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Women in leadership roles
Women in leadership roles
Women in leadership roles
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Purpose
The world is becoming small and populations are beginning to have similar trends and behavior. The paper wishes to provide an overview of gender disparities in organizations and the behavioral and leadership patterns of both genders.
Human rights activists have been actively pushing the agenda of equal opportunities for both genders in all nations.
The study is therefore a way of evaluating the extent to which organizations and cultures are adapting to the dynamism of the society.
The leadership styles of both male and female has been under a lot of research and no conclusive differences have been reported. The styles include the differences in the effectiveness, practices and perceptions of different genders.
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The same kind of treatment should be extended to both male and females.
Different leadership styles exhibit different outcomes in the society and in organizations
Women and men have unique contributions which should be valued equally. Their contribution to leadership should be viewed as complimentary rather than competitive. This way, the organizations and communities at large will be able maximize on the benefits and the diversity that both gender presents.
Scope
This paper attempts to get an understanding on the relationship between gender and effective leadership. It looks at the definition of leadership and gender in order to address the misconceptions held in the society.
The study examines some theories of leadership and how they are associated different genders.
The subject matter is a sensitive one and the study will hopefully bring the understanding of the biases that are still rife in the society and in the organizations.
The paper reveals that there are no glaring differences between the male and female leadership abilities and the society and organizations should have a shift in their
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They should be able to be more assertive, reach for the glass and smash it with an intention and determination to reach the top.
Strategies for breaking the glass
Planning for success, identifying your goals and carefully working towards achieving them can help break the glass.
Staying visible and self- promotion is key to get your competences and skills noticed. That way, your knowledge and ability are felt in an organization
Self-awareness and also the awareness of the obstacles ahead helps prepare for the challenges ahead and assist in planning on how to tackle them.
Understanding the culture of the organization is important as it helps one to perform to the fullest capacity. Having mentors for professional guidance is a good step in solidifying the ability to lead.
Every organization has key values, mission and vision. Promoting these values indicates that you are in cinque with the growth of the organization.
Women should be pro-active and align their qualifications and skills with the organization senior management
In the American society, we constantly hear people make sure they say that a chief executive officer, a racecar driver, or an astronaut is female when they are so because that is not deemed as stereotypically standard. Sheryl Sandberg is the, dare I say it, female chief operating officer of Facebook while Mark Zuckerberg is the chief executive officer. Notice that the word “female” sounds much more natural in front of an executive position, but you would typically not add male in front of an executive position because it is just implied. The fact that most of America and the world makes this distinction shows that there are too few women leaders. In Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In,” she explains why that is and what can be done to change that by discussing women, work, and the will to lead.
In relation to leadership and women, historically women who wanted to seek leadership roles were often seen projecting the traditional masculine model of leadership. This model means to be rational, unemotional and analytic. It also, means in order to succeed traditionally women needed to look and act like a man to be taken seriously in leadership positions. Women in the past often dressed up in suits and ties and anything feminine was seen as an internal “weakness”. To be a leader in power meant to exude confidence in masculinity and shy away from anything remotely girly. As opposed, to the feminine model which casts power as focused on connection and harmony instead of power over something, someone. This power can be skilled through collective gain or physical attractiveness (Kruse 22).
...tional obstacles to those faced by male counterparts. One common predicament, identified by the former Equal Opportunities Commission, is the requirement for women leaders to spend extra time and energy not just leading, but ‘proving’ that they can lead. Women leaders are penalized whether they confirm, or contradict a specific stereotype. A female leader can expect to be viewed as less competent when her behaviour is consistent with stereotypical ‘feminine’ behaviour, and as ‘un-feminine’, when her behaviour is inconsistent with stereotypes Ritvo et al (1995).
Powell, G., Butterfield, D., and Bartol, K. (2008). Leader evaluations: A new female advantage? Gender in Management: An International Journal, 23, 156-174.
Women have been treated unfairly and discriminated in the workforce for too long. The discrimination that these women face is unjust and unwarranted. It is sad that as a society in the twenty-first century we are still trying to combat these issues. In Developing Women Leaders was published in The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist July 1, 2012 it discusses possible solutions and how stigmas and stereotypes are starting to change. Women should not have to face discrimination in the workplace as a society there should be an equal standard for all individuals no matter the race or gender.
Also, the majority of women have been able to secure employment from traditionally female occupations such as teaching compared to male-dominated careers like engineering. Moreover, democratic country like the United States of America has recognized gender inequality as a fundamental issue and espouse equal right between men and women in contributing to social, economic and cultural life. Despite this improvement, gender inequality persists as women are not represented and treated equally in the workplace (Michialidis, Morphitou, & Theophylatou, 2012). The increasing number of women in the workplace has not provided equal opportunity for career advancement for females due to the way women are treated in an organization and the society. Also, attaining an executive position seem impossible for women due to the glass ceiling effects which defines the invisible and artificial barrier created by attitudinal and organizational prejudices, which inhibit women from attaining top executive positions (Wirth
The reading assignment for this unit included reading several articles and one book in particular, The Female Advantage, by Sally Helgesen as an introduction into varying leadership styles. Leadership, as a honed craft is practiced continually in different ways and varying circumstances, no two individuals will have the same leadership style. Certain distinctive traits brought into the forum and on display for followers to observe. Some traits can be visible, clothing or skin color as examples, others, however, are not as visible such as upbringing or family situation. Each of these factors could play a role in the leadership style of a leader. One trait that the author of the book uses to distinguish leaders is gender. As much as men and women must be treated the fairly and equally, it cannot be denied that outside of the biological aspect, men and women are slightly different. Each gender brings a unique approach to leadership situations.
When we think about how it used to be 100 years ago, the only people in leadership roles where men, and there was no presence of women. Why is it that we tend to see more men in leadership positions? Usually when we think of what a leader looks like, we tend to describe them as powerful, assertive and confidence. Because of stereotypes our society immediately labels this person as a man, due to the roles that we are expected to follow. Today, there has been a huge shift for women in leadership positions; however, there are many challenges that they still have to overcome. A process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal (Northouse, 2007) defines a leader. Moreover, leaders come in different forms whether in a professional, educational, or group setting. As a male college student and an advocate for equal rights between men and women, my understanding of the struggles that women face has a huge impact on my philosophy of leadership. The three most important concepts in this course that has resonated with me the most are double bind, and think manager-think male and glass ceiling.
It is said that people are the greatest assets to an organization and it is their beliefs, customs, perspectives, attitudes, and values that constitute to the culture that prevails in an organization. Culture, a very common word in today’s world, plays a very vital role in organizations and it not only affects an employee’s professional development but also their personal harmony. Culture gives a sense of belonging to people, a sense of who they are and how productive they are at their work place. It helps in interacting with each other at a work place.
Throughout the ages in Western Civilization, a double standard for men and women has existed. Although in modern society women have started to level the playing field with men in terms of employment and leadership, but the gender gap in opportunities and in societal views persists. However, women can achieve true equality in society by evolving people’s actions through governmental action.
Interest in the impact of gender on leadership is relatively new. The first studies were conducted in the US in the early 1970s when male managers at nine insurance companies were asked to characterise ‘women in general’, ‘men in general’ and ‘successful managers’. Successful managers were overwhelmingly identified exclusively with male traits. Many similar studies have been carried out since that time and all have demonstrated that the successful managerial stereotype remains male.
This is not about being nasty or nice – it is entirely about being achievement oriented by focusing on performance and organizational goals. Being achievement oriented, leaders have to recognize that they have to be mindful of and accountable for the choices they make because they are setting the model of what’s appropriate and inappropriate. Words matter, they are as much a form of expression for leaders as they are to poets, singers, and writers. According to Posner and Kouzes(p. 59) to be a leader, you got to awaken to the fact that you don’t have to copy someone else or follow a script and you don’t have to wear someone else’s style. Currently, there are an increasing number of women who are in leadership roles in the workplaces. It is a generally accepted as true that woman are supposed to use feminine ways of doing leadership. However, this is not always true. In some cases, women also use masculine ways of leadership. In this paper, Miranda Priestly illustrates how a female leader breaks traditional gender stereotypes and uses masculine leadership style.
Researches that support no gender differences in leadership skills, says female and male leaders lack internal validity as they are often over-reliant on narrative reviews or case studies (Bartol & Martin, 1986; Bass, 1981, 1990). Kanter (1977) argues that men nor women are different in the way they lead, instead adapts his/her leadership style to their situation and conforms to what is expected of them in the role given, ignoring their gender’s influence on their leadership style. However, researchers agree that gender differences in leadership styles do exist and that men often use a more task-oriented approach, while women, on average, rely on leadership style heavily based on quality of interpersonal relationships (Eagly & Johnson, 1990; Gray, 1992; Eagly, 1987; Eagly & Karau, 2002). Female leaders have also been described as taking a more “take care” leadership approach compared to the males’ “take charge” approach (Martell & DeSmet, 2001; Yukl, 1994; Hater & Bass, 1998). Researchers have also found that women tend to emerge as more transformational leaders while men are likely to use a transitional leadership approach (Bass & Avolio, 1994; Rosener,
Gender inequality is present in all aspects of human society, from culture, politics, and economic stand point to personal relationships. Gender inequality can be viewed as a major problem especially within the business world (Corporation, 2016). In the past, men are seen as leaders in all aspects. For example, men could work without any criticisms, they could participate in political issues and were given higher education. Women on the other hand, were given no political participation, criticized for working outside the household as they were responsible for chores such as takes care of their children, cooking or cleaning and given limited education compared to men. Although there are claims rights equality of women in 21st century and much has been written about it in the field of business (Player, 2013), but there is still a gap between male and female. This essay aims to explore the impact of gender inequality in business and will analyze the details in terms of the men are given high pay and specific jobs over women.
Throughout the past century, women have accomplished great progress in the movement towards equality within our society. As the gap between male and female roles have closed, opportunities have increased for females within industrial, political, and military fields. However, these career fields are still largely seen as a “man’s world.” With predominantly male leaders, females who have risen to positions of authority often struggle to find footing and take charge as their male counterparts do. In the article “How Can Young Women Develop A Leadership Style?,” The Wall Street Journal pinpoints relevant challenges women face as leaders and provides constructive feedback for arising leaders