Female Leadership

                After reading what Yukl has to say about gender-based discrimination and listening to the HBR video with Rosabeth Moss Kanter I have come to the conclusion that both of them feel the same way. I think that in this world most of can agree that it has not been equal for women, although I feel that things have been getting better. Women are constantly challenged with the effects of the glass ceiling, the glass ceiling is as Rosabeth describes an imaginary line that women cannot get past when reaching for the top positions in companies.  

            The cause for this glass ceiling is usually the cause of many factors, Yukl gave about 10 reasons that might be the cause of the glass ceiling. Some reasons included where, “Higher standards of performance for women than for men, lack of strong efforts to gain access to leadership positions, etc. (Yukl, 2013). What Yukl and Rosabeth both said where the main cause for a glass ceiling was that they both agreed that many women were being held back from those top positions because of the difficulties created by competing family demands.

            Many times women are put on the back burner for promotions because of all the commitment which is required of those top position jobs. Those top position jobs many times require someone that is available 24/7, someone who can dedicate most of their lives to these jobs is what is sometimes required. The demanding nature of the job can sometimes get in the way of even starting a family, men are usually able to start families even after they are in their 40’s and they have established a successful career. For women this is not so easy women are physically not capable of even having children after a certain age or it becomes a high risk to start a family around that age.

            In some countries like China even by the age of 30 women whom are not married because of their careers are looked down on, “That’s right: in China, if you're 30, female and single, you’re considered well and truly on the shelf” (forbes). This is a huge burden for many women who are on their way to becoming future CEO’s, I have to agree with Yukl and Rosabeth’s point when it comes to the glass ceiling being caused due to the demanding nature of the job. It has been a long a hard road for women to get equal treatment but I do see that things are changing.

For the women that are able to make sacrifice’s the opportunity is out there; It has been proven on many occasions that many women are on the rise. We can find women taking many leadership positions in many different countries in the world. We see women leaders in government, business, education, and even the law; women leaders are on the rise and it is great to see people making way for great female leaders to rise to the top.  

Reference:

- Yukl, G. A. (2013). Leadership in organizations. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

- Keenlyside, S. (2012, July 30). You Do Not Want to Be a Single Lady Over 28 in China. . Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://www.businessinsider.com/you-do-not-want-to-be-a-single-woman-over-28-in-china-2012-7