Gender, Glass Ceiling &
Leadership Styles
The Glass Ceiling: Domestic & International
Perspectives; Facilitating, Working in teams,
Negotiating & Motivating others
Any Gender Differences ? (Week 4:1)
Leadership & Glass ceiling wk 4
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Studies of Glass Ceiling in the US
Early 1990s, the Centre for Creative Leadership. 1995
survey on HR mgrs from 304 large industrial &
service firms from Fortune1000, 500 & 50
companies. 2 key findings:
• White male mgrs uncomfortable with those unlike
themselves (women, women of color)
• The lack of accountability or incentives in
organizations to develop diversity.
In1996, Catalyst (nonprofit res organization for
women in business) examined perceptions &
experiences of the Fortune 1000’s most senior
level women & CEOs (male & female).
When comparing with 2003 study on women in
corporate leadership:
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1. Compared with 23 % women in 1996, in 2003 only 30% of
women believed the opportunities for senior positions in
their own organizations have greatly improved in past 5
years.
2. Only 11 % of women believed opportunities in US have
improved in general.
CEOs views women’s advancement are critical in
supporting women’s talents in high-ranking positions.
The 2003 Catalyst’s survey of CEOs (no gender breakdown)
from Fortune1000 companies & compared with those of
senior-level females:
• 1. Women & CEOs agreed that the lack of general
management or line experience as top barrier to
women advancing into senior leadership roles.
• 2. Almost 2/3 (64%) of CEOs believed that organization is
responsible to change to meet women in management’s
needs
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•
3. 47 % of women indicated that exclusion from informal
networks was a barrier to advancement, in contrast to 18%
of CEOs.
•
4. 16 % of women noted lack of mentoring, in contrast to
21% of CEOs.
Differences in management/leadership styles bet men & women
as discussed by glass ceiling literature. Typically most valued
communication styles in corporate world are those of men
(being direct & factual) rather than interpersonal styles
women use. Therefore, women using more direct
communication may be more likely to advance than women
who do not.
However, recent study shows that women tend to be more flexible
in leading than men & engage different styles & approaches.
Another report comparing highly successful women executives in
senior leadership positions with successful men executives &
less successful women – Fortune 400 companies inc.
PepsiCola, IBM, Unilever, Prudential
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1.
Successful women executives are twice as likely to use a
more interpersonal style than men.
2. Women also use directive & authoritative style typically
use by men
3. The study points: the best leaders be women or men do
not use the style they are comfortable with, but rather
use style best suited to the situation/people.
A 2004 study shows those companies are able to “break
through” the glass ceiling” has prospered financially: Of
353 Fortune 500 companies, having the highest
representation of women as top mgmt teams
experienced better financial performance than those with
lowest women’s representation.
However, Statistics Don’t Explain Earnings Differences.
Pay inequities: In spite of women’s large share in the labor
force: 45% women & 55 % men in 1998, women’s labor
expected to rise in 2008 in the US & elsewhere)
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Leadership Style (Crampton & Mishra, Public P. M. 99)
• Successful women describing their
leadership styles often as: transformational
– getting workers to transform or
subordinate their individual self-interests
into group consensus directed towards a
broader organizational goals.
• Power attributed by personal
characteristics: charisma, personal contacts
& interpersonal skills rather tah org
structure.
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• Others suggest female managers are more
situation-based-adapting their strategies to
the contingencies of the situation. Whereas
men are more likely to view their leadership
style as Transactional – jobs are seen as
involving a series of transactions bet
themselves & their subordinates, leading to
rewards or punishment.
• Flattening structures & requiring more
participative management, which style
would best suit this environment?
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• Some suggested women
with their natural style
enabling tem to lead and
manage successfully within
this new corporate
environment compared to
more male dominated
pyramid-shaped hierarchy.
• However, women in upper
mgmt positions are mainly
in HR &
communication/public
relations where their
“softer” participative style of
management viewed as
better utilised.
Situation
based
Transformational
Participative
Women Leadership
Style
Leadership & Glass ceiling wk 4
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Research on equal pay & career
advancement (US General Office –GAO
report), failed to explain the magnitude of
earnings differences bet men & women, nor
why these differences exist. Investigated
only differences bet work patterns of men &
women, as well other key factors such as
women earned on average, 80% of men’s
earnings in 2000. What about the remaining
earnings differences?
The report suggests: pay differences cld be
the result of managing work & family
responsibilities.
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• The Institute for Women’s Policy Research
(IWPR) differences of earnings include:
• Work experience, education & lack of
opportunities. Historically, women’s wages lag
behind men plus the gap on their earnings
increases with age.
• For example, in 2002 (The US Bureau of Labor
Statistics) the differences was much greater
among workers of 45-54: women in this age
earned 75% as much as men. But women of 1624 earned 93 % of men’s wage.
• Young women closing wage gap; they earned
82% of young men’s earnings in 2000 compared
with 68% in 1979.
• HR Professionals – a learning lesson.
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Women of Color`
Face additional challenges – impact of glass ceiling: gender
based barriers & racial & ethnic obstacles at times to advance
the corporate ladder.
2004 research report of African-American women found:
•
Exclusion from informal networks & even conflicting
relationships with white women.
Although 75% of Fortune 500 companies have formal diversity
programs, 37% of African –American women stated
opportunities to advance to senior positions are declining.
Primary barriers:
1. Negative race-based stereotypes
2. Lack of institutional support
3. Frequent questioning of African-American women’s authority
& credibility.
CP/Nina Long
To combat, these women recommended 3 proactive success
factors: communicating effectively, exceeding performance
expectations, & building positive relationships with managers
& colleagues.
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• Findings from Catalyst slightly more optimistic
for women of color & glass ceiling. Overall
experienced VE+ career growth. Eg. 57% were
promoted at least once (consistent with other
studies on white women & women of color).
• While this research indicates women of color
adopt several strategies for advancement &
emphasise greatly on networking & mentoring, it
also reports women of color are less hopeful abt
their career prospects as past barriers still
remain today.
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International Implications for HR Professionals
Knowledge of their own extraterritorial laws that
apply to their own firms conducting business
outside their own incl Civil Rights Act, Age
Discrimination in Employment Act & Disabilities
Act.
To abide International laws requiring
nondiscrimination in employment:
• European Union (EU) – Equal Pay Directive
• International Labor Organization (ILO) – equal
Remuneration Convention No. 100
• Organization for Economic Cooperation &
Development (OECD) – Guidelines for
Multinational Enterprises
• United nations – Global Compact
Leadership & Glass ceiling wk 4
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Lack of global talent as an emerging issue of aging
workforce. Where to find the right people for the
organization as the baby boomers gen retires? HR
Professionals need to address this.
Seen as missing key ingredient – female global mgrs.
Women employees offer a wide range of talent &
potential but are largely underdeveloped in the global
managerial ranks. Top 3 barriers for women gaining
Global Business Experience (Catalyst, 2000)
1. Getting selected-the biggest obstacle to enter the global
business arena
2. Perceived as less internationally mobile than men due to
work & personal responsibilities
3. Lack of mentors & networks on international assignment.
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Therefore developing global leaders requires experience
outside home country, & increasingly, international
experience is a must for global senior leadership
positions.
International studies on Glass Ceiling
A 2002 report indicated stereotypes & preconceptions of
women’s roles & abilities, & the lack of mentors &
visible successful female role models as to barriers to
women taking international leadership roles. Analysis:
1. Many of the male & female respondents who are in
senior positions at large corporations across 20
European countries reported that the opportunities for
women’s advancement have greatly improved in the
past 5 years
2. Almost 25 % of women stated no change; 9% of men
agreed
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3. For women who aspire to advance in the global
arena, they still face barriers of tokenism,
exclusion and isolation.
A study of women expat mgrs representing a wide
range of industry & service sectors in Europe
found the disadvantage is due:
Lack of organizational support seemed to be
readily available to their male counterparts.
Findings also noted few organizations have
developed career models for women expats.
1. All women managers in the study – hit the
glass ceiling in their organizations in their
early careers. Affirmed glass ceiling is very real
in Europe
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2. Only 25% believed they can break the
ceiling & make it to the top of their
professions.
3. Choices in lifestyles are more difficult for
women expats than for domestic women
managers, mainly due to the strain on
personal relationships & poor quality of life
arising from commuter marriages
4. Career success – still based on a male
career model ignoring factors of marriage,
pregnancy, children & household duties.
Plus, these women in their early careers
faced gender stereotypes.
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Catalyst interviewed & surveyed over 1,000
employees in US based global companies,
incl. 522 HR executives to answer why so few
women on international arena. Key Findings:
1. Only men often are assumed interested in
expat positions. No so as 42 % of women
indicated stating their interest was an
important factor to being offered a global
assignment compared to 29 % men
2. Women are perceived to be disadvantaged,
compared with men regarding international
assignment, balancing work & personal
responsibilities, & building business
relationships outside the US.
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3. There is a shortage of experienced international talent
for the traditional 3-5 year international assignment
largely due to dual-career marriages. Thus women
seemed to be burdened by this demographic. Among
married expats, 91% of women were in dual-career
marriages, compared with 50% men.
4. Internationally assigned women tend to be more isolated
than their male counterparts, often lacking formal
support such as mentors & networks from their
organizations.
Women in Senior Positions in the US & Abroad
With many barriers still remain, although there have been
some movement for women advancing to senior
positions, women are not gaining the required
experience to compete with men:
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• `
Overt & Covert Barriers for Women
to Domestic & International Senior Positions.
•Balancing home life & career
•Isolation & loneliness
•Constant awareness of being a woman in man’s world
•Lack of access to male networks
•Having to prove oneself to others
•Having to work harder & be better than male counterparts
•Having to ask for promotions
•Having to ask for international assignments
•Less time available for networking due to domestic commitments
Source: Linehan, M., & Scullion, H (2001).
European Female Expat. Careers: Critical Success Factors. J of
European Industrial Trng.
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•
•
1.
2.
In 2002 women held only 10% of the 6,428 total
line corporate positions in Fortune 50.
Women successfully attained senior positions
recommend several career strategies:
Consistently exceed performance expectations
Develop a style with which male mgrs feel
comfortable
Seek out challenging & visible assignments
Obtain support from an influential mentor
3.
4.
[Townsend & Mattis, 1998. Gender Gap in the Executive Suite. Breaking the
Glass Ceiling. The Academy of Management Executive, 12.1]
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• 1 critical measure of women in senior positions –
numbers of women in corporate directorships.
• EG. In US in 1995, 10% of women as board
directors, increasing to 16% in 2002. In Canada,
11% of women in the board in 2002 & 2003. In
UK, 101 women as directors of FTSE 100 board,
when the number of companies with female
directors increased from 61-68.
• However, as CEOs, women score lower than as
directors. In 1995, the Fortune 500 had 1
woman CEO. Today, 7 female CEOs (increase
of 0.2% - 1.4%)
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Women Entrepreneurs.
Women moving into entrepreneurship as a path around
glass ceiling.
Key factors in business ownership are:
Leadership recognition & the authority to make decisions.
Why wld women leave corporate world?
• Increased compensation
• Opportunity to develop new skills/competencies
• Greater advancement opportunities
• Increased intellectual stimulation
• Different type of work
• More authority to make decisions
• Organizational values
• [Catalyst, 2003].
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Women Entrepreneurs Mgmt Styles
• Buttner (2001) reports that the management styles of
women entrepreneurs was best described using
relational dimensions such as mutual empowering,
collaboration, sharing of information, empathy and
nurturing. Importantly, these dimensions, which have
also been associated with women in different
professional occupations, were deemed to be
associated with firm performance. Women do work
differently from men. According to Heffernan (2003),
female negotiating styles have been shown to be
different and it has been demonstrated that they are
significantly more beneficial to long term business
success. The most recent study that explored a genetic
basis for special attributes of women in social ability and
empathy imply a better performance of companies created
and run by women because of their ability to communicate
better with employees, suppliers and customers (Valencia,
2006).
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Motivation & Business Performance
• According to Brush (1990), individual motivations and
goals such as profitability, revenues and sales growth
have been found to be related to performance in womenowned businesses, albeit their tendency to perform less
well than their male counterparts (Fisher et al., 1993).
Researchers found that women typically are motivated
by a more complex set of objectives for starting a
business than male counterparts. Factors related to
the desire to achieve flexibility between work and
family lives are valued differently by the genders
(Cinamon & Rich, 2002; Stephens & Felman, 1997). In
addition, Hisrich and Brush (1987) found that individual
motivations and owner/founder goals are related to
performance in women-owned businesses where
opportunity motivation was related to survival and
independence was associated with “no growth”. As a
result, motivation shows a strong relationship to
performance (Lerner et al., 1997).
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Entrepreneurial Networking & Mentoring
• According to Fraser (1995) and Wheeler (1995), the use of informal
mentoring supportive relationships is one of the best ways of
establishing a business and these relationships helped the new
entrepreneur bypass the obstacles which impede growth, success,
and personal fulfillment. However, women are often excluded from
social networks or informal networks of information such as maleonly clubs, old boys networks, and business lunches compared to
men (Brush, 1990) due to lack of time (Belcourt et al, 1991). In
Malaysia, women entrepreneurs faced a shortage of peer support
networks compared with men [Women Institute of Management
(WIM), 1997] even though various women entrepreneurs and
industry associations have been formed (FEM, NAWEM,
USAHANITA) which generally serve as a platform for women
entrepreneurs to establish networks and exchange information and
experiences as well as to conduct training programmes, seminars
and workshops on motivation, leadership and entrepreneur
development and to provide other means of support. This is due to
the fact that women may not join these associations as they might
be overloaded with business and family responsibilities. This limits
the women entrepreneurs’ ability to seek informal advice and peer
financing as well as the information networks needed for survival
and growth. This might pose a challenge to women entrepreneurs in
establishing networks which are helpful to the survival of their
businesses.
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• Globally, the growing number of women owned or
majority women-owned businesses proved that women
entrepreneurs are breaking through the glass ceiling.
• Survey of Women-Owned Business Enterprises reported
women owned 51% or more of 5,417,034 firms in 1997.
The 4 industries with the largest total revenues for
women owned businesses: wholesale trade, service,
retail trade & manufacturing (US Dept of Labor, the Census of Bureau)
• Women of color also made significant inroads as
entrepreneurs. Bet 1997 & 2002, the number of owned
businesses by minority increased by 32%. 1 in 5 women
owned businesses in the US was owned by a women of
color in 2002.
• In recognition of their work & their growing companies,
The Veauve Clicquot Business Women of the Year
Award acknowledges women as the leading edge of
entrepreneurship.
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