Double Whammy: Why the Underrepresentation of Women among Workplace and Political Decision Makers Matters in Pandemic Times

AbstractIn this article, we explore whether women's underrepresentation among political and workplace decision makers may subject female citizens and employees to COVID-19-related decisions that are at odds with their preferences. We find that women overall, as well as female political party members, workers, and workplace leaders in particular, share a distinctively female perspective that more heavily emphasizes caution with respect to COVID-19 compared with men. Given the limited representation of women leaders across most industries and in politics, COVID-19 regulations are thus likely to be less cautious than would be the case if there were an equitable representation of women across leadership roles. We argue that female employees, in particular, face a representational “double whammy” for COVID-19: gender imbalances in workplace leadership create inequities that are compounded—rather than redressed—by unequal political representation. We conclude by addressing how this dynamic may enhance the movement of women away from Republican candidates moving forward.

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The Underrepresentation of Women in Political Technology

Recoding the Boys' Club ◽

10.1093/oso/9780197535943.003.0003 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 51-81

Author(s):

Daniel Kreiss ◽

Kirsten Adams ◽

Jenni Ciesielski ◽

Haley Fernandez ◽

Kate Frauenfelder ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Makers ◽

Leadership Roles ◽

Life Balance ◽

Men And Women ◽

Women's Voices ◽

Representation Of Women ◽

Hiring Process ◽

Underrepresentation Of Women ◽

Familial Obligations ◽

Political Technology

This chapter demonstrates how women are deeply underrepresented in the field of political technology, especially in leadership roles. Women also do not have the same entrepreneurship opportunities in the field that men have. The barriers to the equal representation of women in the field of political tech are multifaceted and systemic. Women are underrepresented on campaigns because of the time constraints and network relationships that shape the hiring process, in addition to gendered assumptions about their qualifications. Women routinely cited that the goal of electing candidates outweighed any other considerations both in hiring and when women are in the room. While the lack of work–life balance on campaigns affects both men and women, it likely affects women disproportionately more given that they are often primary caregivers and have familial obligations that men do not have. Campaign hierarchies and bureaucracies often promote men as decision-makers and leaders, resulting in women’s voices often being absent from the corridors of power.

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The Representation of Women in Turkish Local Governments

European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies ◽

10.26417/ejis.v4i2.p212-221 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 212

Author(s):

Pinar Savaş Yavuzçehre ◽

Mısra Ciğeroğlu Öztepe

Keyword(s):

Local Governments ◽

Political Representation ◽

Local Level ◽

The Political ◽

Significant Issue ◽

Political Decision ◽

Representation Of Women ◽

The World ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Political Decision Making

Turkey is one of the countries which has the lowest representation of women in local governments (LGs) in the world. While in many countries, women are more successful to participate in local political decision-making processes, the situation is vice versa in Turkey. The tendency of women to participate in politics at both national and local level is quite low in the country and this arises from several reasons such as the cultural and patriarchal structure of the country, the roles attributed to women by society, the insufficiency of women's education level etc. In this framework, this study aims to evaluate the representation of women in the LGs in Turkey. In this context, the theoretical framework is examined and the data and statistics regarding the issue are analyzed. Our analysis reveals that despite the efforts to increase the political representation of women in LGs, the invisibility of women in LGs is still a significant issue in the country.

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On the Periphery: Examining Women’s Exclusion From Core Leadership Roles in the “Extremely Gendered” Organization of Men’s Club Football in England

Gender & Society ◽

10.1177/08912432211046318 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 089124322110463

Author(s):

Amée Bryan ◽

Stacey Pope ◽

Alexandra J. Rankin-Wright

Keyword(s):

Organizational Change ◽

Women Leaders ◽

Women's Leadership ◽

Male Dominance ◽

Leadership Roles ◽

Gender Pay Gap ◽

Pay Gap ◽

Gendered Organizations ◽

Football Clubs ◽

Underrepresentation Of Women

In this article, we frame men’s club football as an “extremely gendered” organization to explain the underrepresentation of women leaders within the industry. By analyzing women’s leadership work over a 30-year period, we find that women’s inclusion has been confined to a limited number of occupational areas. These areas are removed, in terms of influence and proximity, from the male players and the playing of football. These findings reveal a gendered substructure within club football that maintains masculine dominance in core football leadership roles and relegates women to a position of peripheral inclusion in leadership roles. Through a discourse analysis of gender pay gap reports, we show that men’s football clubs legitimize women’s peripheral inclusion by naturalizing male dominance at the organizational core. These findings are significant because they demonstrate that men’s football clubs, as masculinity-conferring organizations, have excluded women from core roles to maintain their masculine character while superficially accepting women into roles that do not challenge the association of football with hegemonic masculinity. Therefore, organizational change may be possible only if women are granted greater access to core organizational roles. Here, we offer a new theoretical framework for “extremely gendered” organizations that can be applied to other sporting and male-dominated contexts to analyze women’s access to core leadership roles.

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Political Representation and South Korean Women

The Journal of Asian Studies ◽

10.2307/2659403 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 58 (2) ◽

pp. 432-448 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Kyung-Ae Park

Keyword(s):

Political Representation ◽

Women In Politics ◽

Leadership Positions ◽

Political Leaders ◽

Representation Of Women ◽

Political Role ◽

South Korean ◽

Cross Cultural Comparison ◽

Underrepresentation Of Women

In his 1955 book, The Political Role of Women, Maurice Duverger brought our attention to the lack of representation of women in politics. Since that time, the dismal underrepresentation of women in politics has not much improved. Few women rise to leadership positions in politics; as Jean Blondel found in a more recent cross-cultural comparison of political leaders, less than 0.005 percent of all leaders were women (1987, 116–17). Regarding women's political participation, political scientists used to assert that women tended to “limit attention to the superficial and irrelevant aspects of politics” (Lane 1959, 213). Many argued that women had a different political view than did men: they were apolitical, they personalized politics, and they adopted their husbands' political orientations. Accordingly, they became political leaders only by default, as substitutes for deceased husbands or fathers.

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The Representation of Women in Turkish Local Governments

European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies ◽

10.26417/ejis.v2i2.p212-221 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 212

Author(s):

Pinar Savaş Yavuzçehre ◽

Mısra Ciğeroğlu Öztepe

Keyword(s):

Local Governments ◽

Political Representation ◽

Local Level ◽

The Political ◽

Significant Issue ◽

Political Decision ◽

Representation Of Women ◽

The World ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Political Decision Making

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Pipeline problem: Factors influencing the underrepresentation of women in top leadership positions in sports organisation

Malaysian Journal of Movement Health & Exercise ◽

10.15282/mohe.v7i2.186 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Mirian Pabatao Aman

Keyword(s):

Women Leaders ◽

Interpersonal Relationships ◽

International Olympic Committee ◽

Leadership Roles ◽

Leadership Position ◽

Leadership Positions ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Leadership Pipeline ◽

Underrepresentation Of Women ◽

Executive Boards

National Sports Associations, National and International Sports Federations and even International Olympic Committee continue to struggle meeting the 20% representation quota of women in executive boards. Although women’s representation as athletes, coaches and officials increased in national and international sports competitions but not in leadership particularly in top positions. In sports leadership, empirical research showed statistical figures that women have gained access in leadership pipeline however, they still lack in representing the executive boards. This study is a part of a larger phenomenological investigation which purpose was to identify factors that may influence the persistent underrepresentation of women in top leadership position. From a purposive maximum variation sampling of seven participants, top women leaders in Malaysia national sports organisations were interviewed about their career path and experiences on how and why women top leaders continue to lag behind with their male counterparts. Results suggest self-limiting behaviors, work-life conflict and interpersonal relationships among other women contributed to the underrepresentation of women in top positions. Factors attributed to social perception of gender and leadership roles incongruence also limited women leaders’ access in organisations which subsequently contributed to pipeline problem. Moreover, participants offered suggestions in overcoming the challenges and personal strategies in advancing opportunities and career development.

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Two Theories of Effective Government

10.1093/oso/9780198766865.003.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Johannes Lindvall

Keyword(s):

Political Science ◽

Political Institutions ◽

Public Policies ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Precise Definition ◽

Policy Changes ◽

Political Decision ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Relationship

This chapter introduces the problem of “reform capacity” (the ability of political decision-makers to adopt and implement policy changes that benefit society as a whole, by adjusting public policies to changing economic, social, and political circumstances). The chapter also reviews the long-standing discussion in political science about the relationship between political institutions and effective government. Furthermore, the chapter explains why the possibility of compensation matters greatly for the politics of reform; provides a precise definition of the concept of reform capacity; describes the book's general approach to this problem; and discusses the ethics of compensating losers from reform; and presents the book's methodological approach.

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Are there similarities between the Corona and the climate crisis?

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences ◽

10.1007/s13412-021-00666-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Robert C. Schmidt

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Political Parties ◽

Decision Procedures ◽

Free Rider ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Short Paper ◽

Political Decision ◽

Look Back ◽

Policy Measures ◽

Climate Crisis

AbstractIn this short paper, I look back at the early stages of the Corona crisis, around early February 2020, and compare the situation with the climate crisis. Although these two problems unfold on a completely different timescale (weeks in the case of Corona, decades in the case of climate change), I find some rather striking similarities between these two problems, related with issues such as uncertainty, free-rider incentives, and disincentives of politicians to adequately address the respective issue with early, farsighted and possibly harsh policy measures. I then argue that for complex problems with certain characteristics, it may be necessary to establish novel political decision procedures that sidestep the normal, day-to-day political proceedings. These would be procedures that actively involve experts, and lower the involvement of political parties as far as possible to minimize the decision-makers’ disincentives.

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German Farmers’ Attitudes on Adopting Autonomous Field Robots: An Empirical Survey

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11030216 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 216

Author(s):

Friedrich Rübcke von Veltheim ◽

Heinke Heise

Keyword(s):

Autonomous Systems ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Group Differences ◽

Unified Theory ◽

Political Decision ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Production Methods ◽

Field Robots ◽

Empirical Survey ◽

Use Of Technology

Agricultural production methods in Europe are increasingly subject to public criticism from which many farmers suffer. This applies, among other areas, to the widespread use of pesticides. Autonomous field robots (AFR), as the next stage of agricultural automation, have the potential to farm more intensively and, at the same time, in a more environmentally friendly way. However, a certain skepticism towards autonomous systems is suspected among farmers. Whether farmers adopt a technology depends largely on their uncertainty about the consequences of its use and the resulting attitude on the adoption. In order to quantify the attitude on adopting AFR in Germany and to identify possible group differences within the population, 490 German farmers were surveyed using an online questionnaire, which is based on an extended version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). In the subsequent cluster analysis, the statements inquiring the intention to use AFR served as cluster-forming variables. As a result, three groups (“open-minded AFR supporters”, “convinced AFR adopters”, “reserved AFR interested”) could be identified according to their response behavior. Despite existing group differences, an overall attitude in favor of autonomous field robots was observed. The results complement the existing research with a further empirical study and provide interesting starting points for further analysis, field robot manufacturers, and political decision makers.

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The Impact of Religion and Culture on Leadership Styles of Women Policy-Makers in the Education Industry

Journal of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy ◽

10.11113/jostip.v7n1.64 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 18-26

Author(s):

Shadiya Mohamad Saleh Baqutayan ◽

Fauziah Raji

Keyword(s):

Leadership Styles ◽

Women Leaders ◽

Women's Leadership ◽

Leadership Roles ◽

Public And Private ◽

Individual Interviews ◽

Gender Culture ◽

Education Industry ◽

Public And Private Sector ◽

The Impact

This qualitative study is purposive in sampling and explored a small number of women leaders in the education industry who are policymakers of Malay Muslim origin of their experiences in leadership positions. Policymaking here involved policies at the micro-level, which related more to their institutions and organizations. The researcher examined the women's leadership styles and the factors that influenced how they lead explicitly. Likewise, the researcher focused on how gender, culture, and religion may relate to women's experiences. Basic interpretive and descriptive qualitative research methods were employed. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews. Participants interviewed included nine women leaders in the public and private sector who were either teachers/lecturers or administrators in the education industry. These women held positions within the top echelon of their organization or institution. The finding of this research indicated that gender, religion, and culture play an important role in women's leadership experiences, therefore, themes emerged around influences on the women's approaches to leadership, with particular emphasis on the role of the larger environment in impacting women's leadership behaviors. To further focus on the impact of culture and religion on women's leadership styles, the researcher conducted a focused discussion group on the second group of Malay Muslim women leaders. This group of women leaders compromised mainly of women leaders who are department and section heads but still involved in policymaking decisions albeit within their department or sections. This study can provide insight into the landscape of women‘s leadership roles and how to support these leaders.

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