Graded Homework

Once again all work cited must come from Leadership: Theory and Practice, “Gender and Leadership,” pp. 397-426

Northouse, Peter G. (Ed.). (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Paper ISBN: 978-1-4833-1753-3.

write an essay of approximately 1,000 words in which you address Thought Question 3: “After reading Case Studies 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3 (pp. 411-415), which of the measures for “navigating the labyrinth” associated with the “glass ceiling” that Hoyt and Simon discuss on pp. 406-408 do you think would work the best for each particular situation? Frame a specific piece of advice for each individual that you think would be feel would be at least appropriate, if not effective, in overcoming the barrier the person is confronting.” Ground each piece of advice and your reasons for believing it would be of help to the person of interest in pertinent material from Hoyt and Simon’s discussion.

Here is a site with material to reverence for essay https://edge.sagepub.com/northouse7e/student-resources/chapter-15/review-questions

Extra material to use

Gender Differences in Leadership

Research evidence to date, according to Hoyt and Simon, shows greater similarities than differences between men and women in respect to leadership behavior (style) and effectiveness, not to mention suitability for the role. Women are somewhat more democratic and transformational, and somewhat less effective than males in traditionally male-dominated areas, for example, in Engineering and Science. The same applies to males in traditionally female-dominated areas, such as Nursing and Human Resources Management.

Despite the absence of major differences, women are proportionally less well represented than men in positions of leadership, despite the fact that they make up 50 percent (if not more) of the population. This is popularly known as the “glass ceiling.” Current theories, however, posit that women encounter a “labyrinth” of difficulties at all levels of organizational and institutional life in reaching the top, not merely once they get there.

There are good reasons for removing barriers to greater representation of women in positions of leadership, which include:

•realization of the promise of equality of opportunity;

•enhanced prospects for locating those best suited to lead and placing them in positions that enable them to do so;

•a stronger resemblance between leaders and their subordinates; and

•greater productivity/financial performance of groups and organizations.

Hoyt and Simon note three categories of explanations for the “labyrinth”:

1.differences between men and women in human capital (e.g., education, training, experience, competing incentives, and home-work conflicts), with the result that there are too few women in the “pipeline”;

2.inherent differences in the suitability of men and women for positions of leadership; and

3.prejudice (positive toward males and negative toward females) (see pp. 399-406).

Of these, existing scholarly evidence provides the most substantial support for the third explanation.

Women and Leadership

More women seem to be moving into positions of leadership, but achieving equitable representation will require taking action at the societal, organizational, interpersonal, and individual level. It will also include changes in:

•organizational culture;

•career development and mentoring programs;

•work-life support;

•parity in men and women’s roles at home;

•enhancement of women’s negotiation power; and

•greater encouragement to adopt androgynous and transformational styles of leadership in organizations. (p. 407)

Strengths of Women and Leadership

Hoyt and Simon see the value of the material she covered in her chapter as:

1. helping in the promotion of more women into the upper echelons of organizational leadership;
2. providing a broader understanding of leadership from an androgynous perspective, especially in organizations;
3. dispelling gender myths; and
4. opening a broader social conversation concerning what leadership is and who should be in positions of leadership.

Weaknesses of Women and Leadership

Problems they see include:

1. oversimplifications that neglect other complicating influences, such as race, ethnicity, and other aspects of diversity;
2. relative inattention to cultural differences that may be important to understanding the scope and severity of certain kinds of problems relating to restricted opportunities for people to acquire positions of leadership; and
3. insufficient research about how to close the gender gap