect that helps drive businesses forward (Giber et al., 2009). Fortune 500 companies with a high percentage of women significantly outperformed those with fewer. Companies with the highest representation of women showed higher returns on equity than those with fewer female employees (Giber et al., 2009). Thus, future organizations may have a higher percentage of female leaders than in the past. Future leaders must ensure equality in the workforce and that women are properly represented among