It is no surprise that men hold managerial positions way more often than women and it has been a systemic problem for decades. Men who are decisive, straight forward, and demanding are seen as strong while women with the same qualities are seen as emotional and unqualified. If women are unqualified, it is most likely due to the systemic oppression starting at the very beginning of their careers through gender bias, corporate culture, and lack of opportunities/resources (PSU WC, 2019). The lesson plan states that people are not open to diversity therefore they hire people who are just like them, aka white men hiring white men. This is bad for business as diversity contributes to creativity.
When I think of a male leader in today’s society, I can think of a million but when thinking of a female leader, I struggle to count them on my hands. One female leader that sticks out to me is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). When I searched her name merely for spelling purposes, two things immediately popped out at me. First, I simply searched her name with no other keywords and the forth most popular search after her name is husband/boyfriend, I mean why does that even matter, let alone that popular of a search?
Secondly, one of the first articles that comes up is headlined “How dumb, arrogant Ocasio-Cortez became the boss of the democratic party.” Hmmm, dumb? She graduated cum laude from Boston University with a degree in international relations and economics, served as an educational director, then became the youngest women ever to serve in Congress. And arrogant? She is a women of color and worked as a bartender growing up in the Bronx so all of the racial issues she talks about are validated and she is the exact type of person that should be representing the Bronx, not a white man. The hate she gets is unsurprising as Congress has long been a men’s game (about 80% male, 20% female) and female leaders are seen more negatively in male-dominated leadership roles (PSU WC, 2019).
Even though AOC frequently brings objective, evidence based claims to the table, she is often referred to as overly emotional and not suitable to be a member of Congress but if she was a male, she would be considered passionate and dedicated. Fox News actually hates her so much they’ve mentioned her over 3,000 times in the past 6 weeks – thats 71 times a day! Ironically, this has allowed her to be the fastest moving politician ever and in turn, she is making a small crack in the glass ceiling.
References:
Leadership and Diversity. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2019, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1975088/modules/items/25786919
rxb5512 says
Hi Amanda, you make some excellent points in your post regarding gender equality in leadership. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a great example of the public’s reaction to someone who doesn’t conform to the gender stereotypes that have created the social norms associated with female leaders. It’s a horrible burden for women, they must not only be great at their jobs but they must also be conscious of the gender stereotypes (Psych 485, L.13). If women cross too far into a dominant (masculine) style of leadership they are seen as hard and difficult and if they are too nice (feminine) they are seen as too soft and viewed as less effective (Northouse, 2016). The more women in leadership roles the more commonplace it will become and gradually what is perceived as gender-specific behaviors for a leader will become androgynous (Northouse, 2016). After all, research (Eagly, Karau & Makhijani, 1995) has been done to compare the level of leadership effectiveness between men and women and there was no difference (Psych 485, L.13).
Reference-
Eagly, A, Karau, S., & Makhijani, M. (1995). Gender and the effectiveness of leaders: A meta-analysis. Psychological
Bulletin, 111, 3-22.
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2019). PSYCH 485: Leadership in Work Settings. Lesson 13: Leadership and Diversity.Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/su19/2195min-5376/content/13_lesson/printlesson.html
Carri Rae Davis says
Hello Amanda,
Thank you for your post, I enjoyed reading it, and I was very interested in AOC, so I looked her up.
Although, she seems to be a bit radical in comparison to the standards that are seen today, putting political issues aside and addressing this purely as a gender issue.
It does seem as though there is a lack of confidence in her abilities to move forward, with her proposed plan, and it does not seem as though she is getting very much encouragement from others. According to Northouse (2016), encouragement is less likely to be seen in women compared to men, and often women are placed in positions that are of higher risk, and they tend to experience more criticism (p. 401). I was surprised to see how much criticism she was getting on the internet.
I was also surprised by two comments that she made that referred explicitly to sexist statements about herself.
Without knowing more of the facts, I cannot further comment on that topic directly. However, it does look as though there could possibly be prejudice involved that could be based on gender stereotyping (Northouse, 2016, p.404).
According to Northouse (2016), stigma biases are innate and create prejudice upon a woman, producing less favorable attitudes towards women in higher leadership roles (p. 405). I might propose the question, that if these views are pervasive and cause prejudice as assumed from the male perspective (p.405). Can these views be innate and pervasive to create prejudice as assumed from a female perspective on oneself?
Perhaps she has experienced throughout her life sexist implications related to gender in a leadership role that the ideas about being judged in such a way are based on gender stereotyping?
I am even more perplexed now.
I do not disagree that a woman of color, would bring gender and ethnic diversity to help against discrimination.
I would be interested in further investigating her facts, and apply the concepts of the authentic leadership to her situation. She does seem to have a purpose that she feels passionate about, which is the fifth characteristic of George’s authentic leadership approach (Northouse, 2016, p. 197).
Great post!
Carri
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, Inc.
nkm5181 says
Hi Amanda,
While my personal opinions about AOC differ dramatically to yours, I don’t see her as being a glass ceiling breaker per se. I do agree that men and women alike seem to always mark women in leadership positions as emotional, unstable, to outspoken, etc. One person that I see that I would consider as breaking the glass would be Kamala Harris. She is also a woman of color, accomplished, outspoken, yet well spoken. I think that’s something that AOC lacks. You referenced a google search that immediately brung up a boyfriend when you typed her name. I was extremely disappointed in my party’s smear campaign against Kamalah that said she had “Screwed her way to the top.” All over the news, they put her dating life of blast, suggesting her many years of experience and education was irrelevant because of Willie Brown. The same thing happened to Elizabeth Warren. She posted a video of her husband getting her a beer and immediately sexist comments were made. When in reality had any of these candidates been men these would not be issues.Check out this articlehttps://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/426314-will-a-democratic-woman-break-the-glass-ceiling-in-2020. It’s all about women breaking the glass ceiling in the new election. Great post!