Leadership Women and Leadership

Women and Leadership Gender and Leadership Historical View Gender and Leadership Popular press reported differences between women and men - Women inferior to men (1977) Women lacked skills & traits necessary for managerial success Superiority of women in leadership positions (1990) Researchers ignored issues related to gender & leadership until the 1970s

Women and Leadership Gender and Leadership Historical View Scholars started asking “Can women lead?” Changed by women in leadership Presence of women in corporate & political leadership Highly effective female leaders – eBay’s CEO, Avon’s CEO, N.Y. Senator, Secretary of State, etc. Current research primary questions “What are the leadership style and effectiveness differences between women and men?” “Why are women starkly underrepresented in elite leadership roles?”

Gender and Leadership Styles Women were devalued when they worked in male-dominated environments and when the evaluators were men Females evaluated unfavorably when they used a directive or autocratic style (stereotypically male) Female and male leaders evaluated favorably when they used a democratic leadership style (stereotypically feminine)

Gender and Leadership Effectiveness Women were less effective than men in military positions more effective than men in education, government, and social service organizations

The Glass Ceiling Turned Labyrinth Evidence of the Leadership Labyrinth Women currently occupy more than half of all management and professional positions - 50.8% make up nearly half of the U.S. labor force - 46.7% Still underrepresented in upper echelons of America’s corporations & political system earn nearly 60% of bachelor’s and master’s degrees

The Glass Ceiling Turned Labyrinth Evidence of the Leadership Labyrinth Women in Politics 90 of the 535 seats in the U.S. Congress - 16.8% 17% in the Senate 16.48 in the House of Representatives women of color occupy just 20 seats - 3.7% World average of women’s representation in national legislatures or parliaments is 18.4% with the United States ranked 71st out of 188 countries

The Leadership Gap Invisible barrier preventing women from ascending into elite leadership positions – commonly called the glass ceiling

Motives for Removing the Barriers Leadership Gap is a global phenomenon women are disproportionately concentrated in lower-level & lower-authority leadership positions than men encompasses ethnic and racial minorities as well Important motivations fulfill promise of equal opportunity find the most talented & richly diverse group of women gender diversity associated with greater group productivity, leads to increases in organizations financial performance as the number of women at the top increases, so does financial success

Explaining the Leadership Gap Women’s under representation in high-level leadership positions revolve around three types of explanations

Understanding the Labyrinth Gender Differences Women show the same level of identification with & commitment to paid employment roles as men are less likely to promote themselves for leadership positions than men were less likely than men to emerge as group leaders, more likely to serve as social facilitators

The Leadership Gap Explanation for the leadership gap Prejudice Explanation for the leadership gap gender bias stemming from stereotyped expectations – “women take care and men take charge”

Navigating the Labyrinth Factors contributing to leadership effectiveness & rise of female leaders Culture of many organizations is changing Gendered work assumptions are being challenged Organizations valuing flexible workers & diversity of top managers & leaders Developing effective & supportive mentoring relationships Greater negotiation power for women Effectiveness and predominance of women owned businesses

The Future? 21st century will be an era of femininity and women can have far greater opportunity in social, political, and commercial endeavors. If men were well suited for the industrial era, women are well suited for in Information-oriented era. National development will be a function of how effectively woman power is applied and will depend on how well administrative systems are organized to utilize this potential. Number of seats held by women in national legislative bodies is important element to make the best use of this potential power. Women’s participation in politics, business, and social activities are important. What are the necessary changes needed in laws and social system?

Women’s Political Participation in the World Since the 4th Beijing World Conference on Women in 1995, the expansion of women’s political participation has been a worldwide trend. Big changes are still being made in the northern part of Europe as well as in Arab and Asia-Pacific countries.

<Table 2> Women in Parliaments: World classification (30 Nov (Unit: pers %) Rank Country Total seats Women in Parliaments Ratio(%) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rwanda Sweden Norway Finland Denmark Netherlands Cuba Spain Costa Rica Mozambique Belgium Austria Iceland South Africa New Zealand 80 349 169 200 179 150 609 350 57 250 183 63 400 121 39 158 64 75 66 55 219 126 20 87 52 62 21 131 48.8 45.3 37.9 37.5 36.9 36.7 36.0 35.1 34.8 34.7 33.9 33.3 32.8 32.2

<Table 2> Women in Parliaments: World classification (30 Nov (Unit: pers %) Rank Country Total seats Women in Parliaments Ratio(%) 17 18 20 26 37 42 47 49 66 69 73 81 85 102 Guyana Burundi Belarus Switzerland Republic of Moldova Canada China Bahamas UK USA Sudan South Korea France Italy Japan 65 118 110 200 101 308 2980 40 646 435 450 299 574 616 480 36 32 50 22 604 8 127 70 71 43 30.8 30.5 29.1 25.0 21.8 21.1 20.3 20.0 19.7 15.2 14.7 13.4 12.2 11.5 9.0 **Source: IPU, http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm Women in National Parliaments: World Classification (Nov. 2005, IPU)

Women face countless difficulties in their attempt to become legislators Problem Reasons Dearth of women who wish to take part in politics Politics is considered to be men’s realm Patriarchal culture Traditionally women were excluded from high positions Cultural factors Social division of gender roles legitimized by religious doctrine and practice acted to curb female potential Religion Modern military state Women were excluded from public activities in the military culture

Lack of experienced women Most women have been forced to have “feminine” occupations and it is hard to enter in politics trough such occupations Woman’s family responsibility It is often hard to juggle time and energy between family and politics Nomination is conducted through a ‘closed’ decision cycle and too often, through unfair methods that discriminate women candidates Unfair party nomination process Procedural factor Small election district majority system is unfavorable for women Election system There are problems associated with the generation of funds and the establishment of effective organizations during election campaigns Election campaigns

Conclusion Future society will not progress without making the best use of its women. Not doing so is like running a race with only one leg or thinking with only half a brain. Women’s active political participation will improve dramatically the current politics. Once women’s participation reaches parity, the traditional male centered politics characterized by authority, domination and sometimes corruption and violence will yield to politics that is characterized by love, caring, cooperation, sacrifice and honesty.