In the B2B sales world, women make up just 25% of sales teams. When you look at sales leadership, that number drops to 12%.

There are countless reasons for this, but today, I want to talk about one: similarity bias.

When I ask sales leaders why they have no women on their team, they almost always say, "I hire the best person for the job, and I don’t look at gender."

I politely roll my eyes and ask where they’re finding their candidates.

The answer?

Competitors, referrals from their buddies, their universities.

So, I press further: "Have you ever interviewed a qualified woman for the job?" After some thought, I often hear that women just don’t have the industry experience or the connections. And that’s the problem.

Managers are looking for mini-mes. They want someone who fits their box — someone with the traits they admire. Rarely do I hear a manager with an all-male team say they’re focused on strong sales skills, tenacity, or anything beyond industry experience.

Hiring more women isn’t about adding diversity initiatives. It’s about giving your managers the tools they need to identify, attract, and develop people who don’t look or think like them.

This month, let’s focus on doing just that.

Think about the makeup of your current sales team. Are there different voices and perspectives contributing to your organization’s growth? How many women have you interviewed for sales roles in the past year? Be honest in assessing where you are today so you can take the steps needed to create an inclusive team. Identifying the roadblocks is the first step to creating change.

If you’re serious about making a change, schedule a call with me. Together, we’ll identify one tool that can help your sales managers become inclusive leaders. Start building a diverse team now.



The gap in women’s representation in sales won’t close overnight, but we can start today. It’s about intentional, practical steps — and making sure our leaders have the tools to create change.