THE JUGGLING ACT

WOMEN: WORK, FAMILY, PERSONAL SELF- CONFLICT

OR CONFLUENCE?

I’d like to tell a story…

Now I understand!

“And I now understand that values, goals, and how to make dreams take flight, really are important.“

Indra Nooyi

White Dog/Gray Dog

"Inside of me there are two dogs.The gray dog is mean and angry.The white dog is good and kind.

The gray dog fights the white dog all day."

_________________________________________________________

The Question: which dog wins? 

 the answer:  "The one I feed the most."

My Belief

“… When experience is not retained… infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Philosopher Santayana (1906)

Characteristics of (Women) leaders

• Survive Challenging Experiences• Build Strong Relationships• Find New Meaning

Read the following statements carefully.  

a. Woman without her man, is a beast.b. Woman without her, man is a beast.

Personal History

• Surviving Challenging Experiences- struggle for career advancement, Failures/rejections moving up the ladder

• Built Strong Relationships-spouse, parents, sibling, daughter supporting me, time management, stretch goals,…

• Found New Meaning- Created new opportunities, innovative thinking, and exciting results

Research- Vital Stats• Women occupied only 7.8% of corporate officer positions in Fortune

500 companies in 2008, according to an annual survey

• More than one-half of the Fortune 500 had fewer than three women corporate officers

• Women held only 6.4% of top earner positions

• Women represent more than 40% of the global workforce.

• 71% of the women held staff position in HR and Public Relations (indirect effect on the company’s financials).

• Women hold >50% of all management and professional qualifications, yet they constitute fewer than 2% of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 CEOs.

Problems for Women• Stereotypes Persist--Women “take care”; Men

“take charge”

• Perception is that being an effective-problem solver is associated with high leadership ratings

• Women considered superior on supporting and rewarding subordinates

• Men were judged superior at delegating and problem solving

Double-Blind Dilemmas

• Women are viewed as : Too soft, too tough, never just right

• Women face higher standards and lower rewards

• Women are competent but disliked, or likeable but not competent--never both

Other Gender Issues

• Ideal worker puts work first--women perceived as less committed

• Competence is associated with heroic individualism, i.e: men

• Only “hard science” is valued; no value to qualitative sciences

Ely & Meyerson, Research in Organizational Behavior, JAI Press, 2001

Multiple Problems = Labyrinth

Why a Labyrinth?• Complex journey to a goal--requires

persistence, awareness of progress, analyses of ongoing puzzles

• Acknowledges obstacles but not futility

EaglyAH, CarliLL. Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership. Harvard Business Review 2007

List of Career Barriers

• Prejudice-men promoted more quickly

• Resistance to women’s leadership

• Leadership style issues-compassion vs control

• Family demands-no time for networking

EaglyAH, CarliLL. Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership. Harvard Business Review 2007

Prejudice

• Men receive higher wages and faster promotions

• Men also undertake more hours of paid labor per year than women and had more years of job experience

• Scarcity of female corporate officers is the sum of discrimination at all levels

Resistance to women as leaders

• Women are associated with compassion• Men are aggressive, ambitious,

dominating• Women who are aggressive, ambitious

or dominating are evaluated more harshly then their male counterparts

Leadership Style

• Transformational leaders--gain follower’s trust and confidence--encourage development even in successful organizations

• Transactional leadership-conventional, clarify subordinates role, reward people for meeting goals

• Most leaders have both styles; women tend to be more transformational

Demands of Family- The Juggling Act!

• Women tend to take more time off for family issues--fewer years of job experience

• Work/family conflict not eased out for women

Attitude/Reactions towards Women Leaders

• People prefer male bosses over female bosses, and consider males better suited for the position of leadership

• Women’s competent task contributions are most of the times ignored or given negative reactions

• Males prefer females who are more tentative (tag questions, disclaimers) in their speech

• Women leaders are evaluated worse than men• Especially in male dominated leadership roles.• Especially when the evaluators are male• Especially when they lead in a masculine style

Recommendations

• Clearly define and communicate performance evaluation criteria—not “innovation in approaching problems” or “demonstrated ability to execute”

• Create explicit decision rules about how evaluation criteria are weighted

• Evaluations by more than one person• Diversity training-use data-based

methods for assessment

…

• Confront inequitable situations immediately

• Become visible--seek high-level assignments and speak up

• Use clear and effective communication• Minimize the issue and work towards

problem resolution

Women’s Successes

• High-performing women build success on portable, external relationships as they often lack access to internal relationships

• Women consider more factors then men when they switch jobs--including openness to styles, approaches, impartial performance measurement systems, cultures, values, and styles--and are more often successfulGroysbergB How star women build portable skills. Harvard Business Review2008

Women in Leadership

So….

What can your institution/ organization do to contribute to the growth of women in leadership positions?

Thank You