Women in Leadership Positions Establishing Corporate Credibility

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to conduct extensive research into the literature published on women in leadership roles in “Corporate America.” This paper is set to analyze and delve into the different leadership styles of men and women, in what is distinctly known as a “masculine world.” As women have made extensive tracks into the world of business, and many like Oprah Gail Winfrey of Oprah Winfrey Network and Harpo Enterprises and Margaret Cushing of Hewlett-Packard (Bradshaw, 2012), have managed to reach the echelons of upper executive levels as well as owning their own businesses, a lot of the previous research into this field, claiming that women will never equal in status, power and competence to men, or at least will take decades to reach some semblance of equality, could be considered redundant. This paper will look into the role of women as effective leaders, delve into the tactics that they use in their say to say business activities, and discuss the problems that they have to face to reach the “pinnacle” of the business world in the Western society. These problems will include a discussion of the social and familial pressure as well as discrimination by men and even “suburbanized women” of this so called contemporary western world that “business women” have to face. Moreover, this paper will highlight how women have evolved from their “natural” roles of mothers, daughters and sisters, into powerful executive who have become an integral part of the corporate society, not just in America but globally.

Table of Content

Abstract2

Women Today in Corporate America4

The 'Glass Ceiling' Effect7

Leadership8

Traditional Leadership in Opposition to “Female Leadership”8

Effective Leaders11

Women as Effective Leaders12

The 'Double Bind'13

Expectation States Theory14

Leadership and Credibility15

Female Leadership with Power And Competence16

References18

Women in Leadership Positions Establishing Corporate Credibility

Women Today in Corporate America

Today, the situation of women in the Western society has been changing, albeit slowly. Since the beginning of the last century, women have been fighting for equal rights for themselves, and it is not without great difficulty that women have advanced to positions of power and responsibility outside the home. However, in hierarchical structures, women have not been given the leadership roles that they deserve fully (Linda & Papamarcos, 2000).

“Corporate America” was built around men, was for men and moreover by them as well, and therefore it has many stereotypical qualities of men as well. Though, corporations have a big role to play in the contemporary economy and the way business is conducted. Corporations are an integral part of the society today, and are involved in all the aspects of our lives from entertainment to financial matters. However, if scrutinized minutely, it becomes clear that one factor has been missing from these corporations, which is the role of women. Throughout the evolution and development of corporations or Corporate America, women have been severely underrepresented in the upper echelons of the corporate structure, even those companies which claim to be “gender balanced” (Linda & Papamarcos, ...