Women’s leadership in the canton of Basel-Stadt: how can contributions to collective projects be made visible?
In the canton of Basel-Stadt, pharmaceuticals and life sciences bring together highly qualified international research teams whose daily work is shaped by the French and German borders. For SHR’s “Women’s Leadership” programme, this raises a specific question: how can contributions to collective projects be documented without turning cooperation into a contest for visibility?
What the literature establishes
Madeline E. Heilman and Michelle C. Haynes (2005, Journal of Applied Psychology) show experimentally that success in a mixed-gender team on a male-typed task can lead to a woman being credited with less competence and less responsibility for the success than her male partner. This devaluation occurs when individual contributions remain ambiguous; information distinguishing individual performance can reduce it. The finding therefore concerns the conditions under which credit is assigned, not a difference in leadership ability.
A second mechanism: knowing who knows what
Kyle Lewis (2003, Journal of Applied Psychology) develops and validates a measure of transactive memory systems, describing how a team organises knowledge distributed among its members. Specialisation, the credibility attributed to expertise and coordination are its central dimensions. This research does not address gender inequality, but it helps distinguish the visibility of expertise from how often someone speaks.
The premature conclusion
One might conclude that women simply need to communicate their achievements more actively. This would shift onto individuals a problem that also concerns the information management collects and uses. Documenting who formulated a hypothesis, validated a method or resolved an interface issue makes it possible to discuss contributions without treating self-promotion as their main indicator. (our executive and employee training programmes)
The limits of the evidence and of current practice
An experiment on credit attribution cannot establish the scale of the phenomenon in Basel-based companies, and a measure of transactive memory does not demonstrate the effectiveness of an equality initiative. International R&D projects also involve interdependent contributions for which individual attribution remains debatable. A register may itself favour visible deliverables and overlook knowledge transfer or cross-border coordination, so its entries must remain open to challenge and revision.
A practical check in Basel
An exercise within SHR’s “Women’s Leadership” programme could use a hypothetical Basel case: a life-sciences project connecting an international R&D team with Rhine logistics partners. Throughout one project cycle, each milestone is accompanied by a shared note recording the outcome, scientific and coordination contributions, their contributors and supporting evidence; those concerned can correct it. At the project review, calculate the proportion of milestones whose notes are complete and validated by the relevant contributors, then identify contributions still disputed or omitted. This measure checks whether recognition is traceable, not whether bias has disappeared or promotions are equitable. To go further: explore the Women in Leadership training in Basel in the canton of Basel-Stadt, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.
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