Women in Leadership - America

 

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP- THE AMERICAN CHAPTER

 

“The world’s most prominent women leaders show the importance of honesty, courage, impact and decisive action in leadership”

-        Oprah Winfrey

(Media Executive and Philanthropist)

 

 

According to the majority of Americans, women are every bit as capable of being good political leaders as men. The same can be said of their ability to dominate the corporate boardroom. According to the findings of a survey on women and leadership, most Americans find women indistinguishable from men on key leadership traits such as intelligence and capacity for innovation, with many saying they’re stronger than men in terms of being compassionate and organized leaders.

 

Why are there not enough women in positions of leadership in business and government? At least in the eyes of the general public, they don't lack for toughness, management prowess, or the necessary skill sets. Additionally, finding a work-life balance is not the only consideration. Although previous survey results and economic research have indicated that career breaks related to motherhood may make it more difficult for women to advance in their careers and compete for top executive jobs, only a small percentage of adults in the survey cite this as a major obstacle for women seeking leadership roles. Only roughly one in five people believe that women's obligations to their families are a significant barrier to more women holding senior leadership roles in business and politics.

 

Instead, approximately four out of ten Americans cite a double standard that requires women to prove themselves more than their male colleagues in order to advance to the highest positions in business or politics. Similar opinions claim that electorate and corporate America and the voters are simply not prepared to promote more women to senior leadership roles. The public is divided on whether the imbalance in corporate America will improve in the near future despite the significant advancements achieved by women in the office. Men will continue to occupy more senior executive roles in business, according to about half (53%) of respondents; 44% believe it is only a matter of time before women do the same.

 

Most Americans don't make a distinction between men and women when it comes to traits that are directly relevant to political and business leadership. But among those who do make distinctions, women are thought to clearly outperform males in certain important areas. 34 percent of adults believe that female politicians are better than their male colleagues in negotiating compromises. Only 9% of people believe that men are superior. A slim majority (55%) believe there is no difference in this between men and women. Additionally, women are seen as being more honest and ethical than males (34% say women are better at this against 3% who say men are better at it). Similar to politics, the public does not perceive significant differences.

 

Women are much more likely than men to point to institutional and societal factors, such as the country's inability to elect more female political leaders and the fact that women are held to higher standards than men in business and government, as potential barriers keeping women from achieving greater representation in the top leadership ranks. In addition, women are more likely than men to believe that female leaders in business and politics do better than male leaders on the majority of the traits and qualities measured in the poll. There are particularly noticeable differences between how men and women view political leadership. Women are more likely than men to compromise, be honest, have backbone, persuade, or work for the good of all Americans.

 

As the 114^th Congress gets underway, a record number of women (104) will be serving in the House and Senate. Today women make up 19% of the Congress, about double the share from 20 years ago. Progress has been slower on the corporate front. Only 26 women are now serving as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies—roughly 5%. In 1995 there were none. Women are slightly better represented in corporate boardrooms than they are at the CEO level. As of 2013, about one-in-six board members of Fortune 500 companies (17%) were women, up from 10% in 1995.

                                                                      Women in the 117th Congress

The above discussion throws light on a very important theme- Entrenched misogyny and normalized sexist tendencies. Women are bound by so many factors- social, political and economic that often pull them back from achieving great heights. However, they are in no way incapable or less competent than men. Only a change in mentality and social conditioning is required to give women the opportunities that they deserve so that they can make a mark for themselves. The world has witnessed women making progress in the fields of science, law, education, business, army and politics and today women can dominate the world and lead nations only if their male counterparts shed their insecurity and patriarchal ideology.

 Arya Mishra,

Content Associate,

Pink Legal, Naaz.