“I was often the only woman or Asian sitting around a table of senior executives. I experienced plenty of meetings outside my organization with large groups of executives where people assumed that I couldn’t be the boss, even though I was.” (Harvard Business Review, 2013). Andrea Jung, who- at the time of the article- was the CEO of Avon, shared this quote to help understand women’s issues. Since then, women have closed the gap a little more, but we still haven’t gotten there fully. Women, according to Northouse, still only make up 4% of Fortune 500 CEO’s, or occupy 100 of the 535 congressional seats (Northouse, 2015).
This statistic is hard to be understood since women are graduating with their bachelor’s at a higher rate and graduating with professional degrees at a higher rate than men (Northouse, 2013). The gap may be explained, however, through the leadership labyrinth. This labyrinth states that there are three major parts to understanding this difference; Gender Differences, Prejudice, Human Capital. The gender differences include Style and Effectiveness, Commitment and Motivation, Self-Promotion, Negotiation and Traits. The Prejudice is Gender Stereotypes, Biased Perception and Evaluations, Vulnerability and Reactance, and Cross-Pressures. Human Capital is made up of Education, Work Experience, Developmental Opportunities, and Work-Home Conflict (Northouse, 2015).
This play a role in the differences in many ways. For example, the idea of Prejudice is explained as gender biases in stating that “women take care and men take charge.” These stereotypes directly affect other’s “perceptions and evaluations of female leaders, but can also directly affect women themselves.” (Northouse, 2015). This is to explain what was said early in the chapter of women leaking through the “pipes.” If they are hearing or being told that they can’t be leaders, they slip out of the running either by themselves on purpose or unknowingly due to defeated motivation.
Goysberg, O., & Connolly, K. (2013). Great Leaders Who Make the Mix Work. Retrieved August 03, 2016, from https://hbr.org/2013/09/great-leaders-who-make-the-mix-work
Northouse, P. G. (2015). Introduction to leadership. concepts and practice. Los Angeles: Sage.