The Oppression Of Women

Women in today’s society are not often put in leadership roles due to the way women represent themselves. Being a woman in leadership or a woman with a powerful position comes with a lot more criticism than you may imagine. Does the way women dress and look have an impact on their power and position compared to men in society? Does just being a female hender a woman’s chances of advancement? This paper will explore if the way women represent themselves effects the position they have in society and what they can do.

Being a woman that is in a high level position is difficult because although there is no research saying that either sex is better in leadership, a woman as the manager/CEO/Head Director etc. is still seen by some as unfit or unacceptable. According

to studentpulse.com, women in high visibility roles are often stereotyped into “role traps”, which basically means that they are stuck in being seen as the mother, seductress, or the pet (studentpulse.com, Schwanke).

Women are discriminated against in high level positions and even though it is not so blatantly displayed today these issues form behind closed doors. Women in powerful positions have to dress a certain way and portray themselves in a way that is not too feminine but at the same time not too masculine. It has been said that women’s decisions are sometimes blind decisions because women are such emotional beings. This mistaken insight of gender equality limits chances for women as a group because it creates false assurance and eliminates the perceived need to make things better (studentpulse.com, Schwanke). A common coping mechanism is the “Queen Bee

Syndrome” through which women who have achieved success are not willing to share information or encourage other women to advance (studentpulse.com, Schwanke). The point of Queen Bee Syndrome is for the woman to maintain her place aligning herself at the same level as a man. She is aligning her thoughts and actions with that of a man’s insights and opinions. With there being more women in higher positions it allows things to be a little more diverse and the choice of being a woman and being successful in your career is gone.
The advancement of a limited number of women into upper echelons of power has created a dynamic labeled “tokenism.” (studentpulse.com, Schwanke). When the media makes references that focus on females’ progresses, they form a false observation that current circumstances are prime. When they discuss token women in high level positions they attempt to display equality. When a company gives a woman a token opportunity they assume that that company gives equal opportunity and when in most cases is not true. A woman like Hillary Clinton has to present herself in more of a manly way because she is trying to get society to accept her in a political role which is usually taken on by a male. In an effort to be taken a little more seriously in the political world she dresses conservatively and wears natural makeup to be taken seriously. Why is that? If she dressed as the current Nicki Minaj or Kim Kardashian West would she be taken seriously? The way you dress, as a woman, is very important to whether someone will do business with you or even just be your friend. The way we, as women, act is important because if a woman were to show anger at a job, they are most times judged and labeled as emotional or sensitive (businessinsider.com, Goudreau).
For a long time women did not even belong in the workforce. Positions of power and gender are very intertwined. In addition to the male-female split in the distribution of positions of power, many other factors play a role in who has power.