Having spent several years working in the turfgrass industry, one thing that has stood out to me is that men dominate this field. There are very few women in this industry and even fewer in leadership positions. Normal working conditions in this industry include long hours, exposure to all types of weather, operation of many different types of equipment, strenuous work and most important the need for strong leadership skills to become successful. Looking specifically at an educational background, “ Women earn 57% of the bachelor’s degrees, 60% of the masters degrees, and more than half of the doctoral degrees”, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, (Northouse, 2016, Page 397). As you can see the educational background is there, but why do women struggle to gain leadership positions. I will further analyze this situation and relate it to the turfgrass industry.
There are several factors that relate to why there are so few women working in this field. First looking at organizational barriers that effect this situation; preference for gender similarity in promotion decisions and ignorance by male peers, which in turn influences developmental opportunities stood out to me. “ People prefer to work with others that are similar to them” (Angel, Lesson 13, Page 5). Since it is a male dominated industry, it may play a part when looking at promotions. In this case a male worker may be given a chance to lead over a women given the fact that most managers on golf courses and sports fields are male. Next ignorance from male peers may result in developmental opportunities. In this case a women may simply not be given a chance. For example, when selecting a worker to hand water greens in the afternoon, a male may be given the job over a women due to the fact that the job requires the employee to carry a heavy rubber house around. In this instance, women might have trouble with the physical requirements in which a male might be more fit for the job and therefore passed over when a learning opportunity presents itself.
Now looking at interpersonal barriers, I believe that gender prejudice and lack of support/access to networks is present. “ People believe that a good leader is masculine”, (Angel, Lesson13, Page 5). Although this preconception is still here today it has been fading in recent years. In this case a women is behind the curve from the start with this preconception. The Eagly Studies point this out, “ Women should not act like men. If women leaders act like men, they are perceived negatively because they are not acting in ways consistent with their gender role.” (Angel, Lesson 13, Page 3). If a good leader is supposed to be masculine, how does a women fit into this preconception? The answer is that women do not and this is part of the reason why women are perceived to be weak leaders. Next the lack of emotional support/ access to information networks also plays a part in the turfgrass industry. The turf industry is very tight nit, connections help you find new job opportunities. I was lucky enough to work under a supervisor who took time to help me develop my network and put my name out there to help me get where I wanted to be. In an already male dominated industry, women most likely do not experience the same amount of established connections. This is especially in the golf world, where informal deals and networking connections are made out on the golf course. As an example, local chapters of golf course superintendent organizations often meet monthly to have a morning conferences and then play golf in the afternoon. In my experiences, these are great informal networking tools. I have met several new contacts within the industry attending these events and playing golf.
Personal barriers also affect women in the turfgrass industry. The big example that jumped out at me is work-home conflict. This industry is very demanding, often requiring long hours with very little time off. “Women are often left to care for the children, or non-work responsibilities. This means that women need to take time away from work” (Angel, Lesson 13, Page 5). In this case, it may be unacceptable to take much time away from work. As a golf course superintendent, you are expected to be there for the golf season. Previous supervisors that I have worked under rarely took time off during the golf season. This is another reason why I believe it is a male dominated industry; career gaps can be harmful to a leaders career. This is particularly true in this industry; a trend that I have noticed is that if you are out of the industry it is hard to get back in. Knowing this, I had a very short career gap at one time but knew I had to find a new job very quickly. Long gaps of employment do not look good on a resume, and having kids can result in laps of time where women would not be present. In a leadership role on a golf course, these types of gaps may be unacceptable in employer’s eyes especially if they occur during the golfing season.
There are several factors that affect women obtaining leadership roles, although it has been proven that women can be effective leaders. I believe that the barriers discussed above point out several reasons why there are few women in leadership roles within the turfgrass industry. Although there are a few women in leadership roles now, I think the trend of a male dominated industry will continue unless these barriers are broken.
References:
Northouse, Peter G. (2015). Leadership: Theory and Practice, 7th Edition. Chapter 15.
Pennsylvania State University (2016) Psych 485: Leadership in work settings. Lesson 13.