How Executive Females Sustain Their Positions - Research Paper Example

? HOW EXECUTIVE FEMALES SUSTAIN THEIR POSITIONS goes here] [Your goes here] [Due the paper] How Executive Females Sustain Their Positions In this world where gender discrimination is not a hidden issue, it is very difficult for females to prosper in any particular field of life. Women face a number of troubles and challenges in whatever they do because of the male dominant society. The challenges for women are not just restricted to the third world countries where the society is somewhat more inclined towards the interests of men. Rather the fact is that women of European and American countries also face gender discrimination in almost all fields of life. In this paper, we will discuss the challenges that female executive face when trying to sustain their positions. The paper will also include the methods or techniques that females executives use to sustain their positions which they reach as the result of their commitment, hard work, and dedication. Challenges for Female Executives Female executives come across many challenges in their struggle towards reaching a higher position in the firm where they work (Wipperman, 2010). Their experience of gender discrimination starts even before they are actually hired for any particular position and continues till the last day of their job. For example, they face gender discrimination during recruitment process when HR executives prefer to hire male employees rather than females. The reason behind this is that HR executives consider male employees more productive and dedicated as compared to females employees. Therefore, most of the times they reject women’s job application at the earliest stages of recruitment without any logical reason. And even if a female gets a chance to work for some company, she faces discrimination at every stage of her progress towards higher ranks. For example, in cases where a female and a male employee are in the seniority list and the time occurs to promote one of them to the next rank, the HR department usually promotes the male candidate even when the performance of the female candidate is better than her male colleague. These examples show that female employees face severe discrimination at almost every stage of their job life. A very little percentage of women get the chance to attain higher positions in companies where they work (Francls & Penrose, 2011). Experiencing a male-dominated work culture and getting suitable promotions is not easy for female employees (Berneke & Strella, n.d.). Some of the main challenges that female executives face in sustaining their job positions include external male pressure, balancing work with family, and the need to show skills required for higher positions. Let us discuss these challenges in some detail, as well as the ways female executive employees overcome these challenges. External Male Pressure One of the main challenges that female executives face is the external make pressure. External male pressure refers to the overall male dominant job politics which is aimed towards bringing men forward in every job position. Although such politics is mainly played between male employees to snatch each other’s positions to reach higher ranks, but when a female employee reaches a top position by chance, then all efforts are geared towards getting the position back from that employee because the general perception in the minds of men is that higher positions are only for males and that women are not supposed to run organizational system. To deal with such situations, female executives usually show more commitment and dedication with their assigned roles in order to show that they are well-suited for their current positions, as well as to convince higher authorities that they can carry out their job responsibilities effectively. It has been noted that women at higher positions have more positive job attitude and are more sincere with the job work as compared to men. The reason behind this is that women are more caring and responsible by nature and when some big responsibility is assigned to them, they take every step to fulfill those responsibilities properly. Moreover, in a society where male dominance surrounds every business and social matter, the need to show courage, dedication, and wholeheartedness becomes more critical for female executives in order to be able to tackle the negative job politics in an appropriate manner. Balancing Work with Family Another key challenge that female executives face is to balance increased workload with the family life. At higher positions where job responsibilities become more multifaceted and a person needs to show extra efforts and dedication to run the business matters properly, it becomes very difficult for a person to balance job life with family life. And in cases where a female is at a higher position, the situation becomes even more critical because the role of a woman does not end at home even when her children grow up to the stage where they can manage their daily life activities. A woman needs to play the role of a mother and a wife properly even after she reaches an executive position in the firm where she works. However, it is not an easy task for such women because where the work load for them increase due to higher positions, the family care responsibilities also increase with the passage of time. A woman needs to be at home most of the time in order to look after her children in the way they should be. However, the job responsibilities associated with higher job positions make it difficult for women to perform their family care role effectively. To sustain job positions while balancing work and family lives, female executives usually arrange a professional maid or assistant to help them in taking care of her home responsibilities at times when they are busy fulfilling their job responsibilities. Female executives do this in order to be able to pay full attention to their jobs. They know the importance of their job positions because of the difficulties and challenges they experience in attaining the higher job positions. Therefore, they usually sacrifice their family life a little in order to secure their positions, as well as to provide a better life standard to their children. Need to Show Skills Required for Higher Positions Another big challenge for almost every female executive is the need to prove their importance for higher job positions. High positions need a person to have critical decision making and effective leadership skills. Such abilities are usually associated with males because they are thought to be more responsible and dependable than women. Women at higher positions need to continuously prove that they are well-suited to their current positions and have every skill required to perform their job roles efficiently. For example, they need to show their decision making skills in resolving job related issues. Similarly, they need to prove that they can effectively communicate with their male counterparts to carryout their job responsibilities. Women usually feel uncomfortable in communicating and working with a large number of men. Female executives need to overcome this deficiency in order to prove their worth for higher job positions. Moreover, female executives also need to show effective managerial/leadership skills to sustain their job positions. To overcome these challenges, female executives try to show more responsiveness to their job tasks. For example, they actively participate in job related meetings and presentations. They fulfill all of their job functions properly and show complete awareness of their job responsibilities in order to create a good image in the minds of higher authorities. A good thing about female executives is that they do not discriminate against men as a revenge for what men do with them throughout the span of their jobs. Female executives take fair decisions which not only improve their reputation but also help them sustain their job positions. These were some of the main challenges that female executives face and overcome in order to remain on top positions. Although they have to struggle in reaching and retaining executive job positions, but this struggle and the resulting success works as a guideline for many other women. References Berneke, I., & Strella, K. (n.d.). It’s lonely at the top: Organizational challenges for female executives. Retrieved from http://www.egonzehnder.com/files/focus_01-2012_europe_viewpoint.pdf Francls, C., & Penrose, S. (2011). Getting More Women to the C-Suite. Retrieved from http://www.leadingwomenexecutives.net/mediacoverage/041111-Getting-More-Women-to-C-Suite.pdf Wipperman, C. (2010). Women in Executive Positions: Barriers and Bridges. Retrieved from http://www.sinus-institut.de/fileadmin/dokumente/downloadcenter/Soziales_und_Umwelt/Frauen_in_Fuehrungspositionen__Gesamtbericht_englisch_.pdf Read More