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The role of women in leadership
Theory on women leadership
The role of women in leadership
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Gendered stereotypes and norms were invading into the mentoring/sponsoring relationships. Women were being labeled as less ‘sponsorship worthy’, acquiring less sponsorship and endorsement, deemed not ready for the next role, and being encouraged to change to better fit current leadership norms. This article spotlights the way in which mentors through their sponsorship proceedings may be (unknowingly) strengthen gendered norms of leadership and unintentionally duplicating the status quo as they sponsor men and mentor women. Differentiating between the role and procedures of mentoring and sponsorship is important. Putting a separate interest on the significance of sponsorship highlights the need to further analyze the role sponsorship plays in
In relation to leadership and women, historically women who wanted to seek leadership roles were often seen projecting the traditional masculine model of leadership. This model means to be rational, unemotional and analytic. It also, means in order to succeed traditionally women needed to look and act like a man to be taken seriously in leadership positions. Women in the past often dressed up in suits and ties and anything feminine was seen as an internal “weakness”. To be a leader in power meant to exude confidence in masculinity and shy away from anything remotely girly. As opposed, to the feminine model which casts power as focused on connection and harmony instead of power over something, someone. This power can be skilled through collective gain or physical attractiveness (Kruse 22).
One of the possible research topics I plan to undertake involves analyzing the impact that mentoring can have on the graduation success rate of African American males, particularly when the mentor is a Black male and the relationship takes place in the south. In my opinion, these relationships can have a profound impact on a student’s ability to persist towards graduating from college. Though my research, I want to hear the stories of Black males who have benefited from successful mentoring relationships with other Black men. I believe that establishing a strong mentoring relationship with Black males at a young age can greatly improve their chance of academic success. Furthermore, I believe that mentoring is a strong early intervention mechanism to prevent Black males from dropping out of high school and deterring them from pursuing degrees in higher education. At the same time, I would like my research interest to focus on African American males in the south, but I would like my scope to focus on mentoring relationships between black men; both structured and unstructured.
In the American society, we constantly hear people make sure they say that a chief executive officer, a racecar driver, or an astronaut is female when they are so because that is not deemed as stereotypically standard. Sheryl Sandberg is the, dare I say it, female chief operating officer of Facebook while Mark Zuckerberg is the chief executive officer. Notice that the word “female” sounds much more natural in front of an executive position, but you would typically not add male in front of an executive position because it is just implied. The fact that most of America and the world makes this distinction shows that there are too few women leaders. In Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In,” she explains why that is and what can be done to change that by discussing women, work, and the will to lead.
Gender stereotyping is when beliefs concerning the characteristics of both women and men that contain both good and bad traits. Gender stereotyping affects both men and women but usually targets the woman more harshly (Cooks & Cusack, 2011, p.1). Gender is something that is very unique and a very interesting topic. “It has obvious links to the real world, first in the connection between many grammatical gender systems and biological size, which underpin particular gender systems and also have external correlates”(Corbett, 2013). For an example gender-based violence against women is widely recognized as a critical concern for women in all part of the world (Cooks & Cusack, 2011, p.28). Now day’s women are underrepresented in the business world today, 16 percent of corporate officers in the U.S are women and 1 percent of all of the CEO positions in the Fortune 500 companies (Baron & Branscombe, 2012). In the workplace there are glass ceilings that are barriers based off of attitudinal and organizational bias that prevent qualified women from making it to the supervisory positions. As time elapsed that generation of women like that no longer existed. Women starting taking job positions and having supervisory positions in the workplace. It was no longer the thing that women would not work when they got older. Males also have a stereotype of being strong and being the head of the household in a family. “Masculine gender markers
Historically our society drives men and women toward different socially acceptable behaviors and careers. Stereotypically men are the capable breadwinners that choose careers as: firemen, policemen, mailmen, garbagemen, milkmen, and the list continues. However, women are the warm caregivers that may choose one of three titles: teacher, nurse, or secretary. The above career pathways have been driven by societal norms, subsequently leaving women with marginal room for vertical mobility and limited leadership representation.
My research opened my eyes to the struggle of women in the job market. The differences range from how we speak, what we wear, to where our priorities exist in business. One of the first books I came across was Managing Like a Man by Judy Wajcman. The title alone highlights the severe psychological separation of men and women in the workplace. Everyone faces difficulty at some point or another in a working environment. Unfortunately for women, workplace issues can range from not getting along, not keeping the job, or simply not getting the job. ‘Bust through the glass ceiling’ is a term coined in regards to women and the seemingly impossible climb up the ladder of success. Multiple books and studies about women seeking leadership roles give the theory a legitimate hype. The female gender has to fight for their role in the workplace, even when they have more education, more experience, and a newly found focus on equality for women. Extended research is still being done because the issue has not been completely eradicated; even now in the 2000’s.
Gender discrimination and gender roles play a significant role in modern day society. Many envision feminism as making sandwiches in the kitchen, but feminism is found in the work force, religion, and even politics. Why is it men are generally the leaders, Gods, and Presidents? Why is it rare to see a woman as the boss, a God, or President? When the public sees an authoritative man, they often respect him and find him to be persuasive, and dedicated. However, when a woman is seen as an authoritative figure, she is often considered pushy, bossy, conceited and emotional. This paper will analyze how these labels against women create inequalities among gender roles. It will do this using the story of Whale Rider, to convey how leadership roles and identity politics were shaped by feminism, tradition, and culture in a society. Although gender roles seem trivial, it is in fact still crucial in terms of today’s concern over gender inequality.
Women’s education has been seen as a way for all the focus on all the attention and opportunity on the students that attend the college. It is seen as a way to eliminate the need to compete with their male peers, with no one to compete with these colleges argue that women have the ability to hold all of the leadership positions on campus which provide them with a valuable experience to apply their future cultures and post-graduate lives. The environment provides women with stronger role models they aren't typically p...
In addressing the issue of stereotyping in the workplace, women should continue to stand their ground. Having a backbone in a male dominant occupation is the most important way to make everyone overlook the fact that there are women working in male dominant jobs and that will not stop them from continuing. Researchers feel that the more women get themselves involved in the male occupations, the more it becomes understood that women are capable of doing what men do. If given enough time and opportunity, women could possibly stand above the men in the job that for hundreds of years came across as male
Jones states in his Gallup news article entitled Americans Say Equal Pay Top Issue for Working Women, (Jones, 2014) that the data from a September 2014 Gallup poll shows that two of the most important issues facing working women in this country today are equal/fair pay and equal opportunity for advancement and promotion. These concerns placed higher than the issues of better childcare and healthcare and the economy in general. The number of working women in the United States is almost equal to that of men, however the challenges women face in establishing careers and advancing in them is different from men. The EEOC Women 's Work Group issued a report (EEOC Women 's Work Group, 2010) that cites many of the biggest challenges for women seeking equal opportunities in the workplace. These include lack of mentoring and grooming for management positions, being less likely to be invited to networking events, women not being granted training and developmental assignments on as equal footing as men, and women not being targeted in recruitment efforts for upper level and management positions. In order to combat these discriminatory practices, employers should develop mentoring programs and monitor their effectiveness, actively making sure that women are as equally included as men. Senior level officials should be expected to mentor subordinates and that mentoring should not be gender biased. Businesses should perform a barrier analysis to discover what obstacles
The goal on gender equality and impact of gender discrimination varies from country to country, depending on the social, cultural and economic contexts. Anti-discrimination laws have performed a critical role in expanding work place opportunities for women, yet they are still denied full equality in the workplace. Even though they can now secure powerful professional, academic and corporate positions once reserved for men, the ever present glass ceiling still deters the advancement of large segment of the female workforce (Gregory, 2003). Interest in the careers of females remained strong among both scholars and practitioners. Women have made considerable progress in entering the managerial ranks also but not at the highest levels. However, the promotion of women who hold top management positions increased only slightly during the last decade (U.S. Department of Labor, 1992). Shrinking gender differences between men and women in job related skills and aspirations may not reduce employer discrimination that is rooted in the belief that women’s emotions prevent them from managing effectively (Kanter, 1977). Stumpf and London (1981) identified criteria that are commonly used when decisions are made about management promotions. The specified job-irrelevant criteria, such as gender, race and appearance, and job-relevant criteria, such as related work experience, being a current member of the organization offering the position, past performance, education and seniority.. The central question is whether the hiring, development, and promotion practices of employers that discriminated against women in the past have been remedied or continue in more subtle forms to impede women’s advancement up in the hierarchy
Women make up over 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, yet only 14 percent of executive officer positions within companies are filled by women. Within the Fortune 500 CEOs, only 21 of them are women. The United States prides itself on equality and justice, but the majority of the population is not adequately represented in leadership roles. It is time for the entire country to reevaluate its internal gender biases. Women are taking strides to overcome the centuries-old tradition of men being the breadwinners and women taking care of the family and having low-demanding jobs. Biases do not just come from men, as it is proven that women are just as biased against themselves. Society puts more pressure on men to be successful while not expecting as much from women. Men typically attribute their successes to themselves, while women underestimate themselves and attribute their successes to luck or hard work. This lack of self-confidence can be traced back to years of women constantly doubting themselves (Sandberg). Women need to follow Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s advice written in her book “Lean In”: “But feeling confident—or pretending that you feel confident—is necessary to reach for opportunities. It’s cliché, but opportunities are rarely offered; they’re seized” (Sandberg 34). Willing women have to overcome societal traditions and sit at the table. To do this they have to either get into leadership positions to then break down barriers or break down barriers to get into those coveted leadership positions. These barriers are deeply-rooted into almost every culture worldwide. Sexism and discrimination are constant issues for women in the workplace and not enough is being done to address the...
The discrimination occurs by in-group bias, androcentric values, and stereotypes, which affect a women’s ability on advancing in their corporate organization. In-group bias is a pattern of favoring members of one’s “in-group” over an “out-group” of members. This can be seen in corporate management when “current leaders promote subordinates who they perceive to be like them” (Foster, 2017), often male leaders will promote fellow male associates (Foster, 2017). With this notion, women are often kept out of the informal networks of mentorship (Foster, 2017), inhibiting their advancement in the organization. Androcentrism is the institutionalized pattern of cultural value that privileges traits associated with masculinity, while devaluing feminine traits (Foster, 2017). These values are recognized in the workplace when there are negative assumptions made about women (Foster, 2017). One example, is the assumption in corporate culture that women are less capable and that their work is less valuable (Foster, 2017). This concept diminishes the worth of the women in the workplace; ultimately obstructing their opportunities and ability to achieve top management positions in their organization. Stereotypical beliefs about a woman’s abilities and interests may also result in fewer opportunities to do high-profile projects in upper management (Foster, 2017). Accordingly, the
My ethical and moral views, beliefs, attitudes and values have been fashioned by an up bringing that centred on Christian beliefs. Even though religion was not forced upon me as a child, my mother raised us all with a strong sense of right and wrong. Along with the influence of my family, the Navy has had a big influence on the person I am. The Navy has a strong ethos of what is expected of the personnel that serve; this is made up of the following: Leadership, High Professional Standards, and Courage in Adversity, Determination, Loyalty, Mutual Respect, Discipline, A Sense of Humour, Teamwork, and A Can Do Attitude. Most recently of all though, the biggest thing that has influenced me as a person and a parent has been my experiences of working with young people. This includes acting as a Youth Advisor for Portsmouth City Council, a Mentor for Barnardos and a Youth Advisor for East Sussex County Council. I am currently working in two secondary schools as part of my resettlement from the Navy. This has given me the experience of working with young people living in virtual poverty, in constant trouble with the Police and education services and some young people with varying levels of disabilities. This work has given me a good ability to stay impartial, to be non judgemental and has given me a capacity to treat people a lot more emphatically than I was ever able to. This is because I have been exposed to a greater range of problems and personalities than I have been used to in the Navy. These are qualities that I will hopefully be able to transfer into my coaching practice.
Women are continuing to see management opportunities slip through their fingers because the company doesn’t feel like they’re capable of doing a worthy job. “For example, a fire chief may repeatedly pass over a female firefighter for promotion, due to resentment stemming from women applying to the force or due to a belief that men inherently perform better in these positions”. Stereotypical people are looking at women and judging on whether they’re capable of doing a task. It’s unfair to the women that actually are capable and those who want the chance to do something out of their comfort zone. How many men find it unbearable that a woman out-qualifies them in an even competition? Ever played a monopoly game and if the guy loses he says that he let the girl win? Men think that women can’t compete with them, but yet they just can’t accept the fact that women actually can. “Even the most ardent feminist must admit that women are indeed different from men, but this should not be seen as being inferior to men in the workplace (Lovedays)”. Yes, men are stronger and can do m ore things, but women can provide more than companies realize. Franchises are losing out on how having a woman as an employee, can truly help them in the future. “The studies really are stacking up and decision-makers within organizations are starting to notice the evidence that gender-balanced leadership