Abstract
Now more than ever girls/women are raised to want more than the stereotypical housewife or care giver. Women want to be successful and in the 21st century you have seen and still continue to see a rise of a lot of successful women in leadership positions in a multitude of industries. This study is to examine the obstacles present, why the barriers still exist, how they can be overcome and if there is a future where men and women in leadership roles can be seen as equals.
Chapter 1: Introduction, Significance and Purpose of Study
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to explore some of the most common obstacles and opportunities that women are facing trying to achieve, maintain and succeed in leadership position or role. Women even in the 21st Century are facing a lot of barriers and bias when in comes to leadership. While the world is evolving, women are still lagging behind when it comes to leadership roles in business. Today, only 26 women are in CEO roles at Fortune 500 companies, making up 5.2% of the female population, according to a report by Pew Research. The stats stay virtually the same for women CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies at 5.4%, showing that there is little movement of women making up these high-ranking positions as company leaders (Council, F. C. 2018, February 26). Even with women leaders on the rise, there are still so many barriers that their male counterparts have not had to deal with or even have an understanding of.
Being a women striving to reach a leadership position in an industry that is dominated by my male counterparts there are a list of things I have experienced they have not. There is things that I will always put be for my job and that will never change. My children first and foremost (not saying that my male counterparts are less parents because of that). Working in the home improvement industry women get stereotyped quite often, especially in a leadership role. Almost on a daily basis we hear that we can’t do something or don’t know about what they are asking or they will avoid asking us for help. Customer’s often assume because we are female we are lacking the knowledge in certain areas. For example in plumbing we have a part time plumbing associate who is a female and she is a master plumber by trade. She is the most knowledgeable person in our plumbing department. Yet contactors who have never seen her before will bypass her and or avoid her, simply because she’s a woman and what can she know. It happens daily. Just a few weeks ago I had a Service Manager send me an email about an issue with a customer who asked who is boss is and would like to speak to him, he informed the customer of my name and that in fact I was a female. He was very taken back and told him he could not believe I was a woman and his boss. When we describe some of these situations to other people, they are shocked and can’t believe we go through it.
It’s hard to believe that in 2018 these gender bias exist. According to the PEW Research Center “The share of female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies reached an all-time high of 6.4% in 2017, with 32 women heading major firms. But the share has fallen to 4.8% after several high-profile women left their posts, including Denise Morrison of Campbell Soup Co. and Meg Whitman of Hewlett Packard Enterprise” (Brown, A. 2018, September 13).
Purpose of the Study
Explore the most common obstacles facing female leaders in the 21st century.
Significance of the Study
This study and research is significant to me as a mother, wife, and career woman. Facing some of the bias and barriers that many women have faced before me are still relevant now. It is important to those generations after mine that could potentially still face some of the obstacles. As a mother, wife, and career woman knowing some of these bias and barriers that still exist are important. We need to know how we can take these challenges and opportunities so we can successfully navigate them. Perception is everything, unfortunately. “How women are perceived—how they dress, how they talk, their “executive presence,” their capacity to “fill a room,” and their leadership style—has been the focus of many efforts to get more of them to the top. The premise is that women have not been socialized to compete successfully in the world of men, so they must be taught the skills and styles their male counterparts acquire as a matter of course” (Herminia IbarraRobin J. ElyDeborah M. Kolb, Ignatius, A., & Harvard Business Review. 2016, August 01). Being well aware and informed of the issues that women are still facing are not only important for the women now but for future generations. Daily we continue to try and change the mindset that has been created way before our time. Women continue to rise in leadership positions and in roles that our male counterparts used to once dominate. The bias and barriers will be around for many more years but continue to improve every day.
Operational Definitions & Key Words
Research Questions
1. Is gender a factor in pay gaps?
2. Have the number of women in senior leadership positions risen or fallen in the last 10 years?
3. How does he United States stack up to other industrial countries when it comes to women in leadership?
Testable Null Hypotheses
1. Pay gaps between male and female leaders are not a result of gender bias but a difference in education, experience and overall abilities.
2. The number of women in senior leadership positions has dramatically risen in the last 10 years.
3. The United States falls short compared to other industrial countries when it comes to women in leadership roles.
References
Council, F. C. (2018, February 26). 15 Biggest Challenges Women Leaders Face And How To Overcome Them. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/02/26/15-biggest-challenges-women-leaders-face-and-how-to-overcome-them/#1012a2b44162
Herminia IbarraRobin J. ElyDeborah M. Kolb, Ignatius, A., & Harvard Business Review. (2016, August 01). Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2013/09/women-rising-the-unseen-barriers
Brown, A. (2018, September 13). The Data on Women Leaders | Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/fact-sheet/the-data-on-women-leaders/