Effectiveness of organizations depends on various factors. Nonetheless, it is firmly believed, by most practitioners and behavioural scientists, that leadership is a phenomenon which is crucial in achieving this goal (Yukl, 2013). As leadership is contextually bound, it cannot be completely understood from a single perspective. There are other elements that must be considered in order to do so, such as: the leader, the follower, the context and the interactions among them (Rumsey, 2013). The topic is even more fascinating in regards to the fact that most individuals are in some way a leader, a follower, or both. Despite the fact that most of these relationships go without particular notice, others have tremendous influence on the today’s world. …show more content…
This phenomenon was first described in a Wall Street Journal report by Hymowitz and Schellhardt (1986). Morrison, White and Velsor (1987) adopted the term in academic settings in their book titled: Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can women Reach the top of America’s Largest Corporations? They defined glass ceiling as “a transparent barrier that kept women from rising above a certain level in corporations”. Many studies across different disciplines adopted the term since then (Bullard and Wright 1993; Cornwell and Kellough 1994; Crum and Naff 1997; Kellough 1989; Lewis and Emmert 1986; Lewis and Nice 1994; Mani 1997; Naff 1994; Naff and Thomas 1994; Newman 1994; Pfeffer and Davis-Blake 1987; Reid, Kerr, and Miller 2003; Wilson 2002). As a consequence, social psychologists provided the theoretical explanation of why there is fewer female on managerial positions. They came to the conclusion that this phenomenon is closely related to the fact that leadership is considered as a male quality. Traits that can be found in the literature, such as: ambitious, directive and risk-taking, are generally associated with men (Sabharwal, 2013). Moreover, there are some theories that try to expand the role of men in leadership even further. The “think-manager-thin-man” is undoubtedly dominating the literature (Agars …show more content…
It is called “glass cliff” and describes women inability of exerting authority the same way that men do (Sabharwal, 2013). The concept was first described by Ryan and Haslam (2005) as a situation in which “woman may be preferentially placed in leadership roles that are associated with an increased risk of negative consequences. As a result, to the extent that they are achieving leadership roles, these may be more precarious that those occupied by men”. Social psychological constructs arising as a form of overt sexism are considered to be the main drivers for this phenomenon. Also social constructs are considered to influence the arise of glass cliffs. These represent a desire to appoint women to high risk positions – setting them up for a failure (Ryan and Haslam, 2005, 2007). By way of explanation, females occupying senior positions are more likely to leave the organization when confronted with glass cliffs. It was found by Stroh et al. (1996) that 26% women left management positions whereas only 14% of men did the same. He also proved that the reason of that is not, as commonly believed, the fact that women have more family commitments, but the sub-optimal career opportunities that were encountered by females. Lyness and Thompson (1997) found that men job satisfaction was considerably higher than women.
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Show MoreThis research paper will take a symbolic interactionist perspective to contrast the different leadership prejudices of men and women in the workplace. The age-old debate of inequality for women in executive position will now be examined through online periodicals that show gender stereotypes in the workforce, different strategies men and women use to break the glass ceiling of the workplace, a focus on the interactions and reactions of a male Chief Executive Officer (CEO) versus a female CEO, leadership prejudices among women and women, and various studies regarding leadership of men and women. Because of stereotyping, very little focus is on men within the workplace. However, research shows that male workers face stereotyping as well as women. Therefore, a concentration on this matter will be focused within this paper. The paper concludes that both men and women face stereotypes that hinder, to some extent, their balance of work and family lives. Contrary to some stereotypes, women are proven to have just as powerful executive leadership qualities as men (Hackbarth, 2012).
The goal on gender equality and impact of gender discrimination varies from country to country, depending on the social, cultural and economic contexts. Anti-discrimination laws have performed a critical role in expanding work place opportunities for women, yet they are still denied full equality in the workplace. Even though they can now secure powerful professional, academic and corporate positions once reserved for men, the ever present glass ceiling still deters the advancement of large segment of the female workforce (Gregory, 2003). Interest in the careers of females remained strong among both scholars and practitioners. Women have made considerable progress in entering the managerial ranks also but not at the highest levels. However, the promotion of women who hold top management positions increased only slightly during the last decade (U.S. Department of Labor, 1992). Shrinking gender differences between men and women in job related skills and aspirations may not reduce employer discrimination that is rooted in the belief that women’s emotions prevent them from managing effectively (Kanter, 1977). Stumpf and London (1981) identified criteria that are commonly used when decisions are made about management promotions. The specified job-irrelevant criteria, such as gender, race and appearance, and job-relevant criteria, such as related work experience, being a current member of the organization offering the position, past performance, education and seniority.. The central question is whether the hiring, development, and promotion practices of employers that discriminated against women in the past have been remedied or continue in more subtle forms to impede women’s advancement up in the hierarchy
My research opened my eyes to the struggle of women in the job market. The differences range from how we speak, what we wear, to where our priorities exist in business. One of the first books I came across was Managing Like a Man by Judy Wajcman. The title alone highlights the severe psychological separation of men and women in the workplace. Everyone faces difficulty at some point or another in a working environment. Unfortunately for women, workplace issues can range from not getting along, not keeping the job, or simply not getting the job. ‘Bust through the glass ceiling’ is a term coined in regards to women and the seemingly impossible climb up the ladder of success. Multiple books and studies about women seeking leadership roles give the theory a legitimate hype. The female gender has to fight for their role in the workplace, even when they have more education, more experience, and a newly found focus on equality for women. Extended research is still being done because the issue has not been completely eradicated; even now in the 2000’s.
Meanwhile, men continue to be provided with greater access to leadership roles than women. Given that the majority of the incumbent leaders are men, if the evaluators do not have previous exposure to competent women leaders, they may have a harder time choosing females of equal background and experience over their male counterparts. This perpetuates the cycle of men continuing to dominate the upper management positions, and leadership being equated with stereotypical masculinity. Women have to be more highly qualified than men to obtain the same roles (Eagly, 2007).
Through the course of history, women have accomplished many feats surpassing stereotypes of being only useful for their vanity. The scholar Chisholm-Burns states that “it is clear that gender bias remains a challenge for women in the workplace, particularly as they try to move up the career ladder” (312). Society has made it hard, but not impossible, for women to accomplish certain goals. Burns continues by giving an explanation of the term “glass ceiling”, which is another form of discrimination towards women. “Glass
Despite the ability of women to now enter into a variety of occupations and positions, men still dominant the power structure and make it much more difficult to rise. Within organizations men are given preferential treatment as a result of viewing women as the inferior gender. Men get promotions easier than women and women are expected to display exceptional behavior in order to receive any type of promotion at all for the same amount of effort. Often times, the presidency is considered the last glass ceiling, and one that is believed to likely be shattered by the election of the first women president. However, even if this glass ceiling is shattered, the existence of glass ceilings in a variety of organizations can still be seen. For example, the severe lack of women within congress (a meager 20) shows how difficult it is for women to be elected and hold their spot despite being just as qualified as their male counterparts. Similarly, Professor Redding provided examples of women within occupations such as lawyers and doctors. While the opportunities for them to get into these occupations has widened, there is still a gap within the occupations
This type of favoritism results not only in the glass ceiling effect but also the “glass door effect” [Caceres-Rodriguez, R.]. The glass ceiling is not being able to go upward in the organization. Glass door refers to women being “excluded from male dominant occupations”. This results in lower salaries for women and lower authority power.
This lose-lose scenario of a woman in a management level position who faces far more scrutiny than the equivalent man is known as the glass ceiling (310-11). It almost says enough by itself that there is a term for this phenomenon, because it occurs so often. While men can steadily increase in standing in a particular career, women face far more challenges that could potentially bring their career to a
Many writers have addressed the popular question of women and the relationship between gender and leadership. These vary from women not possessing the quality and traits necessary for managerial work to the negative stereotypes attached with women striving to succeed in a male dominant quarter. 3% of CEO’s in the Fortune 500 companies are women [10], therefore this gap in leadership means that there are many obstacles barricading women in senior positions to make that leap through the glass ceiling that is holding them back. In this essay, I will be explaining a few obstacles women in leadership face and what can be done to address them.
The most notorious and prominent “glass” metaphor is known as the glass ceiling. The glass ceiling is generally defined as the barrier that prevents women, as a group, from advancing to high-ranking positions within the workplace (Baron & Branscombe, 2012; Barreto, Ryan, & Schmitt, 2009). The second major “glass” barrier that women face in the workplace is the glass cliff. The concept of the glass cliff suggests that women are typically appointed to leadership positions in times of crisis (Branscombe & Bruckmuller, 2010) or when the position is seen to be risky, precarious and will most likely generate an outcome of failure (Baron & Branscombe, 2012). The third and most contemporary metaphor for a glass barrier that women face in the workplace is the glass slipper effect. The glass slipper effect proposes that there is an implicit barrier that reduces women’s interest and aspiration for power (Rudman & Heppen,
Women make up over 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, yet only 14 percent of executive officer positions within companies are filled by women. Within the Fortune 500 CEOs, only 21 of them are women. The United States prides itself on equality and justice, but the majority of the population is not adequately represented in leadership roles. It is time for the entire country to reevaluate its internal gender biases. Women are taking strides to overcome the centuries-old tradition of men being the breadwinners and women taking care of the family and having low-demanding jobs. Biases do not just come from men, as it is proven that women are just as biased against themselves. Society puts more pressure on men to be successful while not expecting as much from women. Men typically attribute their successes to themselves, while women underestimate themselves and attribute their successes to luck or hard work. This lack of self-confidence can be traced back to years of women constantly doubting themselves (Sandberg). Women need to follow Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s advice written in her book “Lean In”: “But feeling confident—or pretending that you feel confident—is necessary to reach for opportunities. It’s cliché, but opportunities are rarely offered; they’re seized” (Sandberg 34). Willing women have to overcome societal traditions and sit at the table. To do this they have to either get into leadership positions to then break down barriers or break down barriers to get into those coveted leadership positions. These barriers are deeply-rooted into almost every culture worldwide. Sexism and discrimination are constant issues for women in the workplace and not enough is being done to address the...
As a matter fact, there is a strong relationship between glass ceilings and gender despite the growing presence of women and minorities in the workplace. Statistically, companies that have women in higher ranking positions tend to do better than companies that don’t. Women play an important role in today’s economy because of their spending power, therefore, their capacity to spend is dependent on their salaries (Merida L. Johns,
Leadership is a strategy used to manage companies; all companies have a leader who performs teamwork. Women are an important part of companies; today more women have better jobs, better positions in companies in which they make important decisions. The presence of women in management positions has increased around the world, but there are still barriers and limitations for development, and prevailing cultures are framed in stereotypes which marked women for centuries. There are still negative persistent perceptions towards women about their leadership abilities, and their ability to be competitive against the challenges of management. Women are at a disadvantage with men to occupy hierarchical positions since they are paid less than men, at home, they are responsible for their children, In addition, women are confronted with issues of diversity that affect long-term employment.
Women are continuing to see management opportunities slip through their fingers because the company doesn’t feel like they’re capable of doing a worthy job. “For example, a fire chief may repeatedly pass over a female firefighter for promotion, due to resentment stemming from women applying to the force or due to a belief that men inherently perform better in these positions”. Stereotypical people are looking at women and judging on whether they’re capable of doing a task. It’s unfair to the women that actually are capable and those who want the chance to do something out of their comfort zone. How many men find it unbearable that a woman out-qualifies them in an even competition? Ever played a monopoly game and if the guy loses he says that he let the girl win? Men think that women can’t compete with them, but yet they just can’t accept the fact that women actually can. “Even the most ardent feminist must admit that women are indeed different from men, but this should not be seen as being inferior to men in the workplace (Lovedays)”. Yes, men are stronger and can do m ore things, but women can provide more than companies realize. Franchises are losing out on how having a woman as an employee, can truly help them in the future. “The studies really are stacking up and decision-makers within organizations are starting to notice the evidence that gender-balanced leadership
The gender gap in representation of top management positions is a controversial, historic, social, and economic topic. A gender gap is defined as a discrepancy in opportunities, status, and attitudes between men and women. In the present day, there are persistent questions on whether the gender gap exists in top management positions of corporate organizations. This research paper is arguing that a gender gap does exist within these top management positions. Firstly, women are continuously facing barriers that prevent them from reaching the top of corporate hierarchy. Secondly, there is a persistent disparity in wage compared to men and women in the upper echelons of corporations. Finally, a social attribute of discriminating women, excludes