The Underlying Causes of Women Empowerment in the United Kingdom - Literature review Example

 The Underlying Causes of Women Empowerment in the United Kingdom No Topic Page 1 Introduction 1 2 Background 2 3 Critical evaluation of the methodologies of journal articles 3 4 Criteria evaluation of literature 4 5 Perspectives of major authors 6 6 Justification of the need of research 6 7 Theoretical framework of research design 7 Introduction: A famous quote by Diane Mariechild defines the totality of a woman; “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform”. Nature has given the exclusive qualities of creation, nurturing the creation and transformation of the whole world, to the females. However, women have been facing the status of second grade being in the patriarchal society ruled by men. It was not long ago that the monumental speech by Martin Luther King got the coloured people their basic human rights that were denied to them for centuries. Females have been able to get an equal status in the society over the past few decades, with the help of feminist movements that have been going on for the past century. Be it the compensation that women receive, or the respect as a manager in the field of business, or the competence with which she worked; all were and are questioned. The feminist movements, as well as the proof that women have shown the whole world of their competency have been able to bring their status as an equal to that of a man. As society is progressing forwards, the patriarchal culture is slowly disappearing and women are assuming strategically important roles in the business sector. This phenomena is increasingly present in the developed countries, the less developed countries have still a long way to go. The United States of America as well as the United Kingdom has been the pioneer in building a society in which both the genders are given equal status. It is with the help of policies and procedures that the rights of women are safeguarded; however, the practice of those laws and regulations to the core is debatable. For the purpose of this research, we are taking the business society of United Kingdom as the area of research. Background: The discrepancy that was present between the status of a man and woman in society has been constantly decreasing over the period of time. Education and sensibility is contributing a lot to this cause; the more people are independent and educated, the more they believe in equality of the two gender (Theresa, 1998). Over the last decade in the United Kingdom, there have been considerable changes in the status of women in the UK society. The position nevertheless, has improved over the years (William, 1974). In 2003, a report released by the Institute of Employment studies, Department of trade and industry, presented the fact that a review on the statistics of areas such as employment, education and health etc enlighten that the gap between the position of women and men is getting smaller. The participation of women in the labour market has increased over the years, resulting in more employment opportunities and has led to a slight decrease in the employment rate of British men (Labour market trends, 2003). Over the years, the performance of both the genders had improved; on the contrary, women are not performing better than men in education are this trend is likely to bring a more educated and gender diverse force into the labour market in the years to come. The research report had used several indicators to gauge the position of women in the British society; these include Work-life balance, economic activity and employment, financial resources, education and training, health, crime and transport. This research report can serve as a benchmark for the research that is to be carried out. Critical Evaluation of the methodologies of journal articles: Most of the articles that have been utilized for the preparation of this literature review were scholarly articles and researches put forward by the government of United Kingdom, the labour department. One of the articles that have served as a foundation is the release by the Institute of Employment studies, posting the key indicators of women’s position in Britain. The study used various indicators and the differential position of men vs. women in those indicators, to understand the position of women in society, comparative over a period of years. The study was conducted and presented in 2003. The indicators were backed by survey numbers and hence the basis of the analysis is concrete. The inference made on quantitative information has a lesser chance of discrepancy due to opinions and judgements; something that is present in qualitative information. Another article that has been released by the Department of trade and industry, talks about how effective women have been when it comes to increasing productivity; the relationship between productivity and women inclusion in the workforce has been based on quantitative information as well. For a research methodology to be right it should be ideal for the kind of outcome the researcher wants to know about; answers to questions which has indicators and variables that cannot be quantified, will be better off with qualitative information. On the other hand, comparative studies over a period of time, the difference can easily be gauged by indicators which are quantitative in nature and can validate the research in a better way. Ideally a research methodology is the right mix of quantitative and qualitative research. For this research, an ideal approach would be to quantitative research and information, so that the differences are gauged over the years; the research is about reality and not about perception and thinking (Michelle, 1974). Critical evaluation of literature: As of 2010, 15 of the Fortune 500 companies are under the supervision of Women CEOs; this is an improvement from last year, when the number was only twelve. 15 out of 500 seems a small fraction, but the increase in this fraction shows an upward trend, to show that women are now climbing up the ladder in the management stream of the business sector. Previously, women were not seen in major managerial and strategically important positions and there was a definite discrimination present against them, either on the basis of perception or the patriarchal culture that was present in the organization. The race to the top for women has been slow and steady. Today, women are getting better educated than men; a recent research shows that in the United States, out of the total university going population, more than 50% is that of women. The recent recession that has hit the whole world has been massive layoffs; in this time, women have been able to start their business due to their innate creative quality as well as grasping better positions in the business sector when compared to men. The information gathered from Forbes, Money.cnn, The Economist and The Bureau of Labour Statistics, shows that the female gender is leaving the male gender behind in the presence of the current recession. In the European Union alone, out of the 8m jobs that have been created in the past 10 years, women were able to grasp 6m million of them. This is a tremendous shift in the labour market mix in Europe and shows the increasing trend of women getting better positions and more opportunities to show their productivity in the workplace. Critically analyzing, the idea that women are landing more jobs than men is one sided; it does not mean that women are getting better positions in the business sector, they are just getting more positions. The quality of their position is still indecisive from the information provided. Similarly, if more men were laid off during the recession, the reason behind it would be more men were present in the labour market mix. The claims made regarding the increase in women empowerment may be diluted to an extent, not completely negated though. One of the causes for an increase in the participation of women in politics, managerial positions and strategic roles is the presence of laws and regulations that are now increasing awareness about equality. As a society, the pressure towards becoming a housewife is decreasing, this holds true for all developed countries; society allows for such transitions to take place. According to the various studies that have been released by Government authorities, women empowerment is on the rise, owing to the sociological changes and the productivity increase in women. The study released by the Institute of Employment Studies used quantitative methods of analysis; all research and indicators were backed up by numbers. Indicators were grouped together under an area of study, such as work life balance. The indicators used to gauge the work life balance situation for women were her likelihood of returning for work after childbirth, the proportion of women working full time after the return, flexible work patterns and the presence of childcare options for women at the workplace (Kathy, 2005). Certain critical issues still remain unnoticed that are not quantitatively gauged; the perception of women and their managerial capabilities in the eyes of the opposite sex (Mary, 2007). In a study that was conducted by Harvard Business Review in 2008, the opposite sex believed that women still lack the visionary qualities that men have in them to be better manager than themselves. The presence of this glass ceiling is the probable reason for the low number of women in managerial positions when considered in totality. The gender based connotations or the remains of the gendered barriers still do not provide the women the right opportunities to get empowered. Perspectives of Major authors: Most of the work that has been used in this literature review was from official sources/releases that Government agencies and other non-for profit organizations have released. The authors have gathered supportive argumentation, backed up by survey statistics and number that are not easily undeniable. The numbers show an upward trend; they show that there has been a recent increase in the power of women and their presence in the strategic managerial positions. The reasons behind are the legislations that are present, the growing education and awareness that is creeping in the society. The patriarchal society is nowhere to be seen in the modern United Kingdom. The difference between the men and women when it comes to numbers is still significant, which propels us to ponder on the authenticity of the claims of equality made by governments, organization and associations. The perception of the other gender plays an important role in the acceptance of the women gender to be accepted as equal. The presence of glass ceiling is still felt. Justification for the need of research: In the age of equality, where claims are made and initiatives are taken whole heartedly to treat both the genders equal, there is a presence of a thorough research for the reason for the increase in the participation of women empowerment in the business sector. There have been claims everywhere, however, the recent increase shows the government, organizations and the society as a whole is doing something right; that is instigating such a societal change. Moving away from patriarchy, towards equality is a change in social ideology for years to come. There is still the mindset of the opposite gender that opposes the progress of women up the ladder due to ideological differences or the difference in the methods of handling situations and targets between the genders. A recent survey conducted by Harvard Business Review shows that a substantial percentage of men still believe that women lack the visionary qualities that are required in strategic management. Research as to why this idea is still circulating and the reasons behind the increase in women participation in the business sector so that those methods and qualities can be propagated throughout the world- in the hope that one day the whole world will follow the footsteps of the society of equals. Theoretical framework for research design: In order to understand the reason for increased women empowerment in the business sector is attributed to the development of the practices and awareness in the social circles. Women have been able to prove them better than the other gender as well. The work-life balance of women is getting better; women are now more inclined towards building a career and moving up the ladder in the business sector. The impact of such indicators on the productivity of women should be further explored. Conclusion: There is no doubt about the fact that position of women in society is getting better, this is reflective in the business environment too. However, the probable causes of such a phenomenun can help us identify which areas to target on, so that these phenomena can continue for the next decade. Since the past decade can be considered very close to the current age of development and technology; the business dynamics have been similar too, therefore, this research will help to be fruitful in improving the position of women in the management of organization for years to come. References A Book Rosaldo, M., Lamphere, L. Woman, culture and society. Stanford University Press. (1974) Chafe, W. Women and Equality: changing patterns in American Culture. Oxford University Press: USA. (1978) Rees, T. Mainstreaming equality in the European Union: education, training and labour market policies. Routledge (1998) Daniels, K., Macdonald, L. Equality, Diversity and discrimination: a student text. CIPD Publishing (2005) Sagaria, M. Women, Universities, and change: gender equality in the European Union and the United States. Palgrave Macmillan (2007) CNNMoney.com. “Fortune 500: Women CEOs”. 20th November 2010. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/womenceos/ Realonlinedegrees.com. “Women Empowerment”. 20th November 2010. http://www.realonlinedegrees.com/top-15-female-ceos-of-fortune-500-companies/ Walby, S., Olsen, W. “The Impact of Women’s position in the labour market on pay and implications for UK Productivity”. (November 2002). http://www.mbs.ac.uk/research/europeanemployment/conferenceseminars/documents/walbyolsenreport.pdf Hibbet, A. Key Indicators of women’s position in Britain. 21st November, 2010. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/Keyindicatorsofwomen_LMTOct.pdf Read More