Leadership And Diversity in 2020
Diversity is all the ways people are unlike and alike, the differences and similarities, in age, gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, capabilities and socioeconomic background (Kinicki & Williams, 2015). This definition includes all areas of our lives and how we are alike or not alike to others. I am a woman who works in a man dominated industry. I work for a purchasing co-op in the building material industry. This includes lumber yards, hardware stores, contractors and the laborers. Women have increased their presence in the workforce since the 1960’s(Kinicki & Williams, 2015). This percentage is about 75% of working women are aged 25-54 (Kinicki & Williams, 2015). There are more businesses that are now owned by women. The percent of women who are owners or half owners is about 45.7% . This includes 24 of the Fortune 500 companies being run by women (Kinicki & Williams, 2015). This is one huge change in the workforce in the past 50 years.
This topic is always very personal for me and I tend to get overly excited about it. Women see obstacles throughout their careers. These obstacles can be internal and external. Some external obstacles could be family commitments and responsibilities. Internal obstacles that hinder the progress of women can be referred to as the glass ceiling. Glass ceiling is a metaphor for the invisible barrier preventing women and minorities from being promoted to top executive jobs(Kinicki & Williams, 2015).Women earn 57% of bachelor’s degrees, 60% of master’s degrees and more than half of the doctoral degrees yet they are still not fairly represented in top executive positions (Kinicki & Williams, 2015; Northouse, 2015). I know that this is true because of where I work. I was told that even though I was already doing the job of a manager I could not be promoted with a degree. There was a specific degree, just a degree. So that is why I returned to school in 2014 after 20 years.
Let me give you an idea of the leadership in our company. We have the president of the company who is a man. There are two senior vice presidents who are also men. There are five additional vice presidents four are men and one is a woman. There are four directors, two men and two women. There are eight purchasing managers, all men. There are 10 department managers in purchasing, all men. There is one credit manager, he is a man. With the exception the department managers all these leadership roles have an office. I received my associates degree in 2016 and was promoted to Manager, AP and Billing in 2017. I am the only female manager. I have 12 direct reports in two departments. I do not have an office.I was told that part of the reason is there are other managers who make more than I do who do not have offices. So I see the struggles first hand of gender and diversity in leadership.
The glass ceiling is very visible to me. I questioned why these other managers were making more than me when I had more direct reports and a supervisor under me. I asked my boss point blank, Do you see the common factor in those who do not have offices that are making more than me? My answer was men. His answer was they are in purchasing. Either way it is a way that women are still seen as being beneath men. I have learned to be a fighter and go after what I want and deserve. I will not stop. One way that I have decided to move forward is that I did not stop my schooling once I was promoted. I am working toward my bachelors now and I have changed my major. I was a business major when I returned but today my major is Organizational Leadership. I will learn how to handle these types of situations and work towards correcting them for other women who come after me.
I really do love my job. I have been there for 20 years with the hopes to retire from there. I will continue to work to advance my career and I won’t stop.
Kinicki, A., & Williams, B. K. (2015). Loose-Leaf Edition for Management. McGraw-Hill Education.
Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: Theory and Practice. SAGE Publications.