Jenna Wavecrest's Dream Of Becoming A Successful Business Career

Gender stereotypes are one of the most common encountered on a daily basis. The infamous ‘Glass Ceiling’ still exists in many areas of the professional world, restricting valid promotions simply based on gender. This type of concept can be verified by looking at comparative weekly wages of other professionals in a variety of industries. Most people will generally see female dominated occupations, such as nurse, teacher and secretary as requiring feminine personality traits and physical attributes for success; whereas male dominated occupations such as doctor, lawyer, and business executive are seen to require male personality traits for success (Sanderson, 2010, p. 344).

However, more attractive and more qualified women may not be hired for the sole fact that the employer doesn’t want to deal with sexual harassment cases due to the amount of men in the workplace. A female in a position of power in the workplace may be seen as a tyrannical, bossy leader. Although, a man in the same position is seen as an assertive, and driven to help the

They said if the share of female bosses increased by only .24 percent, the gender gap would decrease by more than 40 percent. This is an interesting find as it shows that just a couple of changes could make a big move toward equality, yet we aren’t making those changes. The authors concluded the slow progression of women’s corporate jobs is due to the history of men dominating those

This myth has been perpetuated throughout history and in result; we have barriers such as the glass ceiling in existence. If we were to pull up a list of the Board of Directors for any given company, the probability of it being a predominately male group is high. This notion alone shows how companies have continued to dwell in olds days where men are considered more capable than women. The Glass ceiling effect has continued to place barriers against women endeavor in achieving success in their careers and participation in their work place. Women have not been able to realize their potential in their work places since they are not offered equal chances as compared to their men counterparts who enjoy great opportunities in organizations. The fact that an organization is ran by men, may cause an adverse effect on the performance of men. Obviously, a man thinks differently than a woman. It is likely that a decision made by men only is likely to ignore the interests of women in the organization. This creates a domino effect because it affects the woman’s performance in business since they only get limited chances to learn, and limited job assignments that will enhance their skills. Hence, low or limited skills and experience will lower their overall

Second, I would like to talk about the gender roles that play while both men and women are working for the same job or trying to get a job with the same field. When it comes to hiring people mostly go for men because they assume that men will get the job done better than a women would. “Most leadership positions are held by men, so women don’t expect to achieve them and that becomes one of the reasons they don’t” (Anna – Marie Slaughter). With that being said it makes the competition for a job more challenging for women. They have to not only reach all the qualifications that is needed for the job but to go above and try to beat what the men is going to

"Women's advancement often stops short of the general management level" as a partial result of discrimination by white men in positions of power, which include the differences of developmental job assignments they are afforded (Ohlott 46). "Developmental job assignments have been found to be one of the most important factors in preparing both men and women for upper-level management positions" (Ohlott 46 - 47).If women do not experience these same job assignments, they may be less prepared than men for handling future upper-level management jobs. These types of job assignments lead to high-level positions, make managers more visible, and prepare them for future jobs. With men being in the top ranks of organizations in most cases, they are less likely to assign these challenging tasks to female subordinates (Ohlott 49). "Organizations more often move women into staff positions and out of functions central to a business" mainly because those making the staffing decisions are more interested in advancing their own careers (Ohlott 49).

For several decades now, women have struggled with equality in the workplace. “Men are told to think like a woman and women are told to act like a man” (Valian, 1998). However, this advice often reinforces gender schemas and stereotypical qualities such as sympathy for women and assertiveness for men. While these pigeon-holes are often exaggerated, research shows that gender characteristics do indeed exist, and they play a very powerful role in the workplace.

While women make up 46.6% of the Fortune 500 workforce and 51.4% of middle management, according to Catalyst, in these companies they represent only 14.1% of executive officers, 7.5% of the highest paid and only 4% of CEO’s Despite the fact that women have a foot in the door with 4% of all CEO positions of the Fortune 500, the rest of their frame is stuck in the entry level, which is 46.6% of the Fortune 500 workforce. The difference is not in men and women; it is in masculine vs. feminine ways of thinking and acting. Both men and women incorporate masculine and feminine approaches (Forbes).

According to the article, Stop Blaming Women For Holding Themselves Back at Work, women are in less managerial positions because of the culture in the workplace. Women are blamed, they are told to “try harder,” or to “be more aggressive,” although lack of aggression and effort might not be the problem. The problem, according to author Lisa Miller, is that they are women.

"Women 's advancement often stops short of the general management level" as a partial result of discrimination by white men in positions of power, which include the differences of developmental job assignments they are afforded (Ohlott 46). "Developmental job assignments have been found to be one of the most important factors in preparing both men and women for upper-level management positions" (Ohlott 46 - 47).If women do not experience these same job assignments, they may be less prepared than men for handling future upper-level management jobs. These types of job assignments lead to high-level positions, make managers more visible, and prepare them for future jobs. With men being in the top ranks

How would you feel if you studied hard for the duration of your educational life and that when you entered the work force, your future become full of rejections? And this was all due to your sex? Women today have been restricted in progressing in society due to their stereotypical ‘inabilities’ and have been struggling to climb the corporate ladder. This was due to: stereotypes, competition for jobs and their different perspectives. In result of this, women in today’s society deserve the opportunities of leadership positions that they are worthy for to give a wider spectrum to the work force.

Despite the fact that Northouse (2016) offers many reasons why gender should not matter in leadership, it does still matter. Eagly & Johnson and van Engen & Willemsen (as cited by Northouse, 2016) state that “one robust gender difference found across settings is that women led in more democratic, or participative manner than men” (p. 402). Female leaders have also been shown to use more adaptive and transformational leadership styles, but Ayman, Korabik, and Morris (as cited by Northouse, 2016) point out that male subordinates still devalue these female leaders despite the fact that their leadership style predicts effectiveness (p. 402). Eagly, Karau, and Makhijani (as cited by Northouse, 2016) conducted a study that showed women to be just

For my research question I will be asking: “How is America making progress on gender equity?” Fundamentally, I believe that women are still misrepresented, and are still facing many challenges in the workplace, especially in the business world. The gender stereotypes play a considerable role in the way the society sees women as leaders. However, it will be judicious to consider the small but noticeable changes that have been made over the past years concerning gender equality in the American workplace.

Even though numbers are slowly rising in the United States, there are still more men in executive positions than women. According to one survey, female workers only made up 43% of legislators, senior managers, and senior officials whereas male workers made up 57%. In congress, congresswomen make up only 17% of representation compared to congressmen making up 83% (Ferrante, 2011, p. 312). Gender stratification is one explanation for the tremendous gap. Ferrante (2011) describes gender stratification as the unequal distribution of opportunities and resources amongst male and female employees. (p. 311) For example, male workers have an increased opportunity to receive a promotion than a female worker. According to Tinsley (2013), women are more likely to receive executive positions when a company is doing well, rather than when a company is suffering. Some companies stereotype that women workers will leave the workforce soon to bear children, limiting their chances of achieving executive status (Ferrante, 2011, p. 316).

Gender in Management: An International Journal Vol. 26 No. 3, 2011 pp. 220-233 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1754-2413 DOI 10.1108/17542411111130981