Study Says That a Woman's Inner Circle Is How She Gets Ahead

Women in high leadership roles tend to rely on a small network of like-minded women who also have their own network of contacts, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers behind the study believe that women who have moved up the career ladder use these inner networks made up of females for tips, advice, and, most importantly, referrals for jobs.

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The study states, “Women with a network centrality [size] in the top quartile and a female-dominated inner circle have an expected job placement level that is 2.5 times greater than women with low centrality and a male-dominated inner circle.”

The study looked at social networks and how they figured into job placement by researching over 700 business school graduates who are now in various levels of leadership in different companies.

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Researchers found that for men, larger networks helped them in the leadership department, but the opposite was true for women. While women also have a larger, outside network, it is the small circle that helps them out in the end. The gender-specific information they receive ends up giving them helpful inside information for potential jobs.

Bottom line: small tight groups consisting only of females are crucial to a woman’s success. So keep on forming those inner circles, ladies!