Question: What are the top factors that prohibit women from advancing into leadership positions at the same rate as men? Focus more on what causes this situation

Bang, Seung Cheon

Young Shin, Hae

English

Question: What are the top factors that prohibit women from advancing into leadership positions at the same rate as men? Focus more on what causes this situation.What_are_the_top_factors_that_prohibit_women_from_advancing_into_leadership_positions_at_the_same_rate_as_men.pdf: 9579 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

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What are the Top Factors That Prohibit Women From Advancing Into Leadership Positions at the Same Rate as Men?

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What are the Top Factors That Prohibit Women From Advancing 
Into Leadership Positions at the Same Rate as Men? 
Hae Young Shin 
Cornell University 
Seung Cheon Bang 
Cornell University 
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What are the Top Factors That Prohibit Women From Advancing Into Leadership 
Positions at the Same Rate as Men? 
Abstract 
Question: What are the top factors that prohibit women from advancing into leadership positions at the 
same rate as men? Focus more on what causes this situation. 
Keywords 
human resources, gender and work, inclusion, family and work 
Disciplines 
Human Resources Management 
Comments 
Suggested Citation 
Young Shin, H. & Bang, S. C. (2013). What are the top factors that prohibit women from advancing into 
leadership positions at the same rate as men? Retrieved [insert date] from Cornell University, ILR School 
site: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/student/39/ 
Required Publisher Statement 
Copyright by the authors. 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/student/39 
Cornell University ILRHR 6640: March, 2013-03-08 
Hae Young Shin & SeungCheon Bang 
 
  Executive Summary   
The cited references are listed in order of appearance in the Bibliography 
 
Question                                                                                                                                        
What are the top factors that prohibit women from advancing into leadership positions at the 
same rate as men? Focus more on what causes this situation. 
 
Introduction: Current Trend of Women Leadership Position   
1 For  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  century,  women  have  been  entering  the  professional  and 
managerial ranks of U.S. corporations at about the same rate as men. (See Table 1), yet they 
remain dramatically underrepresented at senior levels. 2Women currently constitute only 2.2% 
of Fortune-500 CEOs and 3about 15% of these companies’ board seats and corporate officer 
positions. This report will analyze the top factors and make some recommendations to solve 
them. 
 
Analysis: The top factors that prohibit women from advancing into leadership position         
We assessed impediments for women advancing into senior leadership positions by using 4an 
ecological model which takes societal, organizational and individual levels into consideration. 
 
1)  Societal Level Factors 
Broad societal forces and polices perpetuate assumptions and stereotypes which present 
challenges to women in leadership roles. 
• Legislation and policies related to employment equity, human rights, access to affordable 
day care and reproductive rights have a profound impact on the ability of women to 
advance in the workplace. 
• Social Norm driven by media 5Media perpetuates gender stereotypes by using images to 
reinforce gendered notions of leadership, often presenting men as “experts”. Stereotypes 
are  further  perpetuated  when  female  executives  are  portrayed  as  anomalies.  6Media 
images show women in home and 7as younger than men, which 8communicates and 
reinforces  perceptions  of  female  professional   incompetence  and  unsuitability  for 
leadership position. 9Pervasive stereotypes present women as lacking the ‘right stuff’ to 
be leaders, especially in the traditionally male-dominated domain such as business and 
politics. 
 
2)  Organizational Level Factors 
10While most organizations have attempted to change the exclusive work environments of 
previous eras, systemic barriers affecting the advancement of women still remain. 
• Higher  Performance  standards  and  risky  task.  11 When  women  are  promoted  to 
leadership  positions,  they  are  often  held  to  higher  performance  standards  than  men 
and 12tasked with responsibilities associated with great risk of failure. 13They are also less 
likely to be given ‘stretch’ assignments and developmental opportunities, which are both 
critical to promotional opportunities. 
• Bad human resource practices. 14Research indicates that both recruitment choices and 
succession  planning  decisions  are  heavily  influenced  by  informal  networks  and  the 
adherence to unwritten rules. Once hired, women are often disadvantaged in terms of 
opportunities for networking and mentoring. 15Research by the Diversity Institute and 
Catalyst(2007) showed that 66% of women feel that ‘who you know’ is more important 
 than ‘what you know’ when it comes to decisions about which employees will be 
promoted. 
• The conflict between work and family. 16Many female workers are also mothers. Their 
children and husbands can provide some burden that may negatively impact their chances 
at women’s leadership position. It is also related with women’s feeling that they cannot 
handle  balancing  work  and  family life  with  the  rigorous  demands  that  a  leadership 
position takes. 17A Pew study indicates that one third of women surveyed believed that 
their failure to reach the top management is "due to family obligations and family 
responsibilities". 
• Perceptions  of  the  work-family  conflict  18 Even  if  women  decide  to  go  for  top 
management  and  are  willing  to  handle  their  work  from  a  CEO  and  their  family 
simultaneously, evaluators may not promote them due to their own perceptions of the 
work-family conflict that women go through. 
 
3)  Individual Level Factors 
At the individual level, some research indicates that women’s lack of confidence to 
succeed often leads to making decisions that affect their career prospects. 
• 19The sense of diminished self-efficacy is often shaped by the social context in which 
there are limited role models and highly gendered professional stereotypes and notions of 
leadership. For example, 20Women are less likely to promote themselves; when they are 
successful, they are more likely to credit the team or circumstance and when they fail, 
they are more likely to blame themselves. 
• 21Communication style Another factor that has far reaching implications is differences in 
communication styles and 22the fact that women are less likely to negotiate for what they 
want. 23When women do assert themselves and negotiate, they are considered less socially 
attractive, less likeable, and less hirable. 
 
  Recommendations                                                                                                                      
Given that such top factors which is holding women to be promoted to top management, 
companies need to establish integrated strategies which affect change at the societal, 
organizational and individual levels. 
 
• Leadership and Governance: For Leadership Diversity in the organization, women must 
have the support and commitment of executive management who have the power to 
influence change across the organization. Diversity strategies with executives’ 
commitment and initiatives can be more easily understood and communicated across the 
organization by engaging women in succession planning with explicit diversity goals in 
mind.24 Mentors and role models of women managers can also have a great effect. 
 
 
• Balancing work & family: Leading organizations have a wide range of programs aimed 
at reducing the challenges of balancing work and family obligations. For example, 25TB 
bank and 26HP Canada offer flexible work options, reduced workweeks, job 
partnership/sharing, and changing number of days in the workweek while keeping the 
hours the same. 
 
• Sharing Women’s Success Stories: Regardless of the barriers that persist, it is obvious 
that talented women are succeeding and taking their place in leadership roles. Therefore, 
it is critically important that women learn from their experiences in order to inspire and 
coach aspiring female leaders. 
 Appendix 
 
Table 1. 1Women in Management in the United States, 1960-Present 
 
Unit: % 
 
Official Dept. of Labor Category 1960 1970 1980 
Managers and administrators, except farm 15.6 15.9 26.2 
 
Official Dept. of Labor Category 1985 1990 1995 
Management, professional, and related occupations 
(reconstructed) 
 
33.3 
 
36.5 
 
38.7 
 
Official Dept. of Labor Category 2000 2005 2010 2011 
Management, professional, and related occupations 48.8 50.6 51.5 51.4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1  Catalyst. Catalyst Quick Take: Women in Management in the United States, 1960-Present. New York: Catalyst, 
2012. 
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What are the Top Factors That Prohibit Women From Advancing Into Leadership Positions at the Same Rate as Men?

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