Stressing the Advantages of Female Leadership Can Place Women at a Disadvantage

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joris Lammers ◽  
Anne Gast
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Female Leadership ◽  
Popular Media ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Business World ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
Related Idea ◽  
The Future

Abstract. Women are still underrepresented in management and men hold the majority of higher positions. Nonetheless, one often-heard claim in popular media is that female people-centered leadership skills (empathy, communication, etc.) are a better match for the business world – especially in the future. Furthermore, a related idea is that women may use this advantage to take over men’s dominant position in leadership. Four studies show that such claims paradoxically maintain gender inequality, by undermining support for affirmative action to reduce female underrepresentation in leadership. Where earlier research shows that positive stereotypes can hurt women by suggesting that they are unqualified for leadership, the current findings show that even positive stereotypes that claim that women are particularly well qualified for leadership can hurt women in their chances for gaining leadership positions. Although it is good to highlight the advantages of female leadership, exaggerated and sensationalist claims contribute to a perpetuation of gender inequality.

scholarly journals An Evolutionary Explanation for the Female Leadership Paradox

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Smith ◽  
Christopher R. von Rueden ◽  
Mark van Vugt ◽  
Claudia Fichtel ◽  
Peter M. Kappeler
Keyword(s):  
Women Leaders ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Female Leadership ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Group Decisions ◽  
Female Leaders ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Collective Group ◽  
Gender Groups ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

Social influence is distributed unequally between males and females in many mammalian societies. In human societies, gender inequality is particularly evident in access to leadership positions. Understanding why women historically and cross-culturally have tended to be under-represented as leaders within human groups and organizations represents a paradox because we lack evidence that women leaders consistently perform worse than men. We also know that women exercise overt influence in collective group-decisions within small-scale human societies, and that female leadership is pervasive in particular contexts across non-human mammalian societies. Here, we offer a transdisciplinary perspective on this female leadership paradox. Synthesis of social science and biological literatures suggests that females and males, on average, differ in why and how they compete for access to political leadership in mixed-gender groups. These differences are influenced by sexual selection and are moderated by socioecological variation across development and, particularly in human societies, by culturally transmitted norms and institutions. The interplay of these forces contributes to the emergence of female leaders within and across species. Furthermore, females may regularly exercise influence on group decisions in less conspicuous ways and different domains than males, and these underappreciated forms of leadership require more study. We offer a comprehensive framework for studying inequality between females and males in access to leadership positions, and we discuss the implications of this approach for understanding the female leadership paradox and for redressing gender inequality in leadership in humans.

scholarly journals ‘Let Us Roll Up Our Sleeves’: Amplifying Female Academic Leadership Through Collaboration and Mentorship

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Poland ◽  
Jo Anne Durovich ◽  
Rachel Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Academic Leadership ◽  
Female Leadership ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Female Leaders ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Catholic Sisters ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of

The strengths of female leadership are illustrated through the 400 year history of the Catholic Sisters of St. Joseph (CSSJ) and their commitment to their charism which focuses on unity, inclusion and relationship building. Within the colleges they established, the Sisters have demonstrated their commitment to collaboration in their many leadership positions - both formal and informal - within the academy. This article focuses on the leadership of the Sisters as demonstrable examples of female leadership within academia, and makes suggestions for carrying the charism of the CSSJ into the future, expanding their focus on inclusivity to incorporate a broad expanse of female leaders.

Leadership Development in College Newsroom Labs

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Marie Collins
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Transactional Leadership ◽  
Professional Socialization ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Female Leadership ◽  
Mixed Methodology ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Socialization Process ◽  
Male And Female

While men ease their ways into positions of authority, the number of women holding top-level leadership positions in media is declining. This study sought to explore how the professional socialization process found in college newsroom labs contributes to the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of female leadership development. Mixed methodology results revealed that both, male and female, students were more comfortable using Transactional leadership skills, developed codependent relationships among their peers, and avoided confrontation and strong leadership opportunities. To better prepare women for top-level positions and feeling comfortable with the power it possesses, a restructuring of the pedagogy is warranted.

Organizational Genealogies and the Persistence of Gender Inequality: The Case of Silicon Valley Law Firms

2005 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damon J. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
Women In Leadership ◽  
Female Leadership ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Advancement Opportunities ◽  
Gender Hierarchy ◽  
New Firm

Using a study on foundings of Silicon Valley law firms, I propose and test an organizational theory on the genealogical persistence of gender inequality that emphasizes the routines (or blueprints) and experiences that founders transfer from their parent firms to their new firms. This transfer links the parent firm's gender hierarchy to women's advancement opportunities in the new firm. Founders from parent firms that historically had women in leadership positions, such that female leadership is institutionalized, are more likely to found firms that promote women into prominent positions. Conversely, founders from firms that historically had women in subordinate positions, such that female subordination is institutionalized, are less likely to promote women into prominent positions. Findings are consistent with the theory and also show that the persistence effect is stronger for founders who were previously lower-ranked employees and for founders who institute an organization of work similar to their parent firm. The study suggests that future research should investigate routines and structures that not only generate gender inequality unintentionally but are in turn replicated across generations of organization through the mobility of employees.

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t: A Conceptual Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Leader Impostorism

2021 ◽  
pp. 014920632110203
Author(s):  
Ronit Kark ◽  
Alyson Meister ◽  
Kim Peters
Keyword(s):  
Popular Media ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Motivation To Lead ◽  
Fertile Ground ◽  
Contextual Characteristics ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences ◽  
Formal Leadership ◽  
Leader Role

Impostorism, a phenomenon whereby a person perceives that the role they occupy is beyond their capabilities and puts them at risk of exposure as a “fake,” has attracted plentiful attention in the empirical literature and popular media. However, despite evidence that impostorism is frequently experienced by people in leadership positions, there has been little consideration of why this happens. In this theoretical article, we explain why formal leadership roles—roles that are characterized by elevated expectations, high visibility, and high levels of responsibility—are fertile ground for impostorism experiences. We also discuss how the associated self-conscious emotions of shame and fear, can increase leaders’ risk-aversion and enhance leader role performance, yet at the same time drive emotional exhaustion, and reduce their motivation to lead. This can ultimately inhibit leaders from seeking, claiming, and thriving in leadership roles. We offer individual-, dyadic-, and organization-level contextual characteristics that can either enhance or reduce this phenomenon. We also discuss how supportive organizations can mitigate leadership impostorism. Furthermore, we highlight how women and minority-status leaders may be more vulnerable to this experience and conclude by suggesting the practical implications of the leader impostorism phenomenon for individuals and organizations.

A metapsychological exploration of the role of popular media in engineering public belief on planning issues

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Gunder
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Popular Media ◽  
Communication Media ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
The Future ◽  
Contemporary Media

The article considers how planning, in its various dimensions of engagement with popular communication media, plays an important role in helping to ideologically constitute a polity’s desired spatial reality. In doing so it will consider the historical deployment in public relations of psychoanalytical theory to facilitate the construction of public issues and beliefs, as well as to engineer consent for planning and related policy. The article will consider the role of contemporary media in shaping public aspirations as to what is desired for the future of our cities and settlements. The article will conclude that psychoanalytical insight gives us one effective handle from which to begin to understand planning’s ideologically shaping role in the formulation of our desires for our future communities.

Gender inequality in the work environment: a study of private research organizations in India

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Namrata Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Women In Leadership ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Indian Culture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ideal Woman

Purpose Since liberalization in the 1990s, India has witnessed a growth in the number of educated middle-class women in professions. However, there are few women in leadership positions and decision-making bodies. While the earlier notion of the ideal woman as homemaker has been replaced by one which idealizes women of substance, a woman’s role in the family continues to be pivotal and is even viewed as central in defining Indian culture. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how and to what extent gender inequalities are reproduced in the organizations employing educated professionals. Design/methodology/approach Based on the perspective that gender is socially constructed, this paper analyzes gender inequality in Indian organizations through semi-structured interviews of men and women scientists in two private pharmaceutical laboratories. Findings The findings show reproduction of a gendered normative order through two types of norms and practices: one, norms and practices that favor men and second, socio-cultural norms that devalue women in public spaces which help to maintain masculinity in the workplace. Although these practices might be found elsewhere in the world, the manner in which they are enacted reflects national cultural norms. Originality/value The paper highlights how various norms and practices enacted in the specific Indian socio-cultural context construct and maintain masculinity at workplace depriving opportunities to professional women which affect their rise to leadership positions.

scholarly journals Gender Inequality, Female Leadership and Aid Allocation

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Kleemann ◽  
Peter Nunnenkamp ◽  
Rainer Thiele
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Female Leadership ◽  
Aid Allocation

scholarly journals The Anatomy Of EEOs Level Playing Field

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
Edward L. Powers
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Equal Employment Opportunity ◽  
Barack Obama ◽  
Employment Opportunity ◽  
Level Playing Field ◽  
Hillary Clinton ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Equal Employment ◽  
The Future ◽  
Sarah Palin

The election of President Barack Obama, and the candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin raise the issue of whether we continue to need equal employment opportunity and/or affirmative action. The concept of a level playing field is carefully developed, and provides a basis for a more thorough analysis of the future of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.

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