I had an internship this summer with a federal government agency where I was surprised that the head of the division was a woman. I have had summer internships at different federal government agencies since I have started attending college and I have never seen a female that is head of an entire division. Unfortunately, this is an issue within managerial positions in the federal government. Northouse (2013) discusses three explanations that can illustrate why this issue exists. First, women have not been in managerial positions long enough for them to naturally progress to the tops of organizations (Penn State University World Campus, 2017). Northouse (2013) calls this the “pipeline theory”. The pipeline theory illustrates that some women climb the corporate ladder over time and eventually gain a top managerial position. Second, Ragins, Townsend, and Mattis (1998) found that women lack general management experience. Unfortunately, due to the lack of resources given to women, they are deemed to have insufficient experience in line positions. This possibility holds the most credence of the three explanations as women, unlike their male counterparts, also lack strong mentor relationships that help provide deeper insight into their leadership experiences and to provide for growth opportunities (Ragins, Townsend, and Mattis, 1998). Third, women are less suited to executive demands, are not qualified for these positions, and lack self-confidence (Heilman, 1997; Morrison, 1992; Morris, 1998). Although there is little research on this topic, women are not supposed to be masculine but still have feminine traits (Penn State University World Campus, 2017). These three explanations give me some insight to why women have obstacles in reaching top managerial positions. I strongly hope that women have access to the necessary resources and mentorship to assist them in gaining more positions at the top and assist other women who may be working their way up the corporate ladder.
References
Heilman, M. (1997). Sex discrimination and the affirmative action remedy: The role of sex
stereotypes. Journal of Business ethics, 16, 877-889.
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Penn State University World Campus.(n.d.).Leadership and Diversity. Retrieved August 13, 2017 from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1848444/modules/items/22449260.
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.
ams7704 says
As a woman in a male dominated career field, it is stressful to not receive the same type of respect as a male would in the same situation. And unfortunately, there are still several occupational norms that still linger a gender specific mentality. This can coincide with gender specific roles in occupation; women in masculine dominant positions typically could have a higher sense of regret to balance work and life than life than a male. Females are expected to portray the same career qualities as their male associates by demonstrating a common physical and emotional status (Reiter & Morgan, 2007). As the only female in a residential home construction warranty department, there are several obstacles that seem to form when balancing work and life when dealing with customers or vendors. I am overlooked and sometimes dismissed but I am also stubborn and strive to make my stance in this masculine workforce. However, my physical and mental state will never compare to my fellow male coworkers. Fortunately, I have a very supportive cooperation behind me that has implemented an absolutist measure for my success.
Works Cited
Reiter, N., & Morgan, R. (2007). Work Life Balance: What DO You Mean? The Ethical Ideology Underpinning Appropriate Application. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 43 (2), 273-294.
juw97 says
Hi Jasmine,
As a foreigner, I find the issue of the lack of female representation in leadership roles in the United States quite distressing. More importantly, it is the lack of successful roles models who would guide the rest of us towards our own leadership development that is particularly unfortunate. In my previous experience working back in Europe (London as one example) I do not remember experiencing such an absence of strong female role models in the workplace; two of my superiors were women and many other department heads were also women. Later on, after my departure from this particular company, the board appointed a female as the company’s CEO. Based on that experience alone, I still draw most of my knowledge as well as inspiration from those women. While I do not like to focus on gender as the sole antecedent to my personal mentorship, I also recognize the untold barriers that would prevent young women from approaching their male managers in an attempt to seek their work-related advice.
As Stephanie Coontz (2013) suggests in a particularly interesting talk on female work involvement in the US, it appears that many current struggles in the American labor force are due to a particularly important yet fleeting moment in history – the bountiful 1950’s and 1960’s. That is when many women, albeit primarily from the newly minted middle class, were able to stay at home as full-time homemakers largely due to the increased governmental assistance to returning soldiers via GI Bill and other similar services. Unlike during the rest of the human history, the Americans were prosperous enough to be able to buy homes with one income. That historic moment all but passed and most families nowadays need two incomes to survive, yet most of our work and family policies are still largely based on the outdated perception of a traditional family with a single male bread-winner. Meanwhile, the consequences of women not participating in the labor force are still felt profoundly in the twenty-first century as, just as you suggest, we are severely lacking female managers across most occupations.
That is not to say that all other countries are faring much better that the US. Certain jobs are still very much out of reach for women regardless of their residence. In a recent Telegraph article, the United Kingdom Royal Air Force (RAF) commanders appear to be finally opening their combat ranks to women solider (Rudgard, 2017). Similar to the US, until now most combat related positions in the British military were out of reach for women. Which, in my opinion, is unacceptable simply due to the fact of how many British women were indeed actively involved during the World War II. Same can be said for the enormous history of female involvement in the labor force here in the United States that somehow got erased over the last part of the twentieth century. It is thus not surprising that the appearance of women in leading ranks is a rather unanticipated event. Not only the stereotypes of women being not trustworthy due to their abandonment of their own family in order to participate in the labor force but also our perception of what a leader should look and act like are still posing great barriers for women in their path to leadership. In turn, as you suggest, many women simply lack confidence to step over the existing stereotypes. Yet when they do, it seems that female participation in the workforce offers new and exciting perspectives on leadership – the RAF is noting that it is enhanced emotional intelligence that many women naturally develop that might in fact be crucial in combat operations. If it is good enough to lead people to the enemy lines it must be good enough to lead the us in the civilian world.
References:
Coontz, S. (2013). Families and Work Institute’s Ideas Video Series. . Retrieved September 1, 2017 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6o99jHLMII
Rudgrard, O. (Sep, 2017). RAF needs women because they have more “emotional intelligence,” air chief says. The Telegraph. Retrieved September 1, 2017 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/01/raf-needs-women-have-emotional-intelligence-air-chief-says/