The plight of women in regards to leadership can be summed up in this single phrase. Women today not only have to deal with the glass ceiling, but also must circumnavigate through the leadership labyrinth that paves the way to the top (Northouse, 2016, pp. 398, 399). This maze of hurdles not only includes the same issues that men face, but also introduces a different set of prejudices and standards that are not applied toward men. Unfairly, women are held to different standards and expectations that they can be just as effective and able to lead like men, but are assumed to do so in a feminine manner. Conversely, they are negatively viewed when they try to duplicate some leadership qualities of their male counterparts when they utilize masculine approaches toward leadership which is supported by extensive reviews of meta-analysis (Northouse, 2016, pp. 402, 408). Therefore, women are truly damned if they do when their leadership techniques are considered manly or end up unsuccessful if their approach is too feminine; i.e. damned if they don’t. This is the type of gender bias along with lack of experience, opportunities and resources that women must contend with especially when they seek elite leadership positions (Northouse, 2016, p. 403).
Overall women hold only 22 percent of the senior leadership positions worldwide, a number that has held study over the past 10 years (McCarthy, 2016) a statistic that seems low when you consider that women make up nearly half of the workforce in the United States (Northouse, 2016, p. 398). There are areas where women exceed this average, such as education and healthcare where the percentage is highest at 41 percent for both of these industries and organizations based on hospitality (33 percent) and food and beverage (27 percent) also fared better than the global average (fig. 1) (McCarthy, 2016).
Figure 1. The Industries With The Most Female Managers, Graph from Grant Thornton, Forbes Statista n.d., retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2016/03/08/which-industries-have-the-most-women-in-senior-management-infographic/
I work for an organization that includes a food and beverage segment which made me wonder how this organization compares to the expectation of a higher global percentage based on the industry type. In this division the president is a man with 10 direct reports all of which are men with the exception of his executive assistant who is female. The third tier consists of 70 leaders (63 male and 7 female) which results in a three tier senior management organization consisting of 80 leaders (81 total employees, but the executive assistant was omitted) of which only 7 were female and all women existed at the lowest level of senior leadership for this organization’s segment. The final result is only 8.75 percent (7 out of 80) of the leaders in this organization are women which is well below the global average of 27 percent (fig. 1) for food and beverage (McCarthy, 2016). In fact this organization’s female to male ratio is less than one-third of the global average for senior leadership which means that they need to work to close the gender gap by removing the hurdles of the labyrinth and opening the path for more woman to reach the higher elite leadership positions (Northouse, 2016, p. 411). So how does an organization change and develop a culture that replaces the prejudices associated to women in leadership roles?
To do so, this company must change the organizational culture, create more avenues for developing women leaders and improving their mentoring opportunities as well (Northouse, 2016, p. 411). Organizations must sort through the negative connotations and lack of opportunities created by these 3 types of barriers; organizational, interpersonal and personal barriers (PSU WC L13, 2017, p. 4).
Changes to the organizational barriers are primarily related to the culture of the organization and the negative consequences for women associated to the inherent gender bias. Companies cannot hold women to higher or different standards in regards to leadership qualities or techniques and rather should rely on overall performance and must discourage hostile prejudices that view women as inferior and thus unworthy of leadership positions (PSU WC L13, 2017, p. 4). Women must no longer be ignored and instead need to be provided with the same resources and challenges as men (PSU WC L13, 2017, p. 4). They cannot be discriminated against in regards to promotional opportunities or subjected to gender similarity whereas men tend to promote men (PSU WC L13, 2017, p. 4).
The organization must also work to tear down the interpersonal barriers which tend to stunt the development of women as leaders. They must find the means to destroy the myth that men make better leaders and embrace the more democratic and participative nature as related to women’s leadership qualities which typically produce favorable results (Northouse, 2016, p. 402). Informal networks associated to the workplace often result in added support and political connections amongst men which tends to improve their opportunities for both promotion and mentoring placing women at a significant disadvantage (PSU WC L13, 2017, p. 4). For this reason organizations need to provide consistent and documented mentoring programs to equalize the playing field and must also emphasize the ethical treatment of all associates as a means to quell the effects of the political persuasion related to informal networks.
Personal barriers are issues that must be resolved by both the organization and the employee. Women claim that they are not as politically savvy as their male counter parts (PSU WC L13, 2017, p. 4) and are not viewed as socially attractive in situations where they self-promote themselves whether it is for promotion or during an interview (Northouse, 2016, p. 403). Organizations must learn that they must not treat men and women differently and learn that self-promotion is acceptable for everyone. Likewise, women must learn to effectively self-promote and not hold back in this regard as their qualifications and accomplishments should be the epitome of success in regards to their work history and leadership experience. Lastly, career gaps prove to be detrimental to both men and women, but due to maternity leave and the fact that women often take time off to raise their children and therefore are more often penalized by these career gaps (PSU WC L13, 2017, p. 4). Organizations must understand the importance of good employers and good leaders and need to reconsider their negative view of such career gaps. Instead they need to embrace the idea that workers need to do what is best for them and if it means that they take time off or have gaps to raise their children it is ultimately their decision and no reflection of their work ethic or loyalty to their career or the organization.
Works Cited
McCarthy, N. (2016, March 8). Which Industries Have The Most Women In Senior Management? [Infographic]. Retrieved 17 November, 2017, from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2016/03/08/which-industries-have-the-most-women-in-senior-management-infographic/#23215c5c5cc4
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, California, USA: SAGE.
PSU WC L13. (2017). Introduction to Leadership and Diversity. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1867456/modules/items/22975789
Thornton, G. (n.d.). The Industries with the Most Female Managers. Forbes Statista. Forbes. Retrieved November 17, 2017, from https://www.statista.com/chart/4482/the-industries-with-the-most-female-managers/