As speaking of leadership, it seems like man are preferred than woman because in common sense man is more strongly connected to the concepts of power and influence. This can be proved by numbers: the percentage of female CEOs in the Fortune 1000 companies is less than 2%; which means, those 2% must have their unique advantages that brought them to such high positions. In 2012, Marissa Mayer, who previously served at Google for 13 years and now turning 37, became one part of those 2%: the CEO of Yahoo. Yahoo had its glory moments for quite a while; however, due to the miss of opportunities on searching engine market as well as social networking aspect, Yahoo is facing downturn. The stock price is continuously dropping while employees are in lack of faith in the company. Mayer’s appearance was cheering to Yahoo’s people, but still, disputes are strong.
Mayer is a total workaholic; she used to work 15 hours straight with 20 different projects to take control of in hand. Her enthusiasm and passion for working is unbelievable. One of the reasons that people raised doubts is that Mayer was pregnant for 7 months at the time she took the position; people were worried that she was not able to take care of both well. However, Mayer proved to people that they were wrong by her action. Although Mayer was pregnant, she made a promise that even when she’s in hospital she would still be available by emails. Mayer also claimed that she prepared to skip maternal leave and did come back on track immediately after the baby was born. Mayer’s action not only eliminated people’s worrying on her working passion and ability, but also showed her successful work-family balance. Work-home conflict is seen as one of the personal barriers of preventing woman from achieving high leadership success (PSU WC, L13., p. 5); however, Mayer certainly was not troubled by this. Another advantage of Mayer was that she did a good job on utilizing woman’s “soft side”, to motivate and cheer the employees. One of the first policies she announced was to provide free lunch to all employees in Silicon as well as refurbishing the offices. This action cheered and motivated most of the employees since the new CEO expressed her care to employees by action. Instead of announcing specific working requirement policies immediately, Mayer is “soft” enough to realize the importance of skilled labors; she clearly understands one of the best ways to keep those labors and maximize the potential is considering their feelings and be thoughtful.
Negative comments arise strongly when Mayer announced the policy that all employees must work in the office instead of virtual offices. This decision had attracted massive dissatisfaction that people think this policy will only decrease work efficiency and push the skilled labors away; Mayer’s supporting point so has dropped from 97% to 80%. According to Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy (2012), woman leaders are expected to be tough, but not macho; in this situation, Mayer seemed to be too autocratic. However, it’s hard to judge if Mayer was right or wrong, because the stock price won’t lie: in 6 months after Mayer’s take over, Yahoo’s stock price went up for 27.6%, to $19.90, since it peaked in 2008.
Reference:
Penn State World Campus (2013). PSYCH 485 Lesson 13: Leadership and Diversity. Retrieved on June 29, 2013, from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su13/psych485/001/content/13_lesson/05_page.html
Zhen, Jun. “Mayer’s 2012: From Google’s Sweetheart to Yahoo’s Iron Lady.” China Webmaster. Web. 29 June 2013.
ALISON KATHLEEN SMITH says
Yun,
I really enjoyed reading your article on Marissa Mayer. I personally think of Marissa Mayer as an inspirational leader not only because she is one of the two percent of women as CEO’s, but because she also got her start in the computer industry which can be rare for women as well. You are right, she does face a lot of criticism and still has to face the front of sexist comments from people such as the one made by George Polis, a shareholder of Yahoo, who stated, “I have 2,000 shares of Yahoo. I’m Greek, and I’m a dirty old man, and you look attractive, Marissa” (DeNinno, 2013). Although this meeting was supposed to be strictly about Yahoo and the recent dividends it gave out, he proceeded to comment on the fact that she looked “pretty”. However, she has been able to be in charge of a large corporation and has had the ability to change it.
While reading about women and leadership in the Northouse chapter, I came across a table that I found quite interesting. It conveyed a leadership gap. This gap essentially states that with educational and work attainment women are nearly at the same percentages as men, if not higher (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). In managerial/professional positions, 50.8% are female and 49.2% are male (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). In the U.S Labor force, 46.7% are female and 53.3% are male (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). And lastly, there are 57.5% females earning a bachelor’s degree and only 42.5% of males earning one (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). To me this states that women clearly have the capacity to achieve amazing things. However, when it reaches the leadership positions, they not only fall short, they are barely existent. There are only 3% of female CEO’s in Fortune 500 companies compared to a whopping 97% for males (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). There are also only 15.2% of females holding board seats in Fortune 500 companies compared to 84.9% of males (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). Lastly, there are only 16.8% of females members of Congress compared to the 83.2% of males (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). Here is what the Wall Street Journal reporters were talking about: the glass ceiling – women can get in the educational and work force, but they seem to hit this glass ceiling as they are riding up an imaginary elevator to the top (Hymowitz & Schellhardt, 1986).
Though you are right and she has faced some criticism for telling people to come to work and stop telecommuting, would the criticism be the same if the CEO of Yahoo was male? Would he be under as much attack? It is question that may take some time to figure it out.
References:
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
DeNinno, N. (2013, June 26). Marissa Mayer Is Target Of Sexist Rant At Yahoo! Shareholder Meeting From ‘Dirty Old Man,’ George Polis. International Business Times, pp. 1A
ALISON KATHLEEN SMITH says
Yun,
I really enjoyed reading your article on Marissa Mayer. I personally think of Marissa Mayer as an inspirational leader not only because she is one of the two percent of women as CEO’s, but because she also got her start in the computer industry which can be rare for women as well. You are right, she does face a lot of criticism and still has to face the front of sexist comments from people such as the one made by George Polis, a shareholder of Yahoo, who stated, “I have 2,000 shares of Yahoo. I’m Greek, and I’m a dirty old man, and you look attractive, Marissa” (DeNinno, 2013). Although this meeting was supposed to be strictly about Yahoo and the recent dividends it gave out, he proceeded to comment on the fact that she looked “pretty”. However, she has been able to be in charge of a large corporation and has had the ability to change it.
While reading about women and leadership in the Northouse chapter, I came across a table that I found quite interesting. It conveyed a leadership gap. This gap essentially states that with educational and work attainment women are nearly at the same percentages as men, if not higher (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). In managerial/professional positions, 50.8% are female and 49.2% are male (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). In the U.S Labor force, 46.7% are female and 53.3% are male (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). And lastly, there are 57.5% females earning a bachelor’s degree and only 42.5% of males earning one (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). To me this states that women clearly have the capacity to achieve amazing things. However, when it reaches the leadership positions, they not only fall short, they are barely existent. There are only 3% of female CEO’s in Fortune 500 companies compared to a whopping 97% for males (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). There are also only 15.2% of females holding board seats in Fortune 500 companies compared to 84.9% of males (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). Lastly, there are only 16.8% of females members of Congress compared to the 83.2% of males (Northouse, 2013, p. 353). Here is what the Wall Street Journal reporters were talking about: the glass ceiling – women can get in the educational and work force, but they seem to hit this glass ceiling as they are riding up an imaginary elevator to the top (Hymowitz & Schellhardt, 1986).
Though you are right and she has faced some criticism for telling people to come to work and stop telecommuting, would the criticism be the same if the CEO of Yahoo was male? Would he be under as much attack? It is question that may take some time to figure it out.
References:
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
DeNinno, N. (2013, June 26). Marissa Mayer Is Target Of Sexist Rant At Yahoo! Shareholder Meeting From ‘Dirty Old Man,’ George Polis. International Business Times, pp. 1A
RACHEL TAYLOR says
Hi Yun,
The title of your post was quick to catch my eye, The Iron Lady—as for me I am very much reminded of a great force that once was, Margaret Thatcher.
You brought up an incredibly valid point, as you highlighted the preference that is often times demonstrated towards men when it comes to selecting a candidate to fill a workplace role. For years women have proven their ability not only to obtain leadership roles on a corporate level, but they have proven their ability to maintain those positions. Marissa Mayer for instance, is an example of one such woman. Just as you stated, she worked 15-hour days and she did so with enthusiasm and passion. Anyone can put in long hours, but it takes a leader to motivate and inspire a team when the going gets tough and challenges emerge.
I would argue that the role of tradition has a tendency to influence the idea that men are more capable than women when it comes to roles of leadership, be it in the corporate world or the political realm. Following in suit with this role of tradition, is the anticipated expectation that once women have a child, they will choose to remain at home caring for the family. Such an assumption should never provide as a basis when deciding between candidates. If women were to be given more opportunities, then they would not have to take such strides when trying to prove themselves capable. I would argue that women go to such lengths to prove themselves because a sense of fear is ignited in them, fear that if they chose to take too much time for maternity leave, particularly in an office that is dominated by men, that when they return a shift could result, ultimately affecting the woman’s job. Many well established corporations like to invest in their employees, therefore when an employee is hired, the company wants reassurance that that individual will still be there in five years time. With regard to women, perhaps companies see the possibility of a child and family life as a deterring factor in hiring the female candidate, thus always choosing the male candidate. Women have an incredible amount to offer in the workplace—and with different leadership styles, and the ability to be attune to different workplace situations in comparison to men, women have much to offer to future leadership roles. For it is just as Northouse pointed out, “women’s styles tend to be more transformational” (Northouse, 2013), thus indicating their ability to grow and develop teams, a trait true of a leader.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (Sixth ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.
Shao, Y. (2013). Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer: The Iron Lady. Retrieved on July 1, 2013 from PSU PSYCH 485 Leadership Blog.
VICTORIA CARR says
Throughout this post, you brought up a lot of great points. I felt that when you discussed Marissa Mayer’s work ethic and dedication, it really related to the leadership and diversity lesson. Adding the point about Mayer offering to skip maternity leave put a strong emphasis on the great level of expectation from women. As we discussed in the lesson, women are often working harder and receiving less recognition for it (PSU WC Lesson 13). As you mentioned, working 15 hour days, and being responsible for multiple projects is a lot. I feel that Mayer is a good example of a hard working woman, but as you pointed out, she is doubted for multiple reasons.
Also, you mentioned how Yahoo is on a downward spiral however, Mayer is keeping cheerful and has utilized her “soft-side” to motivate employees. Maybe that is something to think about. In this lesson, we learned that a female leader with feminine styles are viewed as less effective as males. Just a thought, but maybe people are falling into that doubt because she is showing what is normally viewed as feminine characteristics.
Overall, I enjoyed your post. I thought you shared great ideas and connected Mayer to gender discrimination well.
References:
Penn State World Campus (2013). PSYCH 485 Lesson 13: Leadership and Diversity. Retrieved on June 29, 2013, from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su13/psych485/001/content/
VICTORIA CARR says
Throughout this post, you brought up a lot of great points. I felt that when you discussed Marissa Mayer’s work ethic and dedication, it really related to the leadership and diversity lesson. Adding the point about Mayer offering to skip maternity leave put a strong emphasis on the great level of expectation from women. As we discussed in the lesson, women are often working harder and receiving less recognition for it (PSU WC Lesson 13). As you mentioned, working 15 hour days, and being responsible for multiple projects is a lot. I feel that Mayer is a good example of a hard working woman, but as you pointed out, she is doubted for multiple reasons.
Also, you mentioned how Yahoo is on a downward spiral however, Mayer is keeping cheerful and has utilized her “soft-side” to motivate employees. Maybe that is something to think about. In this lesson, we learned that a female leader with feminine styles are viewed as less effective as males. Just a thought, but maybe people are falling into that doubt because she is showing what is normally viewed as feminine characteristics.
Overall, I enjoyed your post. I thought you shared great ideas and connected Mayer to gender discrimination well.
References:
Penn State World Campus (2013). PSYCH 485 Lesson 13: Leadership and Diversity. Retrieved on June 29, 2013, from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su13/psych485/001/content/