Essay on Comparing the Managerial Styles of Males and Females

These perceptions however may not be true. According to organizational behavior scholars, ‘women are evaluated negatively when they adopt a stereotypically male leadership style and occupy traditionally male-dominated positions’. The employees in the case assume that Sally being a woman should be ‘nurturing and … care about their workers’ suggesting preconceived notions of how women should behave. This notion of stereotyping can result in misinterpretation of information because not all people are the same, and many in the same social category may demonstrate inconsistencies with the stereotype.

Stereotyping can come in many different forms and have many different subjects. One form of stereotyping is of gender. Just about everyone holds stereotypes of women and men – some positive and some negative. Women are more empathic and talkative; men are more competent and aggressive. For example, are women really “more empathic” than men? Which women? Empathic toward whom? When women’s and men’s actual behavior is observed systematically under a variety of conditions, the sexes do not differ in having feelings of empathy or in its expression (book, p. 365). Social pressures influence how we conform to these stereotypes, however it does create a problem when people are victimized by the negative stereotypes of their gender or group. There are different connotations that can be identified when stereotyping: positive, women are better caregivers and men are better breadwinners or money makers. These positive connotations can be taken negative towards the other gender or even their own gender – men can be caretakers too and women can make money. In the early 1900’s there was a high discrimination towards women, women entering the work force worked in factory lines, while men worked management which resulted in lower pay for women kept the men in charge. Over the years gender roles have taken a turn and there is now a significant increase with women working and taking on management roles. Roles in society are different between genders and those differences either positive or negative will hopefully diminish after time.

Women are often seen as having the less desirable characteristics of managerial jobs. They are seen as less self-confident, more emotional, helpful, sympathetic, less analytical and less consistent persons. While men are seen as more aggressive, decisive, dominant, active, competitive, logical, self-confident individuals. They possess more leadership abilities than women (Oakley, 2000). Also, the physical appearance and way of dressing can serve as a barrier to advancement. Women try to overcome these differences by accentuating and imitating male characteristics and lessen their feminine aspects (Oakley,2000). When women dress themselves in a more conservative way, “the male way”, they are perceived as inauthentic. If they dress in ways that

Contrary to the above findings that male and female managers consider themselves to share similar competencies, other studies have observed that women and men in management positions do perceive themselves differently. Female managers participating in these studies indicated that they believed they were more innovative (Bass et al.,1996) and better at getting the job done and setting

As a result of the existed stereotypes and prejudices about women, the word manager is still linked with male characteristics (Wirth, 2001). Women, who enter male-dominated professions are often trying to adopt themselves to the work environment and expectations that were created by men (Wirth, 2000).

Historically, women are viewed inversely than men when it comes to managerial positions. Moreover, having the belief that women differentiate in skills and abilities from men constitute a sex-role stereotype (Brown, 1984). Furthermore, women of different ethnicities are also treated very differently.

Eagly & Chin (2010) note that the barriers described intersect with leader behavior and identity in that leaders who are members of these groups are often expected to not only perform leader functions but also to fulfill the stereotypes associated with their group membership. They note that women who do demonstrate more "masculine" traits are often given poorer performance reviews even if their leadership performance is the same. Eagly & Johansen (2003) point out that women do have high levels of leadership performance, and so-called feminine traits are better correlated with positive outcomes than masculine traits, yet there remains discrimination in hiring females into leadership positions. The issue is even more complicated for people who incorporate multiple points of diversity, for example African-American females (Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010).

In terms of leadership style, gender stereotypes in management positions indicated that women place more emphasis on communication, emotional cooperation, affiliation, and nurturing while men leaders are more active,

Understanding the processes that cognitive lights stereotyping causes of the phenomena studied by organizational psychology underlying. Research on gender and leadership focuses on both college students and executives in various business settings. A common theme concerns the idea that a good leader is "model described incompatible male with feminine behavior, sometimes thought of as" think-Manager. For example, to provoke some settings pronounced stereotypes. If the expected leadership style of an organization at a given hora direct, exacerbate uncaring, or from top to bottom, traditionally masculine behaviors can be expected by executives. This expectation May effects of stereotypes of women who hold that competence and warmth of personality are dichotomous, making it difficult for women in leadership positions a balance that effectively to find in this organization.

Gender stereotype in workplaces is an endless issue that one may experience. Women for example, has gone through great efforts in demonstrating the capabilities of what a female can do in workplaces. However, some up to now, experience significant disparities and negative criticisms on how they act and behave in workplaces. According to Madelaine E. Heilman, on the effects on how women behave:

Most of the authors above conclude their findings with references to gender stereotypes. Still others, represented in this review by Hayes and Samartseva, focus on and detail the way stereotypes affect gender communication. Hayes states that stereotypes are the single most cause of misunderstandings between the genders in the work place, especially larger organizations where the work force doesn’t have a chance to develop closer relationships (2004). Hayes argues that when people are placed in a confrontation with an unknown person, or when that person’s mood and attitude is an unknown factor, people fall back subconsciously to their stereotyped images in order to interpret both verbal and non-verbal communication (2004). Samartseva discusses how stereotypes are conceptual frameworks built from observable behaviors that act as a way of predicting the world. However, she also points out that the development of stereotypes can lead to situations in which self-filling prophecies rule perceptions (2002).

Looking at the significant body of research on the topic of gendered leadership, the overwhelming opinion is that men and women are thought to behave differently in leadership positions. Analysis of the key traits of masculine and feminine leadership models shows that masculine models value “assertiveness, aggressiveness and a task-focused orientation” while feminine approaches value “empathy, cooperation, and collaboration with an intrapersonal orientation”. Men are thought to bring a “command and control” style to leadership and women a “mentor and coach.”

As society moves away from authoritative leadership and into transformational leadership style preferences that grant wider success of employee retention, morale, and growth, women’s natural skill sets are demonstrably more successful in filling the job. However, women continue to be deeply underrepresented in higher levels of public and private organizations. Exploring the complex nature of gender stereotypes and how they perpetuate female inequality in leadership opportunities, this paper explores why this continues, who is at risk, and how women are better cut-out for the job.

Women have been on the search for gender equality since the passing of Title IX in 1972. The original 1972 law states that “no person in the United States shall on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance” (UCSC Title IX), later in 1987 the benefits were extended to all educational institutions, governmental entities, and private employers who accepted federal funds (UCSC Title IX). Although forty years have gone by since Title IX was initially passed, women are still fighting a daily battle for equality in the employment field. Women have made great strides in terms of the careers they

This research paper will take a symbolic interactionist perspective to contrast the different leadership prejudices of men and women in the workplace. The age-old debate of inequality for women in executive position will now be examined through online periodicals that show gender stereotypes in the workforce, different strategies men and women use to break the glass ceiling of the workplace, a focus on the interactions and reactions of a male Chief Executive Officer (CEO) versus a female CEO, leadership prejudices among women and women, and various studies regarding leadership of men and women. Because of stereotyping, very little focus is on men within the workplace. However, research shows that male workers face stereotyping as well as