Are female leaders effective in organizations?
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Introduction
Women are underrepresented in organizations in formal roles at leading positions. But at the same time more women are ascending to the top positions in many organizations. Both men and women are important and contribute to the progress of organizations and their development.
Many consider that women turn out to be effective leaders in organizations and promote diversity. While others claim to notice anomalies under women leadership. This paper aims to analyze the role of women in top leadership positions in terms of effectiveness and leadership.
Annotation 1:
Glass, C., & Cook, A. (2018). Do women leaders promote positive change? Analyzing the effect of gender on business practices and diversity initiatives. Human Resource Management, 57(4), 823-837. doi:10.1002/hrm.21838
Aim: In America number of women that reach the leadership positions is low. As more women are ascending to the highest positions, researchers have started to analyze the consequence of gender diversity at the leadership level or organizations. Many think that gender diversity have no special consequence in terms of leadership and benefit for the company, while other consider diversity the base for creativity and innovation. It has been observed that women emphasis more on innovation than on the financial matters, this raises questions about the impacts of women on firms and its policies. Strategies of firms are guided by chief executive and director board. It is still unknown that how demographic characteristics of CEO and boards of directors effect the corporations.
This study aims to address these gaps and identify how gender of board and CEO creates impact on various departments of company .i.e. Governance, equity and product development. Goal of research is to study to analyze impact of these three factors on gender diversity and organsation.
Method: Two merged data sets were used for this analysis. One was unique author constructed data set that contained CEOs information and of board of directors from period of ten years from CNN’s money website. Second dataset KLD was made available using WRDS that provided the information regarding annual data of companies that pertain to governance, environment and diversities. Data used was objective that also gets used by the investors.
Results: Women CEOs have scored higher than the men CEOs against each variable outcome, corporate, governance and community strength. It was found that as women on board increase, corporate strengths regarding governance and product, decrease for women. Female CEOs also supported diversity than homophily.
Conclusion: Diversity has positive impact on range on business practices like diversity, community, corporate governance and product strengths. Women CEOs benefit more from influential allies than men CEOs. Thus increasing women proportion of women on board can improve the functioning of the firm.
Strength: This paper states clear in depth analysis of women CEOs and their impact on the firms in relation to environment and positive outcome.
Limitation: This study is limited in terms of large organizations of corporate. Analysis needs to be done on leadership combinations in similar context.
Usage: I will use findings of this paper to prove that how women can impact the organization and its environment in different areas of organization, and how female CEO’s can be great leaders and increase innovation of the company.
Annotation 2
Eagly, A. H. (2007). Female Leadership Advantage and Disadvantage: Resolving the Contradictions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00326.x
Aim: Aim is to analyze the impact women leaders have on organization, especially in Information technology sector. And if traditional female values cause hindrance in creating global competitive organizations.
Method: Research was based on studying research of other researchers and building the relationship between the point of views concerning basic psychological and behavioral differences between men and women in work environment.
Results: Men and women are different in nature, men value, efficacy, power and achievement. Women on the other hand value communication, common purpose, and understanding. Male and female values are blending.
Conclusion: In old male dominant work environment women values were not considered important. But technological advancement has changed the value system and future values will further help women to play their part in organizations.
Strength: Paper provided good historical background of change in values in terms of gender.
Limitation: Title of paper offers study on women leadership and their roles in organizations but in reality it explored historical background about change in values, women leadership was not discussed properly in this paper. Also no personal methodology was used to verify the facts about change in values.
Usage: I will use this paper to explain the transition of values in organizations in terms of gender difference, by giving historical background.
Annotation 3:
Eagly, A. H. (2007). Female leadership advantage and disadvantage: Resolving the contradictions. Psychology of women quarterly, 31(1), 1-12.
Aim: Females in US are considered to have right skills for leadership and effectiveness but they still come second to men in competition to attain leadership positions. This paper aims to study these themes of advantage and disadvantage that in contradiction to each other. It compares both genders that reflects prejudice against female leaders.
Method: This article is based on meta-analysis of 45 organizational studies. Majority of organizational managers included in study were from business and educational sector. Average age of managers were 44 years. 53% of the studies analyzed managers from US and 47% from other nations.
Result: Female leaders are more transformational than male leaders in terms of support and encouragement. In comparison to men they were more contingent in their reward behaviors. They also show active and passive management.
Conclusion: Women are more likely to be future leaders in huge proportion. Prejudice against women leaders has become lessened however still majority of American still prefer male president over female president. Gender based relations and perceptions about them are changing but still haven’t reached the state of equality.
Strength: This meta-analysis was conducted with through research and each point is validated with various researches.
Limitation: It is not specified that global samples of data are primarily from which region of the world. This leaves room for further research based on specific region to examine the patterns of prejudice against women leaders. .
Usage: I will use it to establish relation between acceptability of people and women leadership.
Annotation 4:
Haslam, S. A., & Ryan, M. K. (2008). The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations. The Leadership Quarterly, 19(5), 530-546.
Aim: Men are appointed to the during stable positions on the organizations in terms of finance and standing on the other and women are appointed in organizations in time of financial downtown even if they were showing consistent poor performance in the time preceding appointment. This glass cliff phenomena is investigated in this paper through three experimental studies
Method: In first experimental study management 95 graduates of high school participated, 85 in 2nd business leader and 83 in leaders of hypothetical organizations whose performance was improving or declining. In experiment participants received vacancy from organization that were declining or improving. Participants were evaluated on base of gender and appointment on company.
Results: Results showed that appointment of female candidates who were equally qualified to men participants, exceeded when company was suffering from loss.
Conclusion: In short glass appointments are based on various beliefs like (a) Women have distinctive leadership abilities. (b) Job is stressful for women (c) to provide women with leadership opportunity.
Strength: This is first study that has studies the phenomena of class cliff. Previously regarding women leadership only glass ceilings were studied.
Limitation: More studies are required to study the glass cliff phenomena in terms of age, experience level of women. Also study is needed that reveals glass cliff in terms of regions and cultural practices.
Usage: I will use this research to make point that women are often appointed not always on base of qualification but on personal beliefs that try to define women’s capabilities. Women are given chance more in declining troubled organizations that proves that still women face prejudice and they are considered less capable.
Annotation 5:
Stanford, J. H., Oates, B. R., & Flores, D. (1995). Women′ s leadership styles: a heuristic analysis. Women in Management Review, 10(2), 9-16.
Aim: Women have different leadership style than that of men. Women are creating huge impact on business and world’s economics. This paper aims to scientifically inquire the leadership style women.
Method: It is heuristic exploratory study in which small sample of women business owners and managers was examined for their leadership styles. In this study social interaction is scrutinized and recorded in descriptive detail. Open-ended questionnaire was also used to initiate discussion of various characteristics of leadership and participants aware asked to describe their opinions. After data collected it was converted in written form for analysis.
Result: It appeared that women value the advice of their employees and build relationship based on mutual trust. The depicted attitudes of collaboration and encouraged their employees. They were effective communicator and believed in talking things out.
Conclusion:
Women leaders operate from reward or referent power base. They believe in encouragement of employees to achieve the organizational goals.
Strength: This research will prove to be preliminary investigation in studying women style of leaderships for the future researches. Sample size was 500, which strengthens this research.
Limitation:
This sample was randomly selected for research. And demographic criterias were not considered for this research.
Discussion: More studies are required study understand women various dimensions of women leadership and issues that they face for breaking the glass ceilings and glass cliffs. Further research should be don while focusing on the demographics factors.
Conclusion:
Women possess amazing insight and leadership capabilities to run organizations. Organizations can benefits from leadership skills of women. However in the past they were not given fair chance to illustrate their leadership capabilities but things are changing and women have started to climb the ladder. They are breaking glass ceilings but still face glass cliffs. Overall public have started to accept them in leadership roles. They offer different type of leadership styles than men, which is their asset in effective leadership.
References:
Glass, C., & Cook, A. (2018). Do women leaders promote positive change? Analyzing the effect of gender on business practices and diversity initiatives. Human Resource Management, 57(4), 823-837. doi:10.1002/hrm.21838
Eagly, A. H. (2007). Female leadership advantage and disadvantage: Resolving the contradictions. Psychology of women quarterly, 31(1), 1-12.
Haslam, S. A., & Ryan, M. K. (2008). The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations. The Leadership Quarterly, 19(5), 530-546.
Stanford, J. H., Oates, B. R., & Flores, D. (1995). Women′ s leadership styles: a heuristic analysis. Women in Management Review, 10(2), 9-16.
