Empowering Women: Promoting Women to Leadership Positions in Global Organizations
Effective Executive Oct.2009
COVER STORY
-- Paul B Carr
Professor of Organizational Leadership,
School of Global Leadership and
Entrepreneurship, USA.
The author can be reached at
paulca2@regent.edu
Professor of Organizational Leadership,
School of Global Leadership and
Entrepreneurship, USA.
The author can be reached at
paulca2@regent.edu
-- Paula A Tucker
Captain, Academic for Staff Development,
Regent University, USA.
The author can be reached at
paultuc@regent.edu
Captain, Academic for Staff Development,
Regent University, USA.
The author can be reached at
paultuc@regent.edu
A woman in a leadership position has been a topic of great interest over the last several years. The avenues associated with women empowerment have also been in the forefront of discussion for human resource managers and human resource development practitioners. One caveat associated with this topic relates to who exactly empowers women (or anyone else) within an organization? It may be suggested that very often people assume that power is a construct that may be freely given by another individual or group of people—this construct will be investigated and examined.
Very often, when we speak of organizations, we appear to refer to them as living, breathing entities, and one caveat of paramount consideration is that organizations are comprised of people. These people come to work and go about their daily lives, in concert with other people, who arrive with different feelings, needs, wants, and very precise goals about their contribution to the organization. Organizational leaders are people with similar wants, goals and expectations, related to their contributions to the organization as a whole. These caveats may appear to be very basic but it should be noted that when one begins any discussion related to empowerment, people should conduct an in-depth investigation of these constructs. In essence, the organization is made up of people and the citizens of an organization (the people) are the greatest assets of the organization.
Power and Empowerment
Power and empowerment are two very deceptively simple constructs to examine. These constructs may very often be confused with entities that may be given or received. If one were to examine the constructs of power and empowerment, one may realize that someone may be in a position of power, yet she/he does not have the power that should accompany the position. It is of paramount consideration for the HR manager or HRD practitioner to make a distinction between the person who is empowered and a person in a position of power. In essence, power may not be a construct that can be given to an individual or group of individuals by another. It is a paramount consideration for these constructs to be examined and operationally defined, individually. Hopefully, this will foster some thinking and dialog within the members of an organization.
Empowerment
As we attempt to operationally define the construct of empowerment, several authors share different perspectives of the term. Ann Howard suggests that empowerment is motivating, however, motivation is not the only benefit (1995; see also Hickman, 1998). According to Ivanicevich, Konopaske and Matteson (2008), empowerment is encouraging and helps individuals and groups to make decisions that affects their work environment. Yukl (2006) also stated that empowerment is psychological, in that, the followers' intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy are influenced by: leadership behavior, job characteristics, organization structure, and their own needs and values (p. 108). Therefore, the gender of the leaders may not be a factor. However, empowered women in leadership roles continue to fight the war on gender biases among followers and empowered men. Some pertinent questions related to women empowerment follow.
Common Questions Related to Women Empowerment
Is there a difference in gender empowerment? Does it really matter if a women's leadership style is different from a man's style of leading, as long as the organization flourishes? Does society place greater emphasis if the leader is a male or female? Does it really make a difference who leads and who follows? The term empowerment has no stipulations on gender, race, religion, age or leadership positions. However, as society changes globally, it is undoubtedly a slower and often more complicated process for women in empowered leadership positions. Here again, should it matter that my manager is a woman or a man? Have you ever noticed that men in leadership positions are often more respected in their roles than women leaders? Why is this? Should it matter who is leading the organization? Thus, empowered women continue to struggle with followers in the areas of: respect, trust, and commitment to the organizations' missions, goals, and values. As an example, an empowered (male) leader may effectively: dictate policies and procedures, change the missions or goals, discover a new direction in which to take the organization, and strategize on implementing this process, with very little Monday morning quarterbacks or water-cooler conversations. However, if an empowered woman leader decides to make the same (or similar) choices mentioned above, she may be considered as: unorganized, moody, irritable, vindictive, or as one who lacks the experience to lead the organization. Why does gender play such a major role in leadership positions? A leadership role should follow the adaptive five senses, which assist empowered men and women to form relationships with followers and maintain consistency and productivity in the orga-nization.
A Likely Model
Leadership roles defined by Howard and Wellins (1994) and Hickman (1998) for empowered leaders are as follows: The empowered woman has the ability to lead with all five leadership roles in any organization just as the empowered man. However, the empowered woman has to tackle several obstacles during her role as leader. Should it matter that the leader is a woman? The gender of the person leading the organization should not matter. However, the empowered woman lives in a glass house as a leader with biases, discrimination, and glass ceilings that are attempting to block her way.
The Empowered Woman in the Business Sector - Biases
Howard (1995; see also Hickman, 1998) states that leaders must shape their organization through concepts and feelings, rather than through rules or structure, to collaborate employees and vested stakeholders. Empowerment is more than having power over others—it is also power sharing and participation from the perspective of: leader behavior, decision procedures, and the formal structure of the organization (Yukl, 2006). The empowered woman should have the requisite capabilities to lead any organization under the same yardsticks of an empowered man. However, society and followers consider gender in leadership positions as a major factor and the empowered woman may be scrutinized and overlooked for top-management positions. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008), women are more likely than men to work in professional and related occupations, but they are not well represented in the higher paying job groups, within this broad category: The Bureau of Labor Statistics also shares that only 9% of female professionals were employed in the high-paying computer and engineering fields, compared with 45% of male professionals. Professional women were more likely to work in the education and healthcare occupations, in which pay was generally lower. Sixty-eight percent of female professionals worked in these fields in 2008, compared with 29% of male professionals (2008).
Information gathered from the US Bureau of Statistics indicates that the empowered woman has cracked the glass ceiling. However, on the other hand, she is still not allowed to enter the hierarchy of the ruling body of the empowered man. What will it take for the empowered woman to break down the glass ceiling of division between the empowered man and society? According to Okanlawon (1994), strategic decision-making has become sex-typed as a masculine role. The same author also states that barriers facing women in strategic decision-making skills are as follows: reluctance of male subordinates toward female managers, isolation by male colleagues, exclusion from male-dominated informal networks, and the lack of mentorship (1994). In contrast, Schein (1976) argues that one major barrier impeding the progress of women may be the sex-typing of the managerial job. The token women are often expected to conform to the notion: "think managers, think male". Female managers are, therefore, pressurized to adopt the traditional male managerial skills and attitudes.
While many women attempt to ensure effective decisions are made through their particular gender qualities, their decision is often referred to as a distinctively female style of leadership, emphasizing care, informality and concern for the individual, these attempts are often, if not always, faced with the organizational stereotype (1976).
As we consider the alleged gender-typing of empowered women in society today, consider the experience of a top-tier executive of a top global computer and electronics manufacturer. The empowered woman was pulled aside by a well-meaning male manager, who said, "you are too aggressive; you are scaring people with your strategic decisions" she stated, "If I was a man there would have been no problem" her boss conceded. But as a woman, "I was outside the narrow band of acceptable behavior." Instead of "changing", as the boss suggested, she quit (Salvaterra, 2008). The biases of empowered women regarding competence to do the job are considerably higher in society. Many followers and male leaders stereotype empowered women leadership as subpar in top management positions. This view is also supported by Mills (1992) and Burrell (1992), plus the result of surveys conducted by the NHS Women's Unit and the Institute of Management (1992). The authors and the survey findings show that, not only are women often considered unsuitable for senior management positions, but, more importantly, their daily experience is one where their competence is continuously questioned (Okanlawon, 1994).
An Example
The 21st Century viewpoint of empowered men and followers requires change. The discrimination and biases against empowered women in top management positions are described in detail. For example, a female empowered leader of approximately 95 followers at a Central Virginia training academy moves through obstacles on a daily basis—sexist statements, derogatory slogans, inner office counterproductive attitudes, and the trickle-down effects of management decisions that one has to make, to improve the organization. This empowered woman refuses to `change' her stance on leading, to make a difference on a daily basis. She holds every employee accountable for their own actions, without biases or judgmental influences. Does it matter that she is an `empowered woman'? In the eyes of many followers, the answer is no; she is consistent, fair, and firm. Without her leadership, mentoring, and guidance, the training academy would not flourish with the infrastructure for neighboring training academies to benchmark. Hickman said it best in this quote, "The empowered leader's role is to help employees feel that they can perform their work competently, and inspire employees to believe that the work is worth doing well" (1998, p. 206).
Conclusion
Many of the questions proffered in this article can only be addressed by the follower who has worked for an empowered woman. Both empowered men and women may have the capabilities to lead any organization in the 21st century, if they have the opportunity and the requisite support for the position. In many instances, the resistance falls within the hierarchies of the organization, while it is seeking to fulfill the needs and profits associated with their perspective industry. The empowered woman must seek self-efficacy, self-determination, and must have meaning, with her impact to make a difference (Spreitzer, 1995). In short, it really does not matter if a manager is an empowered woman or man because when empowered leaders lead, they empower their followers by inspiring them directly and facilitating their performance in a way that motivates them to do more in any organization (Hickman, 1996). One premise of this article was to offer several aspects of empowerment, including empowered women, to act as catalysts for dialog and learning within an organization. The constructs need to be operationally defined by the organizational leaders, as well as by the members of an organization. 
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