greatest obstacle in the organization -prejudice

Lisa’s biggest challenge in the company was bias. Even though her male colleagues are aware that she is well-versed in market performance and financial projections, the CEO, Michael, believes that a woman may lack such knowledge. Another impediment is gender bias. According to the case study, one of Lisa’s male colleagues was promoted to partner despite Lisa’s superior performance. Furthermore, the firm has never had a female partner in its 103-year history.

To keep Lisa, the firm’s top executives should have avoided gender stereotypes and biases in partner promotions. The primary reason why Lisa left the organization is the fact that she realized that the stereotype and chauvinistic mentality of the firm’s top executive were not going to end anytime soon. Instead of promoting Lisa’s male colleague, Michael should have instead promoted Lisa to partner because her performance surpassed that of her male colleague.

Q.3

Organizational policies that discourage gender-based discrimination would have benefitted Lisa and Pamela. If such policies existed, Lisa could have been promoted because of her outstanding performance regardless of her gender. Moreover, Lisa and Pamela would have benefited if the company provided opportunities that empower women.

Q.4

To raise the gender consciousness of Michael and Lisa’s male colleagues, the organization should post written policies that discourage gender-based discrimination in common areas where employees will take notice (Bond & Haynes, 2014). Most importantly, Michael and Lisa’s male colleagues should be trained on Leadership Labyrinth so that they can understand prejudices such as gender stereotyping (Northouse, 2015).

Reference

Baker, C. (2014). Stereotyping and women’s roles in leadership positions. Industrial and Commercial Training, 46(6), 332-337.

Bond, M. A., & Haynes, M. C. (2014). Workplace diversity: A social–ecological framework and policy implications. Social Issues and Policy Review, 8(1), 167-201.

Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.