Women in the Decision-Making and Leadership Roles - Case Study Example

Introduction The challenges to the involvement and advancement of the women in the decision-making and leadership roles are several and vary accordingly. There are equally numerous factors and elements that influence the barriers to women advancement in leadership, some of which are internal and domestic while others are external barriers. It is notable that the beginning ten years of the career of a person are critical to laying the foundation required for the establishment of that person. The evidence of the gender disparity in positions of leadership is evident in all countries irrespective of their level of modernization. For instance, the level of gender involvement in leadership in the UK is currently at 22.8% of the total board representation, despite the set target of the government, which is at 25% (Groysberg & Bell, 2013, p 93). Therefore, observing these statistics necessitates the need to evaluate the barriers to the involvement of women in the boardrooms and strategies to incorporate to assist in achieving this gender parity. Further, understanding the significance of the women incorporation in the boardroom is a major milestone in the course of establishing gender parity in the management and leadership positions. Different perspectives on gender equality when it comes to leadership It is notable that the status of women involvement in the paid employment sector has risen drastically within the last half century (Sheehan, De Cieri, Greenwood & Van Buren, 2014, p 116). However, the contentious issue emanates from the revelation that the progression of the professional women into the elevated positions of leadership is still remarkably slow. There has also been a continuous push to enhance the contribution of the executive women in the organizational objectives (Groysberg & Bell, 2013, p 88). However, the general perception of women from the cultural backgrounds is a factor of worrying trend, as the society approaches the case from the roles defined at the domestic level. Moreover, as the challenges to the advancement of women in leadership positions increases, aspects such as the aging population also rise. This impairs the positional establishment of women at the leadership capacity (Sheehan, De Cieri, Greenwood & Van Buren, 2014, p 121). The theoretical framework entailed in measuring the level of incorporation of women in the leadership roles factors the related barriers such as stereotyping and self-fulfilling prophesy among others. These establishments reflect accordingly on the view that women are not as equally enabled and equipped to take the positions of leadership and give direction to the men in the society (Groysberg & Bell, 2013, p 91). On the positive aspects, the incorporation of women in positions of leadership is equally beneficial to the growth of the organization. The organizational dynamics including aspects of culture, beliefs and ethnicity are equally comparable to the subject of gender. Thus, from organizational dynamics, it is observable that the role of gender parity at the leadership positions does foster successful growth of the organization to achieve its objectives accordingly. The role of national and organizational culture in facilitating or preventing women’s career progression The national culture is a key consideration in the evaluation of the women involvement in the leadership positions. It is observable that at the national level, the governments continue to push for equal gender participation at all levels of engagement (Konrad, 2006, p 46). Thus, many jurisdictions have established laws and policies that seek to ensure equal representation of women in the boardrooms. For instance, the UK set the minimum representation of either gender in leadership positions at 25%. Thus, such a policy encourages and promotes involvement of women in leadership positions. However, it is notable that reluctance at the national level to implement these policies is obstructing the rise of women in the boardroom positions (Thomson & Graham, 2005, p 86). At the organizational level, many organizations have the culture to ensure and facilitate equal participation of either gender in leadership. Consequently, this directive is encouraging the involvement of women a leadership. However, issues of unequal skill distribution among the males and females in the organization cause some of the organizations to fail in achieving this equal gender distribution (Konrad, 2006, p 67). Moreover, the top leadership in some aspects utilizes demeaning modes such as seeking favors and intimidation to prevent the women from reaching the positions of leadership expected. Thus, the national and organizational cultures are key factors for consideration in ensuring equal representation of the genders at the boardroom. The role of stereotyping and self-fulfilling prophesy as barriers to women meeting their career expectations It is notable that negative stereotyping has been an issue of contention from the past and continue to impair the advancement of women in the leadership capacities. A quantitative evaluation of the impact of negative gender stereotyping on the establishment of women reflects that stereotyping begins from the family level to the national level (Mathisen, Ogaard & Marnburg, 2013, p 89). Family related barriers such as cultural beliefs that women are inferior to men impair the possibility of involving women in leadership capacities accordingly (Mathisen, Ogaard & Marnburg, 2013, p 88). Aspects of gender biased treatment against the women affect the chances of women in attaining the top managerial posts, as males feel superior. Further, the aspect of self-fulfilling prophecy arises from the established stereotyping in the society or organization, for instance, at family level, women grow knowing that they cannot accomplish given tasks as those tasks are set for men (Mathisen, Ogaard & Marnburg, 2013, p 91). Thus, such beliefs establish themselves in the women, until they completely believe they do not have capacity to hold leadership positions, hence the prophecy fulfilling itself (Mathisen, Ogaard & Marnburg, 2013, p 93). Thus, factors of negative stereotyping and self-fulfilling prophesies do impair the advancement of women in the managerial capacities. Benefits of gender diversity at the executive level According to established research statistics from Mercer’s research, the impact of organizational practices that encourage advancement and representation of women in leadership shows that the organizations thrive accordingly. A holistic involvement of the female gender in the workplace does support the organizational growth significantly. The research indicates that organizations that apply predictive analytic programs to engage women in the leadership achieve better retention of the hardworking women, which in return gives the organization better profits (Dezsö & Ross, 2012, p 1078). Moreover, another illustration is the report filed by Catalyst and McKinsey, which compared the performance financially of the organizations according to the involvement of gender diversity at the senior management level (Dezsö & Ross, 2012, p 1081). The report does reflect that the organizations found higher returns on equity that was correlating to the greater diversity. However, the records do not clearly show the cause as the involvement of women in the positions. Thus, it is not concrete evidence of the benefit of women in the leadership positions. Nonetheless, the findings do reflect that indeed there is a significance impact for incorporating equal representation of the female gender in the boardroom composition. The involvement of diversity at the boards does strengthen the talent pipeline of the organization as well as increase innovation leading to better performance. Strategies and approaches that may be adopted to develop female leaders in organizations The national governments through their labor ministries continue to establish laws and policies to designate the composition of the genders at each level. For instance, Italy set the minimum female representation at 33% while in UK is at 25% (Ibarra, Ely & Kolb, 2013, p 61). However, these countries have not managed to achieve the set targets. Nonetheless, this use of the quotas as a way of boosting women representation is working remarkably to enhance the involvement of the female gender at the boardrooms. Another strategy to adopt is the establishment of development opportunities that facilitate women growth (Ibarra, Ely & Kolb, 2013, p 62). Notably, availing the opportunities for the women and encouraging them accordingly to take their chances will aid accordingly to advance the gender representation at the senior levels. The women are also encouraged to identify mentors that will facilitate and motivate them accordingly to seek these positions and the skills required to get them at the senior managerial levels (Ibarra, Ely & Kolb, 2013, p 65). Thus, through such strategies, it is possible to achieve the equal gender representation on the senior boards of management. Conclusion It is notable that despite the efforts engaged at the national and organizational levels to achieve flexible working policies, there is a limitation in the adoption and implementation of these policies at the corporate level. The diversity of the challenges that women face in the push for equal female representation at the boardroom makes it notably difficult to achieve the required gender parity. Nonetheless, the current measures established are engaging the women accordingly and facilitating a slow but steady rise in the ratios of female to male gender representations in the boardrooms. References Dezsö, C, & Ross, D 2012, 'Does female representation in top management improve firm performance? A panel data investigation',Strategic Management Journal, 33, 9, pp. 1072-1089, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 March 2015. Groysberg, B, & Bell, D 2013, 'Dysfunction in the Boardroom', Harvard Business Review, 91, 6, pp. 88-95, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 March 2015. Ibarra, H, Ely, R, & Kolb, D 2013, 'Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers. (cover story)', Harvard Business Review, 91, 9, pp. 60-67, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 March 2015. Konrad, A. M. (2006). Cases in gender and diversity in organizations. Thousand Oaks, California, Sage. Mathisen, G, Ogaard, T, & Marnburg, E 2013, 'Women in the Boardroom: How Do Female Directors of Corporate Boards Perceive Boardroom Dynamics?', Journal Of Business Ethics, 116, 1, pp. 87-97, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 March 2015. Sheehan, C, De Cieri, H, Greenwood, M, & Van Buren, H 2014, 'HR Professional Role Tensions: Perceptions and Responses of the Top Management Team', Human Resource Management, 53, 1, pp. 115-130, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 March 2015. Thomson, P., & Graham, J. (2005). A woman's place is in the boardroom. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. http://www.myilibrary.com?id=45668. Read More