The realm of leadership and who holds the title of leader
has significantly changed in the last three decades. Leadership today does not
belong to one specific gender, it belongs to both. In recent times, more and more women are
moving into the role of leader. This is particular true in the academia
setting. Personally, I can say that during my collegiate years (undergraduate
and graduate); I have had twice as many female professors than male.
Additionally, I have had more female supervisors/managers than males. At first,
I never paid any attention to this, but as this topic surfaced in my class
assignment(s) this week, it really got me to thinking and reexamining this
subject matter. Are women leaders here
to the stay or this just a facade?
According to Northouse (2013), women are inexplicably
concentrated in more lower-level and lower-authority leader roles than males
(354). In other words, while women are
making strides in attaining leadership roles, the majority of the roles are
lower level leadership roles. This means
that there is still a leadership gap and that women are underrepresented in
higher-level leadership positions. For years, the glass ceiling has been the barrier that has prevented women from ascending
into the exclusive and elite leadership positions. Presently, the leadership labyrinth has taken
the place of the glass ceiling and it encompasses hurdles and challenges that
women have to undergo in order to attain that top position. The two biggest
challenges women face are gender differences and prejudices.
Gender Makes a Difference
The biggest argument to evolve the leadership conundrum is
the concept that women are different from men.
The commitment and motivation to lead is presumed to be a huge gender
difference for women than that of men. Yet, there is a great deal of research
to support that indicates women tend to show just as much commitment to their
roles of employment as men do and that they treat their parental roles as
secondary (Northouse, 2013, 357). Yet,
when it comes to promotion of oneself as a leader, women strongly lack in this
area. In other words, men are more
likely to self-promote themselves for a leadership position than women. It is because of this informal approach that
many women are viewed as less hirable.
Another gender difference is that women are not viewed as
having “effective leadership traits.”
What exactly are effective leadership traits? Furthermore, how can one
assess based on gender if one has effective leadership traits? Northouse (2013) noted that one advantage men have in
attaining a leadership role is that they are more likely to ask for what it is
they want than women do. Because women
don’t directly ask for what it that they want or even in some cases, bargain for
it, they tend to miss put on advancement opportunities.
Perhaps the biggest explanation for the leadership gap stems
from stereotyped expectations of women. The norm has always been for women to
stay in the home and take care of the kids while the husband goes to work. This preconceived notion/expectation of women
has spilled over in the workplace and this may serve reason for why women are
underrepresented in elite roles. The annoying thing about stereotypes is that
they are just there and tend to lead to unfair and unwarranted judgments.
Gender stereotypes are quite damaging to women in leadership roles. Additionally, this prejudice against female
leaders is expletive of the less than favorable attitudes toward female
leaders than male (359). So, what can
women do about these aforementioned challenges?
They can roll up their sleeves and get ready to rumble J
Women Can Tackle the Labyrinth Head On
There a number of women who have successfully navigated the
labyrinth and this trend are on the rise. Take Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton
and Michelle Obama for example. All
three of these women have defied the odds and risen to the top. The dynamics and culture of many
organizations are changing and this plays a huge role in the career development
and advancement of women in leadership roles. One example of this is
organizations that are now offering work-life support. Yet, despite this method being in place a lot
of women still tend to shy away from this.
The following link discusses this in detail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPrxFwUOCtI
As women, if we take a more direct approach in removing the barriers,
we can achieve a lot. First and
foremost, we will be living out the promise of equal opportunity for
everyone. Secondly, the promotion of
women in leadership positions will substantially contribute to the
productivity, innovation and success of organizations. Not to mention, the ethical standards too. Thirdly,
as organizations change their organizational culture and structure, the
gender/leadership gap will one day become nonexistent.
I want you (women) who are reading this blog, to stop for a
moment and ponder this thought: What if Hillary Clinton had decided because of
her husband’s past indiscretions in the White House, not to run for President
in the 2008 election? It is quite
possible that she would not have been afforded the opportunity to serve as the
67th United States Secretary of State. This is by far one of the greatest examples
that come to mind of a woman who wasn't afraid to tackle the labyrinth head on
and win.
Northouse (2013) stated that
women who are aware of the labyrinth may elude those preset barriers by beginning
their own ventures (361). SO, Ladies what
are you waiting on? Lace up the sneakers, put on the boxing gloves, put on a
pair of sweats, throw on a dab of lip gloss and march into that office and
self-promote and negotiate your way to that new promotion. If your supervisor doesn't nudge throw him a
jab or two, to let him know you aren't playing around, lol. Okay, what I just said may cost you your job,
so take it figuratively, not literal.
In closing, there still is a great deal of speculations and
uncertainties surrounding the question of who is the better leader: male or
female? To find out, check out this
article featured on Forbes website. http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/03/26/the-results-are-in-women-are-better-leaders/.
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