Order ID | 7721846343 |
Subject | |
Topic | 4953 Unit 2 Discussion Board Post |
Type | Discussion Board Post |
Writer level | University |
Style | APA |
Sources / references | 0 |
Language | English(U.S.) |
Description / paper instructions
Unit 2 – Discussion: Purpose of Paper and Thesis Statement In this discussion, post the purpose of your paper and thesis sentence in 200 words. Research Topic Statement For quite a long-time activists have been championing equality as the central goal for societal progress, gender remains a dominant factor of discrimination, particularly, in the area of professional activity and, especially, leadership. Femininity is associated with socially-determined perceptions with a range of specific qualities and features, which act as directions prescribing what behavior is suitable and what is not. The mental representations of gender produce a powerful impact on well-being and self-perception of each individual. Gender-based bias and prejudice continue shaping people’s identities and their attitudes towards others (Palczewski et al., 2019). The most deleterious effects of gender stereotypes are produced in the workplace, particularly in the sense of robbing women of equal opportunities while men are encouraged to discover their talents and gifts in successful professional performance. At all levels in society, harassment is evident, from media constructions of feminine images, up to sexism and institutional discrimination (Hays & Erford, 2018). A woman’s voice is suppressed in our culture as the norms prescribe her specific, determined behavior suitable for a feminine being (Palczewski, DeFrancisco & McGeough, 2019). In the family and job settings, ideology related to gender norms dictates how both men and women perceive representatives of the feminine sector of humanity. Historically, the phenomena of sexism, discrimination of female workers, glass ceiling, gender pay gap, and the like are the adverse reality that must be changed (Hays & Erford, 2018). In the workplace, entrenched stereotypical biases do the maximum harm as they construct barriers that appear to be unsurpassable for many of the women who would perform more successfully in other, more favorable conditions. The social issue under analysis requires effective solutions and decisions, so it deserves to be the focus of the research within this current course. Women deserve the right for equal opportunity to perform as successful, efficient leaders who can make a constructive change. This paper will discuss the challenges that women go through that hinder them from holding the topmost leadership positions and how they might overcome these challenges. Relevance and Significance of Research The topic of women in leadership has a significant impact on society and the economic growth of a population. After all, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru once said that in order to awaken the society it is the women who must be awakened, once she is on the move even the nation moves (International Journal of Social Impact, 2016, p. 133). Relevance to Field of Study While talented and competent women are not given an equal opportunity to lead and invest their potentials to the fullest, the problem of incompetent male leaders in politics, the business world, and other leadership spheres continues to increase in gravity. Researchers in the field of business leaders acknowledge the existence and growing dynamics of a range of problems caused by ineffective leadership. There are many causes to ineffective leadership to include burnout, anxiety, boredom, and losses of productivity (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2019). Women continue to be perceived more negatively in leadership positions, in spite of the lack of real difference in the performance between males and females. As a result, men are promoted to leadership positions much more often than women, the result being rather frequent complaints from employees of their boss’suncouth and toxic behavior (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2019). Thus, the research on women’s leadership and practical solutions to the problem of gender-based discrimination could positively contribute to the field of leadership, on the whole. Relevance to Professions The topic of female leadership is an important subject for the general leadership field. Researchers are unanimous in stating that women, because of their more nurturing nature and enhanced communication skills, are overall excellent leaders (Hays & Erford, 2018; Chamorro-Premuzic, 2019). Their verbal abilities often surpass the male colleagues owing to specifics of the female brain, and they are socialized in the ways, which encourage caring, nurturing attitude towards others (Hays & Erford, 2018). Furthermore, women are more inclined to find a compromise and solve conflicts in a constructive fashion, so that all sides win and also benefit. Female leaders are good at managing people and accounting for the values, attitudes, and motivation of the employees (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2019). Thus, women must be given an equal chance to contribute through excellent leadership talents, skills, and capacities. Social Significance The topic is related to the existing problem of discrimination against women, particularly in leadership positions. Although significant steps have been made towards equality in the workplace, and many women are employed in management positions, they are still rare in the upper echelons of leadership. Female Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are still very few, and there are obvious societal barriers towards this state of affairs. Stereotypes and prejudice related to the image of a woman in the leadership role prevent them from gaining in leadership positions to the fullest of their potential. The issues of double standards still exist throughthe gender pay gap, and other sub-issues that are considerable barriers to female leadership. On the one hand, researchers admit that women possess advantages over men in relation to leadership qualities, but the perceptions towards women as leaders are often deleterious and limiting their optimum functioning (Power, 2018). Mainly, perceptions of the leader by the followers and other leaders play a central role in the success of the individual’s leadership performance, their capacity to impact people and produce an influence on the situations (Rawat et al., 2019). Men should also play a role in promoting women to leadership positions by embracing female leaders. Interdisciplinarity of Research Importance The interdisciplinarity approach involves the use of information from more than one research, which is from different disciplines of academic research. Researchers who rely on this interdisciplinarity mode of study have more advantages as they are able to tackle their research from different angles. The information for this research is reviewed and analyzed from diverse academic disciplines to bring forth a more holistic comprehension of the topic. In order to effectively explore the dynamics that impact women in leadership, it is prudent to look at the underlying concern of discrimination of women concerning various leadership positions in different professions. The interdisciplinarity research will revolve around literature from three disciplines, which include sociology, natural sciences, and professional discipline. Sociology The leadership realm is male-dominated as a result; women are overlooked because of their nurturing attributes, which are considered weak points in leadership. According to Dunn, Gerlach & Hyle (2014), women leaders are assessed based on the characteristics and roles of their male counterparts. This form of evaluation is discriminatory towards the women who may be more than capable of leadership. According to Paustian-Underdahl, Walker & Woehr (2014), there are several theories behind the under appraisal of women, and they include expectation states theory, lack of fit theory, think manager think male archetype and the role congruity theory. These theories seek to support the discriminatory reasoning behind the lack of women in leadership. Natural Sciences Women face invisible barriers that greatly affect their professional growth. The perceived glass ceiling affects the economic stability of the women and the society at large. According to Chisholm-Burns, Spivey, Hagemann & Josephson (2017), one of the reasons behind the low number of women in leadership roles in the healthcare sector is due to the fact that most women hold leadership positions with specialized roles which do not create opportunities for movement to higher levels of leadership. According to Kalaitzi et al. (2019), the hurdles affecting women leaders in the healthcare sector are the same in most of the countries in the world, and they include gender prejudice, stereotypes, the balance between work and life, male chauvinism, and societal culture. Professional Discipline We live in a male-dominated society where men are expected to be proficient,hard-hitting,and assertive in their decision-making processes. Women, on the other hand, are considered kind, emotional,and compassionate hence termed as weak decision-makers. According to Zheng, Kark & Meister (2018), women in leadership have learned the art of balancing,which enables them to get the required results whilst showing concern for their subordinates. According to Gobaw (2017), the background of a woman also affects her style of leadership in that women who come from supportive families and have supportive spouses are likely to exude more confidence in their leadership positions which reflects in their leadership styles. Interdisciplinary Research Outline Main Point I: Overview Nancy Pelosi, the first female House Speaker in the United States House of Congress, once said “women are leaders everywhere you go, from the CEO who runs a Fortune 500 company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household. Our country was built by strong women, and we will continue to breakdown walls and defy stereotypes” (International Journal of Social Impact, 2016, p.133). The interdisciplinary research sets light into the challenges that women in leadership go through regardless of the profession they are in. Women should enjoy the right to equal opportunity at the workplace so as to be effective and proficient leaders who can make a constructive change in society. Main Point II: Under-representation of women in leadership positions. Women seek leadership in patriarchal workplaces where they are expected to work with the same zeal if not more than their male counterparts. There are about 26 women who hold the positions of the Chief Executive Officers in Fortune 500 companies (Forbes, 2019). Women are hindered from professional growth as they are deemed too emotional as a consequence cannot make good leaders. According to Zheng, Kark & Meister (2018), women in leadership have been forced to learn the art of balancing their true character and the needs of the workplace which enables them to gain the prerequisite results while caring about the welfare of their employees. Main Point III: Factors contributing to the low number of women leaders The number one factor adding up to the deficient number of women in high-end leadership positions is the lack of mentorship (Capshaw, 2019). It is important for successful female leaders to motivate and encourage other women. Mentorship is very crucial in bringing up strong women who have the zeal to fight on and defy all the stereotypes. Women fear toexpress themselves, especially in boardrooms and generally lack excellent communication skills coupled with financial instability, and these aresignificant elements since lack of resources affects their capability as risk-takers (Forbes, 2019). Main Point IV: Challenges that women in leadership face while in the workplace. Women are constantly faced with the task of proving themselves worthy before their colleagues and their employers. According to Forbes (2019), the number of women holding top positions in the business world is minimal, thus adding up on the numerous challenges that women face while in leadership. Women are at crossroads between economic growth and family development, and there are several organizational, individual, and societal factors that make the work-life balance very tedious (Bahiru & Mengistu, 2018). Main Point V: Gender-based discrimination in the workplace Gender stereotyping is based on the societal expectations of how a man and a woman should act and the roles they should perform. According to Gipson et al. (2017, p. 35), women always face the brunt of societal gender norms of being communal and warm while men are meant to be confident and assertive consequently when it comes to selection for the top positions men have a higher advantage than women. The glass ceiling is an issue affecting women in the workplace. According to Plickert & Sterling (2017), women receive less challenging tasks and responsibilities at work as compared to men, and this greatly affects their career growth. Main Point VI: Benefits of having women in leadership Women are more effective and productive hence are beneficial in the growth of the businesses in which they lead (Power, 2018). Furthermore, having women in the leadership of an organization is a guarantee of a competitive advantage over the other businesses due to their soft skills (Chisholm-Burns, Spivey, Hagemann & Josephson (2017) Main Point VII: Conclusion Women should enjoy the right to equal opportunity at the workplace so as to be effective and proficient leaders who can make a constructive change in society. The interdisciplinary literature relied on indicates that it is paramount for more women in leadership positions to come out and mentor young women so as to build their confidence and equip them with the necessary communication skills that will help them express themselves eloquently in the workplace. As a call to action, it is essential for young women to attend leadership programs, improve their communication skills as well as get into mentorship programs with other successful women leaders. Further men need to come on board and encourage women by promoting female leadership.
|