In Case 15.1 (Northouse, 2016, pp. 412-413) Lisa was not given an opportunity to make partner because of her gender. She did not ask for special treatment as a woman, but rather proved herself through her performance. Her inquiry into the path to partnership shows that there was a gender bias towards her. This is demonstrated through the response of her boss where he asked her how she would handle it if she made a huge mistake. According to Catalyst (2018) part of the gender stereotype against women is that they are more nurturing and emotional. In this case study, Lisa’s boss seems to think that because she is a woman she would be more emotional and less capable of handling failure as a partner and therefore cannot handle the position.

He also seems to think that because she is a woman she will not be as good of a leader. This could be explained by role congruity theory states “the agentic qualities thought necessary in the leadership role are incompatible with the predominantly communal qualities stereotypically associated with women” (Northouse, 2016, p. 405). In reality “research has found that gender is not a reliable predictor of how a person will lead” (Catalyst, 2005, “Summary”). Furthermore, “when all leadership contexts are considered, men and women do not differ in perceived leadership effectiveness. Yet, when other-ratings only are examined, women are rated as significantly more effective than men.” (Paustian-Underdahl, Walker, & Woehr, 2014, p. 1129). Some studies suggest that female leaders are more transformational and therefore effective than male leaders (Eagly & Carli, 2007).

Beyond gender bias and assumptions around leadership effectiveness, this case study highlights that another contributor to women being underrepresented in elite leadership roles could be due to perception of others (clients) and precedent of predominantly male leadership. Part of the reason Lisa is given for why she will not be made a partner is because the firm has never had a female partner. Women being underrepresented could also be due to higher expectations being placed on women (Catalyst, 2007), as is evident in this case study. Lisa had high performance and brought in the most new accounts and yet a male colleague was promoted to partner instead of her.

In this case study, the leadership of the firm could have done a few things to create equal opportunity for men and for women. They could have put on training sessions about the implicit bias towards women in leadership (Eagly & Carli, 2007), they could have had a clear path to partnership laid out that all members of the firm were aware of, and they could have had a strong harassment policy in place that would have made it not acceptable to make a comment such as, “two women in one room. That’s scary” (Northouse, 2016, p. 412).

As a personal reflection as a woman in leadership this case study makes me aware of how privileged I have been to work in an egalitarian organization. Not only have I occupied high level leadership as a woman, but also as a young leader. In lieu of my experience it makes it difficult for me to believe that suck bias exists, however, I know that it does. While I could become discouraged by this reality, it actually motivates me more. I am driven by a challenge and have never been one to back down from a fight. As I continue on as a female leader I want to strive to fight against these biases and help change the culture surrounding women in leadership.

References:

Catalyst. (2005, October 19). Women “Take Care,” Men “Take Charge:” Stereotyping Of U.S. Business Leaders Exposed “Summary”. Retrieved from https://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-take-care-men-take-charge-stereotyping-us-business-leaders-exposed

Catalyst. (2007, July 15). The Double-Bind Dilemma for Women in Leadership: Damned if You Do, Doomed if You Don’t “Summary”. Retrieved from https://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/double-bind-dilemma-women-leadership-damned-if-you-do-doomed-if-you-don%E2%80%99t

Catalyst. (2018, August 2). The Double-Blind Dilemma for Women in Leadership. [Infographic]. New York: Catalyst. Retrieved from https://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/doublebind-infographic-btn

Eagly, A., & Carli, L. L. (2007, September). Women and the labyrinth of leadership. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2007/09/women-and-the-labyrinth-of-leadership

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice, Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., Walker, L. S., & Woehr, D. J. (2014). Gender and perceptions of leadership effectiveness: A meta-analysis of contextual moderators. [Abstract]. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(6), 1129–1145. https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca:2420/10.1037/a0036751.supp (Supplemental)