How women are poised to succeed in an interconnected industry

1. Embrace the Exponential
INTERNET OF THINGS
How women are poised to succeed
in an interconnected industry
LEADING EDGE
WOMEN ON THE

2. IoT is a scenario in which objects, locations,
and people, each with unique identifiers,
have the ability to transfer information over
a network without interacting with another
person or machine. Integrating sensors,
devices, and networks enables our lives
in new ways—from improving our physical
well-being through the connectivity of
wearable fitness trackers, to easing our
lifestyles through connected appliances,
vehicles, and other types of technology on
which we’ve come to rely. Organizations
are taking advantage of the benefits of
IoT by exploring how connected, smart
technology can enhance patient welfare
in hospitals, protect workers in manufac-
turing environments, and create wholly
new business efficiencies in supply chain
management—among other values.
The value that IoT can bring to individuals
and enterprises alike has created a market
for innovation; IoT is projected to be a net
creator of jobs—to the tune of 4.5 million—
by 2020.2
For the evolving technology
industry, which is projected to encapsulate
nearly 75 percent of new STEM jobs through
2020, it will be crucial to identify the right
leaders to guide this new workforce.
Successful IoT solutions provide creative
integration of technology, data science,
security, and user engagement to solve
problems and provide new services.
Developing such solutions requires a
particular set of attributes, such as strong
partnerships, high-quality user experiences,
multi-faceted value propositions, multi-
purpose technology, and the ability to
balance evolving and unknown challenges.
To maintain their competitive edge,
We are experiencing a rapid shift in tech-
nology that is changing the way we exist
in the world. As the technology industry
evolves toward full-scale adoption of the
Internet of Things (IoT), there is an entirely
new set of demands to compete in the
global innovation market. Leading the
workforce of the future in these innova-
tive fields requires an increasingly unique
set of skills. In addition to the depth of
technical rigor traditionally required to
lead in science, technology, engineering,
and math (STEM) fields, leaders must
have emotional intelligence, communica-
tion, and management skills to succeed
in our increasingly connected society.
Whether by nature or nurture, studies have
found that women by far outrank men in
measures of these essential “soft skills.”1
IoT provides an opportunity for underrepre-
sented populations in STEM leadership—
women—to find new value in their industry
contributions.
Widespread initiatives to integrate women
into the workforce, including campaigns to
promote the feminization of labor and early
STEM education initiatives, have sparked a
national conversation. However, evolving
industry needs require us to mature past
awareness of the gender gap at the top
level of STEM fields and target the right
kind of leaders to spearhead innovation.
Much like the convergent nature of IoT,
transcending traditional gender constructs
in the technology industry’s leadership will
require fundamental changes in the way
we think and operate; it will require us to
rebuild an agile, integrated, and connected
industry model that allows our busi-
nesses—and our people—to thrive.
SUCCESSFUL IoT SOLUTIONS THRIVE IN
AN ECOSYSTEM OF CONSTANT INNOVATION
1

3. employers need to fill their pipeline with
high-innovation potential leadership.
Specifically, tech companies across the
board must fill a major gap in the industry’s
existing leadership population: in addition to
technical experts, companies need leaders
with non-traditional yet essential leadership
characteristics such as self-awareness and
higher-order thinking. By arming their first
line of leadership with “social architects,”
or leaders who will shape the context in
which others are able and willing to
innovate together, companies have a shot
at unleashing their workforce’s collective
genius.3
“An exciting paradigm shift is occurring
across the technology industry,” said
Susan Penfield, Executive Vice President
of Booz Allen’s Strategic Innovation Group.
“As IoT becomes the norm, what were
traditionally considered ‘feminine’ leader-
ship characteristics, such as connectivity
and communication, are increasingly in
demand. Leaders who embody these
characteristics are essential to build the
interoperable workplace of the future.”
How do companies target leaders with the
specific characteristics needed to build
their innovation ecosystem? A good place
to start is by examining the diversity of
skillsets of top-level leaders. Female leaders
rank higher in building cooperative environ-
ments and working out compromises; they
also excel in “soft power” (the ability to lead
through persuasion rather than coercion),
among other key traits of collaborative
and reciprocal relationships.4
These
characteristics are essential to leaders
who will shape organizations for successful
innovation in our connected society.
“As IoT becomes
the norm, what
were traditionally
considered ‘feminine’
leadership charac-
teristics, such as
connectivity and
communication,
are increasingly in
demand.”
—SUSAN PENFIELD
Booz Allen Hamilton
2

4. Research has shown that women often
excel in roles that require building relation-
ships, networking, and mediation because
they place more value on these interper-
sonal relationships. Female leaders also
rank higher than their male counterparts
in key leadership characteristics such as
working out compromises, being honest
and ethical, mentoring employees, orga-
nizing, and exercising soft power.5
Though
not an exclusively female trait, women are
more inclined than men to use soft power
through tools such as discussion, engage-
ment, and inclusion. Leadership styles
often characterized as “feminine” may be
exactly what the technology industry needs
to guide connectivity across the corporate
structure.
Numerous studies show that companies
with diverse leadership out-innovate and
out-perform their competitors.6
Senior
leadership with diverse sets of experi-
ences, perspectives, and backgrounds
are better equipped to build a culture of
community that cultivates innovation
based on the availability of unique ideas.7
Studies show six leadership behaviors
unlock innovation: “ensuring that everyone
is heard; making it safe to propose novel
ideas; giving team members decision-
making authority; sharing credit for
success; giving actionable feedback; and
implementing feedback from the team.”8
“Promoting individuals who embody
traditionally ‘feminine’ leadership char-
acteristics does not mean edging out the
INTEGRATING WOMEN INTO
TOP- LE VEL LE ADERSHIP
MAY BE KE Y TO BUILDING
CONNECTED ECOSYSTEMS
3

5. “Promoting individ-
uals who embody
traditionally
‘feminine’ leadership
characteristics does
not mean edging out
the male competition…
Rather, it means
complementing the
unique qualities of
each individual to
improve the group’s
intelligence and effec-
tiveness as a whole.”
—ROSE SCHOOLER
Intel Corporation
4
male competition,” said Rose Schooler,
Vice President of Intel Corporation’s IoT
Strategy. “Rather, it means complementing
the unique qualities of each individual to
improve the group’s intelligence and effec-
tiveness as a whole. As technology leaders,
we understand the necessity of integrated
systems to build IoT solutions. We need to
drive this same concept among our people
to enable truly connected companies.”
However, women in IT hold only nine
percent of management positions and
14 percent of senior management posi-
tions in Silicon Valley startups, while they
maintain less than 25 percent of STEM
jobs industry wide. Studies indicate that
perceived gender differences, rather than
leadership skill or ability, are the barriers
to entry for women in the STEM C-Suite.
Countless marketing campaigns have
aimed to empower female leaders in an
effort to increase female leadership in
technology. Many of these efforts
encourage women to adopt what are
traditionally considered ‘masculine’
leadership characteristics, including
aggression, authoritativeness, and deci-
siveness,9
in an effort to rise in the
industry ranks. Author Nina Power argues
that when women (or men) demonstrate
power by “behaving like a man,”10
it
reinforces the traditional strength-based
measures of power instead of recognizing
the value in other leadership styles.
Studies show that regardless of gender,
leaders who demonstrate their strength
without gaining the trust of others can
undermine an organization’s creativity and
cognitive potential, and cause employees
to disengage. On the other hand, leaders
who facilitate trust, communication, and
information sharing among employees
often generate measurably higher economic
gains for their organizations.11
In addition to adding value to a company,
female leaders may have the insight
needed to help positively influence the
culture and retain skilled female employees,
a fleeing demographic in the technology
workforce. Despite an increase in overall
hiring, the 2015 STEM Index found the
gender gap in STEM professions had
widened even further since 2000.12
According to U.S. News & World Report, a
job pool skewed heavily toward white males
has put the United States at a disadvan-
tage compared to international competitors
trying to attract the same small pool of
highly skilled workers.13
Studies show that
talented women often feel stuck at lower-
to mid-levels in STEM fields, and 54
percent of women leave their STEM jobs
by their late thirties.14
Companies have
realized this brain drain is an issue that
needs to be resolved if they want to meet
the need for 6.6 million open STEM posi-
tions by 2022.15
According to a Harvard
Business Review case study, “many women
report ‘mysterious’ career paths, leading
to a full 40 percent feeling stalled in their
careers. Systems of risk and reward in
[STEM] cultures can disadvantage women,
who tend to be risk averse.”16
Fortunately, technological convergence
is driving cultural change, and IoT may
provide women with an opportunity to fill
the industry’s need for a new kind of
leadership.

6. IoT IS A PL ATFORM FOR
WOMEN TO LE AD THE WAY
TO A CONNECTED SOCIET Y
Traditionally “feminine” leadership
characteristics and IoT both comprise
collaboration, connection, and high-level
integration throughout an organization.
In female leaders, these characteris-
tics often manifest into actions such as
networking with resources to identify
and solve business needs and bringing
together teams of matrixed, diverse
staff—both of which are necessary to
build successful IoT enterprises. The
technology industry has noticed the value
of this leadership style in a connected
world. In a 2015 survey of nearly 3,000
Chief Information Officers (CIO), Gartner
identified a “flip” in leadership attributes:
vision and inspiration, not command and
control, emerged as the most powerful
leadership attributes in a digital world.17
Furthermore, the study found that 75
percent of CIOs plan to change their
leadership style within 3 years by ampli-
fying their vision (47 percent) and reducing
their command and control (65 percent).
“Every major technology company is building
their brand of IoT solutions, and many have
found that technical expertise and past
successes do not always equate to good
leadership in this new territory.” said Nyla
Beth Gawel, Principal of Booz Allen’s IoT
Initiative. “The successful ones recognized
early on that emotional intelligence and
communication are essential characteris-
tics in the leaders they select to cultivate
this change. These leaders are successful
because they are able to build an
ecosystem that integrates the technical
and human expertise needed to build truly
connected networks of innovation.”
The technology companies that seek
leaders with exceptional collaborative
qualities will be the companies to succeed
in the workplace of the future. Executives
will be the glue in the connected workplace,
and those with the ability to influence and
lead through persuasion, rather than force,
are uniquely positioned to create the right
type of environment that breeds ideas and
innovation. Female and male leaders who
embrace their inherent soft power now will
realize success in the connected enterprise
structure—and many successful IoT
leaders have already begun setting the
tone of the IoT ecosystem.
“Every major tech-
nology company is
building their brand
of IoT solutions…The
successful ones recog-
nized early on that
emotional intelligence
and communication
are essential charac-
teristics in the leaders
they select to cultivate
this change.”
—NYLA BETH GAWEL
Booz Allen Hamilton
5

7. Interviews
ROSE SCHOOLER
Vice President
Intel Corporation
SUSAN PENFIELD
Executive Vice President
Booz Allen Hamilton
NYLA BETH GAWEL
Principal
Booz Allen Hamilton
Authors
NYLA BETH GAWEL
Principal
gawel_nyla@bah.com
ALISON JARRIS
Associate
jarris_alison@bah.com
www.boozallen.com/iot
1. Pew Research Center, “Women and Leadership,”
2015
2. ReadWrite, “The Internet Of Things Will Need
Millions Of Developers By 2020,” 2014
3. World Economic Forum, “Is this what it takes to be
an innovative leader?,” 2016
4. STEMconnector, “STEM 2.0 — An Imperative For Our
Future Workforce,” 2014
5. Harvard Business Review, “How Diversity Can Drive
Innovation,” 2013
6. STEMconnector, “STEMconnector’s Innovation Task
Force Releases STEM 2.0: An Imperative For Our
Future Workforce,” 2014
7. Forbes, “Reaping The Benefits Of Diversity For
Modern Business Innovation,” 2014
8. Forbes, “Fostering Innovation Through a Diverse
Workforce,” 2011
9. Harvard Business Review, “How Diversity Can Drive
Innovation,” 2013
10. University of Strathclyde Business School, “Gender
differences vs gender diversity in leadership,” 2015
11. Zero Books, “One Dimensional Woman,” Nina Power
12. Harvard Business Review, “Connect, Then Lead,”
2013
13. U.S. News & World Report, “2015 STEM Index
Shows Gender, Racial Gaps Widen,” 2015
14. U.S. News & World Report, “The Data Behind the
2015 STEM Index,” 2015
15. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, “Reaching
the Full Potential of STEM for Women and the U.S.
Economy,” 2015
16. Harvard Business Review, “The Athena Factor:
Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering,
and Technology,” 2008
17. Gartner, “Executive Summary: Flipping to Digital
Leadership: The 2015 CIO Agenda,” 2015
6

8. www.boozallen.com/IoT
© 2016 Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
C.02.061.16
03/01/16
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