Factors Influencing Women Managers’ Success
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Factors Influencing Women Managers’ Success
Introduction
Today, the rate at which women have been entering the professional ranks of cooperation is almost equal to men. All the management roles and requirements are genuinely gender-neutral and are meant to be fulfilled by a qualified individual devoid of gender, age or any other personal specification. However, the number of women advancing to managerial and other senior ranks pales compared to the number of their male counterparts in most fortune-500 companies.
Women have had to overcome specific challenges that affect their performance in the workplace. In this regard, gender biases must be a common practice in many organisations where managerial positions are offered to men because of the misconception that they deserve them. The fact that governments, organisations and labour laws are all talking about gender pay equality, and more women workforce, is a sign of positive economic outcome. These are good times in organic economic evolution and mainly through the contribution of women in leadership roles, better working conditions for all the blue and white-collar workforce and equal pay to both the genders.
In essence, women have emerged triumphant by enhancing their knowledge through enrolling for further education, boosting their confidence levels, and increasing their output in the workplace. In my opinion, women have the energy and will to succeed in high positions, but many things as women
hinder them.
Family. Being a mother or having a motherly figure is a whole business on its own. Having to cater for the family’s basic needs, and also being able to give an image to today’s demanding society as a homemaker is a multitask. As a married woman, one will opt to consider giving more time to the home than business and letting the man dominate the business part.
Family anxieties are likely to provide a more substantial barrier to females’ occupation selections than on those of males (Schruijer, 2006). When women realise their career opportunities are diminished due to family obligations, it is tempting to place less value on career progress and prioritise family instead.
Relationship with the co-workers. Women are of a higher advantage when interacting with other people, which gives them the upper hand to work and collaborate with other people easily. The relationship improves their communication skills and can decisively address issues. The Gallup study showed data that 41% of the female managers have better engagement skills and are more involved with their workforce than only 35% of the male managers. Co-workers relations is an essential source in providing support to co-workers and positive effect on employee satisfaction (Madlock & Booth-Butterfield, 2012)
Work-life balance: Is a known concept of allowing an employee to
work from home to attend some personal priorities. Working from home is a vital issue
that is accelerating to be no more a provision for women but a business
strategy that can attract the best talent in the market and help in
achieving higher employee satisfaction. But there is a silent mockery
that women avail more of these flexible options than men do and
ultimately can affect the growth of the individual who avails it.
Management should shift their attention from making more policies
around flexibility and encourage employees to avail such options as
frequently as needed.
Equal pay: As mentioned above, women must work doubly hard to
achieve as much as her men colleagues and still they may not be
offered that. For instance, gender pay differences may result from a greater reluctance of women, compared with men, to negotiate about their payer to request a raise or promotion (Riley Bowles, 2013). Women tend to avoid competitive pay schemes and show less performance enhancement due to competition
At the same time, it is less evident that organisations equally value men’s and women’s contributions, or organisations are equally attractive to them. Gender pay appears across age, ethnicity, profession, education, and country (Catalyst, 2014a).
Leadership opportunities: As mentioned earlier, in this article,
women being offered highly visible leadership roles is rare, more and
more executive should come forward to sponsor and mentor qualified
women and ensure their representation in boards and chairs.
Workplace harassments: Reports says that women of all levels in
workplaces are affected Of all the working women population more
than half have experienced such issues, and a quarter of them have
reported. Companies should ensure that they have integrity helplines
set and regulations are built to report such offences immediately. Such
steps are necessary to ensure the safety of all working women globally.
Confidence. Most of the time, women do not have the confidence to work with others or even interact with workmates. So, they are to be motivated to work and always complimented so that their confidence can be built, and they can be able to work with pride and confidence.
Society. Societal factors are indirect factors that influence both organisational and individual behaviour, setting standards, expectations, and customs to organisations and individuals. These factors are the most challenging and time-taking factors to change as they affect various dimensions of life and cannot be easily controlled.
One of the factors is gender equality.
Woman’s income. Prince found a tendency for women to be employed at lower salaries than male counterparts (Prince 1988). This factor demotivates women to work hard and get paid properly, which hinders the success of most women in the world. Women in all occupations within the business industry will still earn a lower average weekly than a man.
Conclusion
Women today have emerged victorious by enhancing their knowledge through the help of girl-child education, enrolling in higher education, boosting their confidence levels, and increasing their output in the workplaces. In the past, where women were exposed to many distractions and hindrances like discriminations, today the society has welcomed women into many different activities allowing them to work freely.
References
Prince, D. 1988. ‘Women in Museums.’ Museums Journal 1988, 55-60
Riley Bowles, H. (2013). Psychological perspectives on gender in negotiation. London. SAGE.
Madlock, P. E, & Booth-Butterfield, M. (2012). THE Influence of Relational Maintenance Strategies Among Co-workers.