It is common knowledge that men and women act differently, and as a result are treated and perceived differently by society. One place in which this imbalance is most evident is in leadership. To demonstrate this, consider these statistics: Less than five percent of S&P 500 CEOs are female. Women in organizational leadership positions earn up to eight percent less than their male counterparts. And lastly, while more college degrees are going to women than men, most leaders in higher education organizations are men (Ho & Hallman, 2016). With countless examples of strong, effective female leaders throughout history, such as Joan of Arc, Angela Merkel, and Malala Yousafzai, one might wonder why women are so profoundly underrepresented in leadership roles (Northouse, 2016). According to a 2016 study by the American Association of University Women, this imbalance of power in American leadership stems from a long history of sex discrimination (Ho & Hallman, 2016).
In order to fully understand America’s dearth of female leaders, one must examine the differences between men and women and their varying journeys to leadership. Are women denied opportunities to become leaders or do they simply choose subordinate roles? Ho and Hallman of the AAUW (2016, pg. 15) make an important point by saying “personal choices are never made in a vacuum.” The choices made by both men and women, as well as the opportunities presented to them, are shaped by organizational, cultural, economic, and policy barriers (Ho & Hallman, 2016). The Pipeline Theory and the Glass Ceiling Theory were developed by examining these barriers and the results they have had on the development of female leadership (Williams, 2018). Research has shown that women are not just denied leadership roles at the end of a successful career, but that their progress is stymied by the systematic disappearance of crucial opportunities along their entire career path (Ho & Hallman, 2016).
Many psychological researchers have credited the scarcity of female leaders to a lack of qualifications. Ragins, Townsend, and Mattis (1998) blamed the gender leadership gap on a lack of managerial experience. Heilman (1997), Morrison (1992), and Morris (1998) all pointed toward differing traits and behaviors between men and women as the reason for women being “unqualified” for leadership positions (as cited in Williams, 2018). As far as qualifications go, this is simply not true. In recent years, most university degrees are earned by women and all signs point to this trend continuing for the foreseeable future (US Department of Education, as cited in Ho & Hallman, 2016). With more women becoming educated than ever before, many historically male job positions are being filled with ambitious females. This goes to show that women possess the education and experience necessary to take on leadership roles in the workplace.
The root cause of the gender gap in leadership stems from centuries of bias and discrimination against women. Discrimination falls under the umbrella of organizational and interpersonal barriers (Williams, 2018). Some discrimination is blatantly illegal, including paying someone a lower salary based solely on their gender. Between 2010 and 2015, United States courts have seen approximately 30,000 cases of sex discrimination in the workplace (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as cited in Ho & Hallman, 2016). In one such case, King v. Acosta, an employer admitted to paying a female employee half as much as a male employee with a comparable sales record, even though salaries were almost entirely commission-based (US Court of Appeals, 2012).
Another form of discrimination that can affect a woman’s career path is providing an inhospitable corporate culture. Elements of a hostile work environment can range from subtle values and norms that discourage the notion of women being in top positions, such as women being overlooked for promotions because they’ve had children, to incredibly harmful depressions of female autonomy, such as sexual harassment (Williams, 2018; Ho & Hallman, 2016). One fifth of American adults have been the victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, and while sexual harassment is not strictly a female problem, it is notable to point out that almost three quarters of these victims are women. This statistic does not waiver, regardless of geographic location, income, or political affiliation, and is objectively disturbing to all women in the workforce (Lee, 2017). Sexual harassment has been proven to make many women feel worthless, weak, and less confident, resulting in a deficit of important traits and behaviors that are crucial to a leader’s success. On the other hand, sexual harassment can be used by those in powerful positions as leverage to get women to do as they want. A prominent and recent example of this can be found in Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein, a prominent American film producer, was accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment by dozens of women. It is alleged that this powerful man used his authority to pressure young actresses into performing sexual acts. Many of these women gave into his coercion for fear that any objection would hinder the success of their careers. It is important to note that this is not an isolated event that is unique to just one instance, but rather is seen and felt throughout all levels of an organization, in all industries, and in all corners of the world.
In conclusion, there are countless more areas that one could focus on when discussing the gender gap in leadership, but they can almost all be bundled under the overarching topic of sex discrimination. Women are overwhelmingly underrepresented in leadership positions in the corporate, social, academic, and political realms. Contrary to the published beliefs of some psychological researchers, this is not due to a lack of qualifications found in women, but rather the organizational, cultural, economic, and policy barriers presented to women throughout their careers. These barriers shape the opportunities available to women, and the resulting pseudo-choices made by them (Williams, 2018; Ho & Hallman, 2016).
References
Heilman, M. (1997). Sex discrimination and the affirmative action remedy: The role of sex stereotypes. Journal of Business ethics, 16, 877-889.
Ho, P. F., & Hallman, L. D. (2016). Barriers and Bias: The Status of Women in Leadership. Washington, DC: American Association of University Women.
King v. Acosta, Scholar. google.com 471 (US Court of Appeals March 13, 2012).
Lee, H. (2017, December 19). One-fifth of American adults have experienced sexual harassment at work, CNBC survey says. Retrieved June 14, 2018, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/19/one-fifth-of-american-adults-have-been-sexually-harassed-at-work.html
Morris, B. (1998, October 12). The trailblazers: Women of Harvard’s MBA Class of ;73. Fortune. 106-125.
Morrison, A. (1992). The new leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Gender and Leadership. Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. pp. 397-426.
Ragins, B., Townsend, B., & Mattis, M. (1998). Gender gap in the executive suite: CEOs and female executives report on breaking the glass ceiling. Academy of Management Executive, 12(1), 28-42.
Williams, J. (2018). Leadership and Diversity. Retrieved June 14, 2018, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1940315/modules/items/24597602
Abigail Brock says
Mirand,
I appreciated reading your blog about the Pseudo-Choices of a Women’s Career this week. You identify that the imbalance of men and women in our society is highly visible in terms of leadership. You discuss that women are, “overwhelmingly underrepresented in leadership positions in the corporate, social, academic, and political realms” (M. Weitzel, personal communication, June 14, 2018). You bring up valid points for each of the topics that you discuss. However, there was a point in your blog post that I was hoping for some further discussion on. The section where you address that, “The root cause of the gender gap in leadership stems from centuries of bias and discrimination against women.” (M. Weitzel, personal communication, June 14, 2018) I do not discredit that women have faced bias and discrimination but to make an inference and generalization that the cause of women’s leadership gender gap is from these factors is difficult for me to agree with. I was not able to identify the evidence that supports this claim that you made in this portion of your blog post. Making a statement such as this is one that requires further information to support this claim.
-Abigail