How can leaders level the playing field so that both women and men can have equal opportunities to make meaningful contributions in leadership? (Trinity Western University, n.d.) The issue of gender equality in leadership needs to be addressed at the individual, interpersonal, organizational and societal levels. A more androgynous conception of leadership focusing on best practice is what is needed. How might leaders embrace the challenge? (Trinity Western University, n.d.)
According to Northouse (2016), three prevalent explanations for the lack of women in upper leadership roles worldwide are: human capital differences (women have less education, training and work experiences than men); gender differences (differences in leadership style and effectiveness) and prejudice. In case study #1 Lisa’s advancement barriers were clearly due to pervasive negative stereotypes of women and a general unwillingness to challenge the status quo. Gender stereotypes are highly resistant to change (Northouse, 2016). In this situation gender equality could be challenged at the individual level if her colleagues were to publicly acknowledge to the CEO that Lisa knows as much as they do about what is going on during their staff meetings. At the interpersonal level, Lisa could point out the hypocritical nature of her colleagues’ interactions when they seek her opinions privately but not publicly. At the organizational level gender equality could be addressed through transformational leadership, the goal of which would be to shift the culture of the company to begin to engage in courageous conversations about gender biases. It would also protect those who speak out from negative repercussions to their future employment or advancement. Finally, gender differences could be challenged at the societal level by the utilization of social media to promote awareness of companies that ‘walk the talk’ as well as negative attention to companies that do not.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Trinity Western University (n.d.). Unit 8: Unit 8 notes. In Leadership 500: Fall 2018. [Webpage] Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-8/unit-8-notes/