To tell the truth, I never truly considered being in leadership. I never truly expected to be the manager of the team I was on. However, fate seemed to have a different agenda as I look back and reflect on my first full month as the second woman leader in my unit. The gender and leadership chapter in our Northouse textbook really hit home for me as I reflect on the road that got me into my new role and the expectations, I have faced in my road to leadership. Learning how to navigate the labyrinth of human capital, prejudice, and gender differences along with and organizational and personal barriers around women in leadership has become something I now deal with on a daily basis (Northouse, 2016, p. 400).
Northouse states, “the 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, p.399). When I began my career at Company X I found that I was working under the only woman leader in my entire unit. I realize now that her abilities to cut through the stigma of woman cannot lead, helped to forge my way into leadership. Mrs. Z was an incredible manager who, unlike some of past female managers, encouraged me to stand up for what I believed and to have a backbone when I wanted to voice my opinion. Her encouragement to pull me out of a shell I have been keeping myself in made me realize just because I am a female does not mean I do not belong at the table with the rest of the men. When our unit went under new executive leadership it became apparent that the structure of the unit was changing the team, I was part of was getting a new leader and would then be getting a direct manager. The question then became which team member would move into the manager role. Little did I know at the time but in a few short months I would become that manager.
During my interview process, many other managers were encouraging me to apply for the manager role of the department I was in. I was the most senior employee, and many believed that I was a strong leader without the role of management, so it made sense to move into the role. However, I learned quickly that not everyone thought the role of manager should go to a woman. More importantly, I learned that because I do not have kids this was frowned upon because if I wanted to start a family it would “put a limit on my leadership abilities”. In the human capital section of our textbook it states, “women do have somewhat less work experiences and employment continuity than men, driven largely by the disproportionate responsibility women assume for child rearing and domestic duties, “Northouse, 2016, p.400). While Northouse reflects that research might not support a view of the “mommy track”, I found that some of the males I worked every day side by side with believed this would be an issue, and I should be careful about picking between a career and a family (Northouse, 2016, p.401). Hearing coworkers say these types of comments really pushed me to move forward with wanting the role of leadership. In a way it pushed me to get past my fears of being a leader because the reasons they were saying I should not apply were not the reasons I was struggling with. I was personally struggling with going from a co-worker to a leader. Trying to determine if I was the best person to lead my team. Never once did I think I could not lead the team because I was a woman or because at some point, I may want a family. Our lesson states that gender prejudice is, “many people believe that good manager/leader is masculine” and work-home conflict is “women are often left to care for the children, or non-work responsibilities” (PSU WC, 2016, L13, P.4). These comments and conversations I went through demonstrated both gender prejudice and work-home conflict that I thought would be gone in the year 2020 (PSU WC, 2016, L13, P.4).
Additionally, during my first management team meeting we were discussing a broad range of topics when suddenly one of the managers looked at me and said, “why aren’t you taking notes”. Attempting to stand my ground I countered back that I was taking notes for myself on items I felt that I needed to, no one said I was to be taking notes for the group. I was again challenged to take notes “because I was good at it”. I realize that I did always take decent notes, but I knew that this was truly my first challenge in making the team see me as an equal and not just an assistant. It was the first time that I realized that there was some biases around what a women with a career should truly do. Even though I was an equal part of the middle management team, it became evident that there were stereotypes that were turned on when I entered the room all because of my gender (Northouse, 2016, p.404). I realized during my attempt to put a stake in the ground of not being the assistant that I needed to be tough but I couldn’t be too tough that I came across as aggressive because then they felt like I was attacking them. It became apparent that there was a line I had to learn about between being assertive to make a point, but not to the point were it seemed aggressive and “manly”.
After I was offered the job, I found out that I beat out two other individuals both were men. It gave a boost in confidence knowing that my manger and the directors of the unit all thought I was the best candidate for the job. However, after accepting the position I became aware of two important organizational barriers that I was going to have to navigate. The first barrier being “higher standards of performance”, I was expected to perform more work at a higher level than my new other manager coworkers just to prove I deserved to where I was (PSU WC, 2020, L13, P.4). The second barrier being preference for gender similarity, where I found that joining the middle management group of all males I had to quickly stake a claim that I was an equal and not just the secretary to our meetings (PSU WC, 2020, L13, P.4). During my first two weeks in management there was a second hire to the middle management group Mr. X. Mr. X was an outside candidate who the team accepted quickly and thought he was an excellent addition to the team, it became apparent to me that because I was a woman they did not think of me as an equal. I do believe that this was unconscious biases, many of the men I work with are in there late 50s to early 60s, they still believe in the woman belong home with the children. I learned through conversations that many of their wives do not work. I did however find an avenue to help build up a different relationship with some them, where we discussed their children who were very close to my age. Being able to compare myself to their daughters age and them being supportive of their daughters in leadership roles shined a light on some biases that I truly do not believe the realized they had.
The one thing that I now truly see as I look back at a whirl wind first month of management with having to be remote 4 out of my 5 weeks in management is mainly my approach to management. Northouse refers to women in leadership roles have a more democratic and participative leadership style and often are more effective utilizing a transformational leadership approach (Northouse, 2016, p. 402). I find that I have started to take a more democratic and participative leadership style than my other male coworkers. In an attempt to be more direct and more assertive, I came across as rude and failed to get the results I was intending to get. It became clear that utilizing a transformational leadership approach was much more receptive in the long run.
While the start of my leadership career has been rocky and challenging, I know now that it was the right decision. After reading this lesson it helps me to understand that the challenges, I am facing are not new, other women are facing them and have faced them. Many of the challenges are starting to break down by being resilient in my efforts to show I belong and that I am capable of being a woman and a leader. By research being done to show the barriers women in leadership face and help to recognize that these things do exist in society, we as a society, can help to being to transform leadership into something that is more equal and less stigmatized to being a male only role.
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016). PSYCH 485 Lesson 13: Leadership and Diversity, Barriers. Retrieved on April 16, 2020 from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules/items/28001833
gdq5001 says
Thank you for sharing,
Your post reminded me about how preconceived gender stereotypes can affect the actions some leaders take in the work field. In my experiences, I have witnessed male leaders treat women differently when a new task or situation occurs. Their verbal tones can be more stronger towards a woman, and questions will be asked that test their job experience. It is a clear sign of narcissism that is taken to extreme measures because of the social stigmas associated with males. Men can feel there is a constant need to act confident and be assertive in every situation. The act to behave in a certain matter can cloud an individual from being open and honest. Discrimination can also occur through cultural beliefs about females. Countries like Islam and Russia use violence as a way to oppress women. There are currently only six countries that have equal rights for men and women. Change cannot happen overnight, which is why women inequality needs support from every person. Gender egalitarianism is essential for every country to follow and maintain for the future. It can promote equal opportunity for both genders in an organization (Northouse, 2016). An environment without gender bias can create a group that can excel to new boundaries.
Congratulations on your success, it is great to see someone overcome a hurdle that so many individuals experience. Entering a high position is never an easy step, there will always be someone that can doubt your abilities. Inexperience can also make things difficult when we are entering a new role. One of the things that has helped me overcome gender stigmas is to show who I really am through my work ethic. While gender issues can still arise in a work place, I believe society is making strides to help close the gap between men and women.
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
qkm5011 says
Abbey,
Thanks for sharing your experience with leadership! As we can reflect on everything that we have learned through this course these topics of Culture/Diversity and Gender in Leadership are all parts of society today and have been round for as long as anybody can think about. People are breaking normalities from the past making women the “top performer” being the powerhouse. Women are working outside the home and striving to create careers for themselves but also some take on the responsibilities as mothers as well. However in your blog, you’re giving us an insight of your experience within your organization.
I felt that for that most part your experience has been overall positive, but you were going to have overcome some barrios but thats to be expected. You explain that your manager Mrs. Z was very encoring of you as well as other managers, when an opportunity had opened up to you. But even with support you are still facing some barriers that are not typically easy as a leader. I’m not going to repeat your expedition of the barriers you explained but I will mention that no matter who you are in this position you are stepping up and making a difference for women in the workforce. Gender inequality is a huge topic that day to day in the workforce women fight. In the Northouse chapter a strength of gender and leadership is understanding the research. Taking into conservations that there are many women taking on bigger roles in the workforce, trying to be noticed. “Furthermore, promising a richly diverse group of women into leadership roles will not only halo societal institutions, business (like yours) and government representatives , but I can also contribute to more ethical, productive and finally successful organizations that demonstrate higher levels of collective intelligence and are rife with conflict” (Northouse 2013).
Note taking is a good skill for women to use, many efficient and powerful leader take notes. Finally challenging yourself and overcoming this barriers is all part of the journey, overcoming those barriers is success. If it was hard… everyone would do it but not everyone can. Keep doing what you are doing.
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Tracy Wise says
Abbey – You touch on many aspects of women in leadership through your own experience as a new leader in your organization. It won’t surprise you to hear that you are not alone. I have experienced the same through the years. The one that I found to stick out the most is your experience with note taking. As note taker myself I had to stop myself from similar expectations.
One way we did this at my organization is sharing the note taking responsibilities. We do this in a variety of ways depending on the meeting structure and frequency. For our bi-weekly leadership team meeting each person enters their discussion points prior to the meeting and their notes following the meeting. I read an article in Forbes once where Richard Branson asserted that all meeting attendees should take notes (Quast, 2015). His stance on this is that support work can teach all of us, men and women, important elements of the business. This concept can tie somewhat to servant leadership by demonstrating no one person is too important for any part of the job (PSU WC, 2020, L. 11). This sharing of responsibilities is also supported by other prominent leaders and can be done in other ways. For instance, in our committees at work we do it slightly different. For those groups only one person takes the notes but it rotates from meeting to meeting. A format for note taking is provided and it is that person’s job to take and post the notes in a timely manner and then create and manage the follow up tasks until the next meeting. This sharing of responsibilities helps to equalize. In the beginning, the women were taking on the note taking role because we were ‘good at it’, but guess what happened — skills improved for all employees, no matter their gender, as time progressed.
Note taking alone is not a bad thing for women to do. After all, as leaders we need to roll up our sleeves and set the example that no task is too small or too big for anyone to take on. The problem occurs when we do these things because it is expected of us as women.
References:
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). Lesson 11: Servant Leadership. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules/items/28001809
Quast, L. (2015). Ending Gender Bias: Why Richard Branson Says Everyone Should Take Meeting Notes, Not Just Women. Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2015/08/31/ending-gender-bias-why-richard-branson-says-everyone-should-take-meeting-notes-not-just-women/#712134951b18