Females face challenges in leadership including the misconception that only males make effective leaders. There are stereotypes and misconceptions that, if left unchecked and unaddressed, prevent women from gaining leadership positions, or can affect the way followers perceive a woman as a leader.
Despite the widespread push for gender equality, and awareness of sexism, it is difficult for women to obtain and be respected in leadership positions. Studies show that women are still underrepresented in upper management positions especially in major corporations (Northouse, 2016, p. 388). Educated, qualified women are still finding it an uphill battle to break into management because of the misconception that males make better leaders. “As already discussed, women are obtaining undergraduate degrees at a far higher rate than men, and women are earning professional and doctoral degrees at a rate greater than or nearly equal to that of men, but women are still vastly underrepresented in top leadership positions,” (Northouse, 2016, p. 399). Even though women are obtaining degrees and demonstrating that they are just as qualified on paper for these leadership positions, they are being passed over for these prized jobs.
Even when they do manage to obtain a leadership position, it is difficult to obtain respect from followers because, again, of the misconception that males make more effective leaders, or because the women are viewed as not acting “feminine enough”. The Supreme Court Case Price Waterhouse v. Ann Hopkins where Hopkins was denied a partnership position because she acted in too masculine of a way (Northouse, 2016, p. 405). Women are placed in these proverbial boxes where they are expected to act in certain ways and are excluded from leadership positions.
Women face difficulties in the corporate world because of gender bias even in this day and age when awareness of the problem is prevalent. Women have done what they can to overcome the issue by seeking higher education and making sure their qualifications are equal or greater than those male counterparts. It’s important to be qualified for the position on paper, and for females to continue seeking out leadership positions as the misconceptions are slowly fading.
References:
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California:
Sage.
Lauren Wallace says
Another problem females face when trying to break the “glass ceiling” and become successful leaders is tokenism, ” the hiring of one or a few women and minorities, perpetuating group disadvantages.” (Gottfried, 2013, p.69) While affirmative action commonly helps women break into male-dominated fields and attain positions in leadership, tokenism is often an unintended consequence. “Once a few women are hired, then the urgency for affirmative action no longer applies [and] employers point to the token as evidence of their good intentions and action, implying that the statistical gender gap reflects the lack of qualified applicants rather than discriminatory practices or other barriers.” (Gottfried, 2013, p.69) As you pointed out women are now obtaining education at a rate equal or greater than that of men, so they are clearly qualified for leadership positions,which means that vertical gender segregation within the workplace is a result of discrimination and not a lack of qualifications.
References
Gottfried, H. (2013). Gender, work, and economy: Unpacking the global economy. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
dnl5100 says
Great post highlighting the challenges females face in leadership. More and more women are deciding to leave the house and get a job. Stay at home mothers are looking for a change and independence so they decide that a job will help them in more than one way. They will have a sense of independence, they will increase the income for their family, and they have the chance to become a leader. Even though females are getting more opportunities to lead, they are still not getting the top leadership positions in most cases. gender gap in leadership is a global phenomenon whereby women are disproportionately concentrated in lower-level and lower-authority leadership positions compared to men (Northouse, 2016). Some reasons why females are not in leadership positions are due to their human capita differences, gender differences between the sexes, and discrimination.
Women have less education than men because most women choose to be a stay at home mom or just an unemployed wife. However, a closer look at the numbers reveals the women are indeed in the pipeline but that the pipeline is leaking (Northouse, 2016). They have no desire to further their education because they do not plan on having to utilize it. Women lack training, which gives the men the edge over having the learned the skills needed in order to prosper. Women have less work experience because they have sat home so long that previous work experience can become irrelevant.
Gender differences play a major role in the workplace (Cassidy, nd). Women in the workplace have increased, but there are still predominantly more men in leadership roles than women. One robust gender difference found across settings is that women led in a more democratic, or participative manner than men (Northouse, 2016). I agree with this statement because I prefer to have others input and be open to other ideas. It is okay to have other’s input, but at the end of the day I still hold the power to make the final decision. In my current profession, I am starting to see more women in high-level leadership roles. It is very inspiring to see that and it gives me hope that as a woman I too can hold a high-level position.
Lastly discrimination against women is still going on even though it is not out in the public eye. No organization will openly admit to discriminating against a woman. Federal law protects women and other minorities from discrimination in the work place (Gluck, nd). If an organization chooses the man over the woman for the job because of his gender, then that organization has discriminated against that woman. It would be hard for the woman to prove that she was discriminated against unless there were witnesses or she heard the discussion of why she was not selected as the leader for that job.
Women are out of their homes and into the business world so it is time for them to have a place at the leadership table. They are competent, resilient, poised, and educate enough to be appointed as a leader within organizations. The reasons holding women from being in leadership positions should no longer be relevant because women have proven many times why they deserve a seat at the head table. Although the number of women in leadership positions has increased, there is still a long way to go for women to get the respect that they deserve. Women are powerful and as a leader they can bring a lot to the head of the table.
References:
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Men and Women: No Big Difference. (2005). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/research/action/difference.aspx.
Gluck, S. (n.d.). The Effects of Gender Discrimination in the Workplace. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-gender-discrimination-workplace-2860.html.
Quanash Arroyo says
I found your blog about the challenges female leaders face very interesting, not only because of today’s current political environment (as Mr. Holzer pointed out); but because you see the struggle from the corporate perspective. My point of view, as a U.S. Army Career Counselor, is slightly different and in some cases, more severe where females in leadership positions are concerned.
Now, I am not implying that female leaders in the Army are a new thing, they have been holding and succeeding in leadership positions for decades; however I currently completed the process for one of the first female Non-Commissioned Officers to transition into the Infantry Career field. Some may not understand the brevity of that transition so I’ll elaborate a bit. Last year, the United States Army declared that it would open Combat Jobs to females. These jobs include Infantry, Cavalry, Armor, Engineer and Special Forces that were all previously closed to women. There has been a push of late for female Sergeants to apply for this transition to Infantryman and other combat specialties. The intent is for the new female Soldiers coming through training in these combat jobs to have someone they can look up to and seek out as a mentor in addition to the male counterparts. These changes are still very controversial among Soldiers and civilians alike, raising questions about their ability to perform in combat specialties in times of war. Physical ability as well as emotional fitness is often brought up by skeptics of the new policy.
In the many conversations I have had with the young lady, I tried to gage her desire to want to pursue this career change, and prepare her for what I thought would be some of the challenges she would have to face. I explained that despite the fact that women have been in combat for the past 15 years, some Americans may not be ready to see their daughters, mothers, wives, etc. as Infantrymen and she will have friction at every turn. I feel it is my job to prepare her, and any other female Soldiers that choose this path, for the rigors that lay ahead, just as I would any male Soldier that would transition from a non-combat specialty to an Infantryman, especially going in as a Sergeant in a leadership position. I wish any woman, Soldier or civilian, the best as they persevere to create the new norm that is female leadership in our society.
Robert J Holzer says
Hello Catherine,
I enjoyed reading your blog about the challenges that women leaders face as opposed to men. I know that we haven’t made it to the gender and leadership chapter of Northouse yet, but your blog has been written at an appropriate time in my opinion, given the Presidential Election with a woman running. I am afraid of either candidate being elected as President of the United States of America. I am afraid of Donald Trump being elected for obvious reasons that even a Donald Trump supporter can see. But I am afraid of Hillary Clinton being elected because of what you wrote about in your blog, the challenges that she will face as a leader because of the common misconceptions that only males make effective leaders.
I know in America we have made great strides with promoting women into leadership positions, but I am afraid of how other countries will perceive a women leader. I do not think that the majority of nations in the world think as highly of women as we do here in the United States. The glass ceiling that is talked about in Northouse (2016) is most likely going to be broken by Hillary Clinton in November, which will send a message to America and the rest of the world that a woman can be chosen to lead the United States of America. Back to my fear of how a women leader might be perceived cross-culturally. I think that there are countries out there such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and some other Middle Eastern countries that would see America having a woman leader as a sign of weakness. The only reason that I say this is because there are many countries that do not have respect for women and treat them as if they are less human.
It is important to recognize that gender biases do exist for both men and women. I think that the more people are educated that these gender biases exist, the easier it will be for women to become leaders and for men to accept women as leaders. Not everyone will be educated on these biases, so it is important to see bogs like yours that raise our awareness. According to Northouse (2016) p.404 “woman are no less effective at leading than men, and women are no less committed to their jobs or motivated for leadership roles than men”. This tells me that women who want to lead should lead and men should not stand in their way. Also, men who do not want to lead should step aside and let someone else take over, whether male or female.
Thanks,
Bob
Reference:
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.