Gender based differences in leadership are still present today; even with all the advances made to date. Rosabeth Moss Kanter a Harvard Business School professor speaks about the gender inequality in a video entitled Women, Ambition and (Still) the Pay Gap. Both Rosabeth and Yukl have similar views on why the differences exist.
Rosabeth starts off talking about the level of commitment needed to take on a leadership role and how being a woman can raise the question of just how much commitment can be offered to the job if they are also committed to their spouses and families. Yukl also states family demands as one of the reasons for what he calls the Glass Ceiling. While I haven’t experienced this in regards to female vs. male, I have experienced it in terms of not getting a managerial position due to my lack of full time work in the department, which is due to my having five small children. The job went to another female with no experience in my department who does not have children.
Another powerful idea that both Rosabeth and Yukl agree on is that people hire based on a bias for those who are similar to them. Given that more men are in charge the chance of them hiring more men, and not just any men but men who look, think and even act like them. In today’s world of social networking this phenomenon has even more potential to be exploited. People can look up and network with others who went to the same colleges or have similar interest groups from whom they can find qualified applicants to hire.
Women seem to be finding other ways to find leadership positions. According to Rosabeth the rate of women starting up businesses is higher than that of men. This not only proves women are capable of being leaders but that they have the determination to be great ones. Inequality in the workplace needs to come to an end and people need to be judged by their abilities not who they are.
Women, Ambition and (Still) the Pay Gap. (2010, April 2). Retrieved May 19, 2015,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhquUOlBuOY&feature=youtu.be&t=5s
Yukl, G. (2012). Leadership in Organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River,
New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
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