Women, in today’s society are facing dilemmas in different occupations as they become more suitable for leadership positions. “Traditional definitions of leadership are challenged by the changing demographic of society in the United States, increasing numbers of women in leadership roles in the counseling profession, and shifting expectations in the workplace” (Levitt 66). Although, women status has improved over the past century, they are still lacking access to power and leadership compared to men (Carli & Eagly 629). Furthermore, according to many researchers, women are still underrepresented in the workforce; facing barriers against stereotypes, gender differences and inequality with men.
WOMEN AND STEREOTYPES
Gender stereotypes are strongly accepted as societal norms, women who do not act in accordance with feminine stereotypes are seen negatively (Willemsen 386). “In general, gender stereotypes promote the idea that women are more emotional, intuitive, and socially oriented, whereas men are more dominant, rational, and instrumentally or task-oriented” (Willemsen386). Women who are in male-dominated occupations are faced with stereotypes by their co-workers, managers, and other men in other businesses. Studies have shown that in many countries, feminine qualities are commonly not the qualities that come to mind when people think of successful leaders (Schein 682). Most women who are in leadership positions in the workforce are seen to men as not having the ability to carry a business with enough capability. In addition to descriptive stereotypes of the qualities that women and men possess, psychologists have observed that societies also have prescriptive stereotypes— beliefs about the roles that women and men should play. ...
... middle of paper ...
... 19 Apr. 2012.
Rowney, J I.A., Cahoon, A R. “Individual and Organizational Characteristics of Women in Managerial
Leadership.” Business Ethics 9 (1990): 293-316. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
Schein, Virginia E. “A Global Look at Psychological Barriers to Women’s Progress in Management.”
Social Issues 57.4 (2001): 675-688.Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
Turock, Betty J. “Women and Leadership.” Library Administration 32.3/4 (2001): 111-132.
Web. 11 Apr. 2012
Webster, Murray, and Lisa Rashotte. "Fixed Roles And Situated Actions." Sex Roles 61.5/6
(2009): 325-337.Web. 11 Apr. 2012.
Willemsen, Tineke M. “Gender Typing of the Successful Manager-A Stereotype Reconsidered.” Sex
Roles 46.11/12 (2002): 385-391.Web. 11 Apr. 2012
Zimmer, Lynn. “Tokenism and Women in the Workplace: The Limits of Gender-Neutral Theory.” Social
Problems 35.1 (1988): 64-77.Web 11 Apr. 2012.
In The 7 Worst Stereotypes Professional Women Face the author briefly touches on the key stereotypes mentioned in the book Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. An important idea in the book is that girls who exude leadership qualities are oftentimes called bossy, while boys who present the same qualities are praised. The first example given is that women are expected to quit working once they have children. Women sometimes are not selected for positions due to employers not wanting their training to go to waste. The second stereotype pertains to women being the primary caregivers in the family. This idea can also affect men in that they are not given the “flexibility that would allow them to help their wives.” Third on the list is women being “judged more harshly when voicing their opinions.” In this example, women that are confident in themselves can experience backlash from the public, such as being called inappropriate names and being viewed as someone is self-centered. The fourth example is the idea that women excel in areas that
Prentice, D. A. and Carranza, E. (2002), What Women and Men Should Be, Shouldn’t Be, Are Allowed to Be, and Don’t Have to Be: The Contents of Prescriptive Gender Stereotypes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26: 269–281.
Society stereotypes women in almost all social situations, including in the family, media, and the workplace. Women are often regarded as being in, “Second place” behind men. However, these stereotypes are not typically met by the modern day woman....
In the book, Sally Helgesen cites the “Feminine Principles” brought forth by Anita Roddick, who is the founder of The Body Shop as basic principles that could help to distinguish, or rather help to further define men and women leaders. The principles include, caring, making intuitive decisions, not getting hung up on hierarchy, having a sense of work being part of your life, putting labor where your love is, being responsible to the world and knowing that the bottom line should not be the only driving factor. These are the principles that encompass the “feminine principles” within the context of the text. While these principles are broad, they are not exclusive to women, however, women in general exhibit these qualities in more pounced ways than men.
This research paper will take a symbolic interactionist perspective to contrast the different leadership prejudices of men and women in the workplace. The age-old debate of inequality for women in executive position will now be examined through online periodicals that show gender stereotypes in the workforce, different strategies men and women use to break the glass ceiling of the workplace, a focus on the interactions and reactions of a male Chief Executive Officer (CEO) versus a female CEO, leadership prejudices among women and women, and various studies regarding leadership of men and women. Because of stereotyping, very little focus is on men within the workplace. However, research shows that male workers face stereotyping as well as women. Therefore, a concentration on this matter will be focused within this paper. The paper concludes that both men and women face stereotypes that hinder, to some extent, their balance of work and family lives. Contrary to some stereotypes, women are proven to have just as powerful executive leadership qualities as men (Hackbarth, 2012).
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.
Wilson, Marie C. Closing the Leadership Gap Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World. New York: Viking Adult, 2004. Print
402). Our gender differences and leadership styles can work in our favor and against us; I think it is contradicting, in the way we send mixed messages, while a lot of people, especially in the modernized Western world do accept a female to control the household and does it well, yet; at the workplace females are perceived as being too emotionally consumed to get a task completed. By nature, and nurture, each gender in most cases acts differently; this could be because of our biological hormones and way each gender is raised, apparently, it is not so nowadays. The problem is should we keep letting it slide by being bias or is there something that can be done to encourage and promote gender equality and respect for one another that goes beyond the responsibilities society requires of each
Women have been treated unfairly and discriminated in the workforce for too long. The discrimination that these women face is unjust and unwarranted. It is sad that as a society in the twenty-first century we are still trying to combat these issues. In Developing Women Leaders was published in The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist July 1, 2012 it discusses possible solutions and how stigmas and stereotypes are starting to change. Women should not have to face discrimination in the workplace as a society there should be an equal standard for all individuals no matter the race or gender.
Sexism is a major factor in the workforce.Today male and female have a hard time breaking into the opposite gender dominated fields. This has happened because of the media, it has showed us that male have certain “right” jobs, as well as female. Female still dominate traditional female professions like cosmetology jobs are 92.9 percent women working them(Wolfe). If a man were to get into cosmetology they would most likely be judged for having that job, because we stereotype that they can't have a feminine job. Women have a harder time getting into high level positions. “Women make up only 21 of the S&P’s 500 CEOs,” (Berman). This has happened because the media has set in place stereotypes that it is wrong for women to have high level positions. It is getting better, in 2013 women chief financial officers increased 35 percent at large U.S. companies from 2012 (Frier and Hymowitz). The job market for men and women is still unfair but it is starting to get equal.
For many decades, women have faced inequalities in the workforce. At one point, they were not allowed to work at all. Although women's rights have improved and are now able to work alongside men, they are still treated unfairly. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, women’s earnings were “76.5 percent of men’s” (1). In 2012, men, on average, earned $47,398 and women earned only $35,791. This is when comparing employees where both gender spend the same amount of time working. Not only do women encounter unfairness in work pay, they also face a “glass ceiling” on a promotional basis. This glass ceiling is a “promotion barrier that prevents woman’s upward ability” (2). For example, if a woman is able to enter a job traditionally for men, she will still not receive the same pay or experience the same increase in occupational ability. Gender typing plays a huge role in the workplace. It is the idea that women tend to hold jobs that are low paid with low status. Women are not highly considered in leadership positions because of social construction of gender. Society has given women the role of “caretakers” and sensitive individuals. Therefore, women are not depicted as authoritative figures, which is apparent with the absence of women in leadership roles in companies. Furthermore, sex segregation leads to occupations with either the emphasis of women in a certain job or men in a certain job. In 2009, occupations with the highest proportion of women included “secretary, child care worker, hair dresser, cashier, bookkeeper, etc.” (3). Male workers typically held job positions as construction workers, truck drivers, taxi drivers, etc. (3). Sex segregation represents inequality because the gender composition for these jobs depends on what ...
First we need to examine the cases where this is present. Less obvious stereotypes are those of women. Women?s roles in society have changed throughout the times. Are the...
To begin, the modernized feminist movement has altered the way gender roles are viewed in society. Women are pushing for complete control in nearly every aspect of life. Many feminists believe women could do just as well, if not better, than men have been doing in leadership positions. Many women fail to realize that ingrained in men is a desire to protect and lead. By taking over men’s roles, they leave men not knowing exactly what should be done.
Women leaders have the crucial soft skills of empathy, innovation, facilitation, and active listening (Masaoka, 2006). They also have first-hand life experiences that bring technical skills and experiences from the street level to the workplace (Masoka, 2006). Women often build stronger relationships with clients and outside contacts than their male counterparts. This relationship building skill, provides a key aspect which helps to move businesses forward (Giber et al., 2009). Fortune 500 companies with a high percentage of women significantly outperformed those with fewer women. Companies with the highest representation of women showed higher returns on equity than those with fewer women employees (Giber et al., 2009). Thus, future organizations may have a higher percentage of female leaders than we have experienced in the past. Future leaders must ensure that there is equality among the workforce and that women are accurately represented among the
Society has stamped an image into the minds of people of how the role of each gender should be played out. There are two recognized types of gender, a man and a woman, however there are many types of gender roles a man or a woman may assume or be placed into by society. The ideas of how one should act and behave are often times ascribed by their gender by society, but these ascribed statuses and roles are sometimes un-welcomed, and people will assume who they want to be as individuals by going against the stereotypes set forth by society. This paper will examine these roles in terms of how society sees men and women stereotypically, and how men and women view themselves and each other in terms of stereotypes that are typically ascribed, as well as their own opinions with a survey administered to ten individuals. What I hope to prove is that despite stereotypes playing a predominant role within our society, and thus influencing what people believe about each other in terms of their same and opposite genders, people within our society are able to go against these ascribed stereotypes and be who they want and it be okay. Through use of the survey and my own personal history dealing with gender stereotyping I think I can give a clear idea as to how stereotypes envelope our society, and how people and breaking free from those stereotypes to be more individualistic.