Industrial Relations & Human Resources

Industrial Relations & Human Resources

Women in leadership is a topic that has drawn a lot of motion in the recent time. The response to whether women make better leaders than men has sparked contrasting views. Various studies have been conducted to examine the truth about preferences when it comes to career aspirations. In the perspective of Zenger and Folkman (2019), women score higher than men in most leadership skills. Yet, women rate themselves as less confident than their male counterparts. The reading by Correll (2004), tries to explain the Zenger and Folkman found that when women assess their leadership abilities, they rate themselves harshly. The article demonstrates a model that describes the limiting impact of cultural beliefs pertaining to the gender on emerging career aspirations.

Research reveals that women in leadership positions are perceived to be equally competent as men (Zenger & Joseph, 2019). Despite the differences for both genders being minimal, women in positions attained a significantly higher level in comparison with the male counterparts. Though the roles of women have remained relatively steady, the number of those deployed continues to decline. For instance, among the 500 CEOs in Fortune, only 4.9% of them are women. Correl alludes to the difference in the cultural bias and stereotype propagated against women in a career (2004). His model demonstrates how gender status beliefs evoke a differentiated perceptive of roles and performance for both genders. The biased outlook explains the way women and men assess their competences for a particular career path. The cultural beliefs condition them to believe that a specific line of career and activities befit a particular gender. In light of this, we can understand why women do not aspire to reach the highest position in their organizations. The gendered stereotype when it comes to career pursuance, constrains their thoughts in what is held of each one of them. As a general outcome, this has contributed to the declining number of women in leadership positions..

More current research by Zenger & Folkman (2019), presents evidence that the information about bias is incorrect and untrue. Women have always been held with high regard by their managers at the workplace. Particularly their male managers allude to them being more effective than the male counterparts at every level of the organization hierarchy. They believe that women function better in whatever capacity they are placed than the male. According to updated research by Zenger and Folkman, women were seen to excel in taking initiatives, display high discipline and integrity, and practicing self-development. Women seemed to be more effective in most of the competencies than the men. However, Zenger and Folkman rate men to be more competent in two accounts. Men earned higher capabilities in technical or professional expertise as well in developing a strategic perspective. To utilize the utility of Correl’s model, men make higher assessments of their abilities, especially in technical expertise (Correl, 2004). As such, their persistence, especially in paths of physics, mathematics, and engineering, contributes to their higher scores. On the other hand, women tend to abandon such pursuits as they are never confident in them. Women score higher for leadership positions as they are more resilient, take initiatives, and display high levels of honesty and integrity at work. However, men show higher competence as strategists and professional experts, considering the overconfidence in pursuing challenging tasks.

Despite women scoring higher than men in a senior position, they tend to undermine their abilities to perform better than men. When women are asked to assess their competences, they concede that men are more competent than them (Zenger & Folkman, 2019). While they are more competent than they think, men show overconfident with their abilities. However, younger women tend to show more confidence in their capabilities as compared to more mature females. For women, as they age from 25 years to 40, their confidence seemed to decrease. However, the confidence in men increased as the years progressed from 25-60years (Zenger & Folkman). Women often rate themselves as less confident until about the age of 4oyears. Studies conclude that these lower levels of confidence when the women are younger best explain their reception, resilient, and initiative nature. Women’s view of overall leadership competence escalates as they get older. Correll (2004) asserts that gender divergence starts from an early age. By developing models that explicitly encourage learners to commit themselves to specific majors, differentially is unwarranted. As early as the schooling age, gender divergence corrupts their minds believing that some courses are better suited for the men. Upon joining the corporate world, they enter feeling less confident in their abilities as compared to men.

In conclusion, though women score higher for leadership roles, they tend to assess their abilities harshly. Leaders need to examine what gets in the way when it comes to promoting women for senior levels in the organization. Correll attributes this problem to the unconscious bias that women do not qualify for leadership positions. Therefore, business managers should not succumb to unconscious prejudice when it comes to hiring and promoting. Eligible women should be allowed to showcase their competencies and seek promotions at the onset of their careers.

Zenger, Jack, and Joseph Folkman. 2019. “Research: Women Score Higher Than Men in

Most Leadership Skills.” Harvard Business Review, June 25, 2019.

Correll, Shelley, J. 2004. “Constraints into Preferences: Gender, Status, and Emerging

Career Aspirations.” American Sociological Review 69 (1): 93-113.