gender diversity and leadership
TRANSCRIPT
Why to study diversity?
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Organizational Diversity - “any significant difference that distinguishes one individual from another” (Williams and O’Reilly, 1998 p. 102).
Multiple Forms of Diversity
- Ethnic diversity- Gender - Age - Education
- Sexual orientation
- Socioeconomic level
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Relative Depth of Diversity Characteristics
Surface level elements of diversity (demographic diversity) tend to become less influential over time
Deeper level elements of diversity
- Socio-economic background- World view- Values
How do we react on diversity?
- Social Identity theory- Self-categorization theory- Similarity attraction theory
- Opposites attract?
Social attributions – a potential reason for discrimination• Organizations consist of groups with different power,
status and prestige (Hogg, Terry, 2000)
• Ingroup – outgroup bias
• Dispersonification
Empirical evidence (Park and Westphal, 2013): Demographic minority CEOs are especially likely to receive
blame from the media and other CEOs for poor performance of their firms.
“Matthew effect” – individuals with higher social status are able to derive greater benefits for their achievements than individuals with lower social status.
“Attribution error” – a tendency to evaluate in-group members more positively than the out-group members.
Conclusions: Minority CEOs are not only disadvantaged in terms of access to the corporate elite, they continue to be disadvantaged during their careers as CEOs.
“DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD” of DiversityTeam diversity Studies:
Creativity vs. Conflict
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Demographic Faultlines
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Interaction effects of diversity characteristics
Increased Alienation from the society
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Practical implications
Managing diversity in organizations:
Multicultural organizations: good, bad, or just not managed effectively?
Law on discrimination in Sweden: 7 criteria(Diskrimineringslagen (2008:567)
Gender
Age
• Transgender expression
• Ethnicity
• Disability
• Sexual orientation• Religion or view of belief
Leader’s role in managing diversity
“It is based on the articulation and implementation of explicit values that promote an agenda of equality,
fairness and respect.” (Walker et al., 2005: 3)
• Recognition: job selection, equal treatment
• Conflict suppression
• Avoiding biases: breaking the currently dominating ”white, male, hetherosexual, middle class, middle aged” view on leadership (Coleman, 2012).
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What is Gender?
Gender is a social phenomenon that includes social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man or a woman (Prasad, 2005).
Sex is a biological criteria applied to classify people as males or females (West and Zimmerman, 1987)
“No country in the world has achieved genderequality.” (Global Gender Gap Report, 2010)
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Causes of Gender Inequality
- Implicit theories about gender
- Gender stereotypes - Role expectations
Culture and traditions
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Long history of “gender-neutral” view on organization
Hegemony of heterosexual male values and male monopoly on agenda setting (Hearn and Parkin, 1987)
Gender research started to develop along the areas where women were persistently excluded: art, literature, history
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The Rise of Gender Research
Labour market shortage
Women’s access to education
Improved childcare
Feminist movement
Ontario Chamber of Commercehttps://www.flickr.com/CC BY-ND 2.0
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Feminist Perspective
The research within feministic tradition is largely concerned with the issues of inequality and exploitation of women.
Different research streams in feminism (Prasad, 2005):
liberal feminismexperience feminism radical feminism poststructural feminism.
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Some Statistics
21.8 % female representation in parliment
9 female heads of the state, 15 the heads fo the goverment (unwomen.org)
Gender Gap Index 2012 (World Bank, 2012)
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Salary Gap Index (Catalys,2006)
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Why so few women reach the top?(Catalyst, 2006)
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Sex-based Discrimination
Glass Ceiling is the invisible barrier preventing women from achieving high positions within an organization.
Main Reasons: Social Stigma Higher standards of performance Limited access to social and professional networks Work-Family conflict
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Path dependence of Gender Issues
Gender issues tend to be persistent over time.
Change in Male roles
- New occupations- Child care obligations- Clothing, perfume- Toys for children
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Effective leadership
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Differences between male and female leadership styles
Mixed and inconsistent results
No evidence that leaders of one gender are more effective than leaders of another one
(Eagly, Karau, & Makhijani, 1995)
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“there are likely to be excellent, average, and poor managerial performers within each sex.” (Powell, 1990, p.74)
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Research Indications
Women are more prone to practice democratic, participative leadership styles
Women are more strictly evaluated in a male-dominated environment
(Eagly and Johnson, 1995)
http://www.ted.com/talks/sheryl_sandberg_why_we_have_too_few_women_leaders#t-880752
More TEDtalks on Diversity:
http://www.ted.com/talks/thandie_newton_embracing_otherness_embracing_myself#t-799877
TEDtalk on Gender Diversity
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Simple inclusion of diversity in the workforce is not a solution by itself!
Diversity issues must be recognized and cared for (Billing and Sundin, 2006)
Legal support for victims of discrimination has to be developed and enforced
Policies and institutions of gender equality which would help women to balance their professional and family life must be enforced and monitored
Equal employment opportunities
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Conclusions
The concept of diversity is multidimensionalGender is a socially constructed phenomenonGender is an important factor within organizationsGender inequality remains to be persistent within social structure:
unequal pay distribution, companies are not fully capitalizing on women's’ potential, few women in leadership positions.
Effective Leadership incorporates both traditionally viewed as masculine and feminine characteristics
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References:Billing, Y.D. & Sundin, E. (2006). From managing equality to managing diversity: a critical Scandinavian perspective on gender and workplace
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