Women in Leadership

Leadership and Gender Equality

Leadership positions and duties are required to be treated with extreme care and caution because they decide the performance of any organization, corporation, industry, or even families. As a result, being elected or named as a representative by fellow humans necessitates extensive objective thinking and review. Women are constantly vying for leadership roles, and the rivalry is fierce for their male counterparts, who have long been thought to be the safest option and preference to take leadership positions. As a result, women’s roles in leadership are being more established and appropriate. Women are as capable and able to oversee not only political leadership positions but also have dominion over the corporate world and businesses in the same capacity. They are a match with men when it comes to intelligence and innovative abilities. There is no doubt that women can be very knowledgeable in their course of work and think of greater ways to bring improvements and success in the various places they lead. A woman’s intelligence capacity has never been put to test and failed when they are determined to prove to the world that they are capable. The same energy, intelligence, and zeal can be directed to the actual leadership and managerial work without doubt of being incompetent. The doubt about women competence is thus a question of the past because women have every leadership characteristic; this does not apply to every woman just as it does not to every man.

Compassion and Emotional Stability

There is a conventional belief that women are stronger in terms of compassion. Whether this is a hindrance or an advantage to the leadership trait of a woman is debatable. Every sane leader is expected to show compassion upon the people he is leading. The danger with this is that the show of compassion might be mistaken for weakness on the leader’s side and this might lead to a group of people who do not reciprocate positively to the same. Women are considered weaker and more susceptible to harm and emotional instability when faced with challenges that demean them of their feminine nature like being compassionate. In the event that a woman’s emotions are bruised, the likelihood of her becoming weak is inevitable. This becomes a major challenge in the leadership sector and here is where men stand an upper hand I being better leaders than women.

Strength and Resilience

This does not mean that the entire women population are weak individuals when it comes to emotional suppression. There is a possibility that women will brace up for the challenges that come with leadership roles, just as a man would do. Leadership in itself requires a strong-willed individual who is ready to go out of their way to ensure the success of their organization is a priority to any other thing. The challenge of emotional instability in the course of leadership roles is a real threat to a woman’s abilities to lead, but this does not entirely disqualify them from making good leaders.

Gender Equality and Stereotypes

The question of gender equality and gender discrimination is a major challenge that women face in their quest and pursuits to make good leaders. The gender stereotype that women are weaker beings plays a major role in hindering women from giving their maximum potentials and abilities. Gender roles have placed women in lower positions in organizations and it is until very recently that women have had the courage to step up for top leadership positions, this being done amidst opposition. Gender roles that define what a woman should do have fixed in the minds of people that women with leadership aspirations are going against the norm. This is so because women are expected to bear children and take care of them, whereas leadership roles require undivided attention and full responsibility. In this case, a woman’s chances of staying long in the leadership position are narrowed since they can leave any time to attend to societal needs and pressure. Women, being the organized leaders they are, are thus in danger of getting it tough balancing between leadership roles and the societal expectation as defined by gender roles.

The Potential of Women in Leadership

Being almost impossible or difficult to balance between the two simultaneously, the woman is expected to choose one over the other and in most cases, the society wins. It does not make women lesser leaders, but it does affect their competence, abilities, and consistency. Men and women are equally good in leadership, but gender stereotypes win, making the woman a victim of circumstances. Gender stereotype has thus contributed a lot to the lack of women in leadership positions. Some women have gone against the norm and emerged as serious individuals in their leadership roles, to the shock of many. This means that, with gender-defined roles aside, women can be in the forefront and lead with exemplary results.

Women as Leaders

There has been a proven record of accomplishment for competence and excellence in women’s leadership all over the globe, and these observable trends prove that women are good leaders. The only reason as to why women are not holding these positions are the challenges that nature brings their way, and that is by no means able to be faced by their male counterparts. Women can make, have made, and are great leaders that have brought observable changes wherever they lead. Coined together with their intellectual capacities, organizational skills, and their compassionate but resilient nature, a breed of strong-willed women leaders will spring up and surprise the entire world by the great exploits they can do. Women are the best kind of leaders the world is yet to have.

References

Jamieson, K. H. (1995). Beyond the Double Bind: Women and Leadership. New York: Oxford University Press.

Karin Klenke, P. (1996). Women and Leadership: A Contextual Perspective. New York: Springer Publishing Company, Inc.

Rhode, D. L. (2017). Women and Leadership. Oxford: Oxford University Press.