admin The gendered biases in the domain work and organizational cultures is reflected through the miniscule number of formidable women leaders we have seen in the course of the by-gone decades. Although the total number of women in top executive positions has increased, the extraordinary women who can successfully navigate all domains of corporate culture still remain exceptions to the norm. Compliance and patronage are celebrated as essential prerequisites in women who wish to advance their corporate careers. This is emblematic of the deeply embedded cultural resistance to female authority. Male homo-sociability is responsible for the curation and perpetuation of predominantly male, monocultural work environments, which are inscribed with stereotypical beliefs about leadership incumbency, gender relations, and leadership behaviour.
In order to truly actualize their leadership potential, women need more than simply a seat at the executive table. A cultural overhaul is needed, one that allows them greater space to exercise authenticity, thereby commanding the same respect and loyalty from their colleagues as their male counterparts.
Locating Resistance to Women’s Leadership
In the predominantly male business environment, many talented and gifted women find it difficult to attain accolades and appreciation for their work and ingenuity. The overarching gendered discourse that envisions executive leadership as primarily male operates to exclude these women as cultural outsiders from senior management roles.
The ‘person-centric’ approach -forwarded by organizational literature- that has attempted to address the issue suggests that the challenges to female leadership lie in traditional attitudes and behaviours of women. This approach argues that in order to move up the corporate hierarchy, women need to cultivate the right characteristics that would propel them forward. The onus has been placed on women to adapt to the male dominated environments of corporations, in order to ‘fit in’.
Within the ambit of such a proposition, the playing field continues to remain biased and overwhelmingly uneven for women. Yet most organizations around the world continue to adhere with this ‘deficit equity’ model to retain their female talent pools. Contrarily, the ‘titling the playing field’ approach has secured some marginal changes in organizations, failing to usher in lasting variations. The need of the hour is to ideate an approach that will modify organizational strategies, rules, and the cultural dynamics of work.
Ushering in the Cultural Revolution
Mentioned below are some of the most succinct ways in which organizations can bring about changes in their cultures to help women workers and leaders actualize their potentials and create a more levelled playing field:
- Empower Female Employees– Since the access of women to lucrative, high-paying, and top status-oriented positions are still limited, it is important to consciously create a company culture that fosters inclusivity. Companies thus need to make deliberate investments to allow their women workers access to ‘hot jobs’ and opportunities with enhanced visibility, such that they can effectively showcase their talents and leadership skills.
- Inclusive Workplaces– This is one of the most simple and basic ways in which organizations can make way for female leadership. When corporate cultures are changed consciously to reflect a more nuanced sense of inclusivity, women leaders will automatically flourish. To achieve this, organizations can create certain basic ground rules for its teams and institute a sense of accountability vis-à-vis these rules. Consciously police the use of exclusionary language and practices can also help raise awareness. Organizations can also organize seminars to sensitize workers about inclusion and diversity.
- Equal Pay– A definitive step towards making organizations more gender neutral is to work actively to reduce the ever-existent gender wage gap. Wage audits can be used by organizations to make their remuneration policies more equitable. Similarly, pay transparency can also be an efficient way of ensuring this gendered pay gap is bridged. Since the gendered bias is so engrained into the very fabric of corporate organizations, one has to actively combat it by evaluating recruitment, promotion, and talent development systems for gender bias.
- Flexible Work Arrangements– Although flexibility was once celebrated as a boon for women attempting to juggle both the home and work fronts, it has rather amplified the challenges for many female workers. Corporation can revise the banes of flexible working for women by embracing an output-oriented model and shifting their focus to productivity, rather than time spent at the desk. They can also initiate a dialogue with employees and managers- especially women- who are working flexibly to identify the problem areas and ideate fitting solutions.
- Fighting Unconscious Biases– It is equally pertinent to note that the category of working women is not a homogeneous one. Other stratification axes like race play a key role in defining the kind of workplace women of colour encounter. This necessitates an intersectional understanding of the challenges faced by women – as women as well as members of other marginalized groups. To this end, organizations must initiate open dialogues to counter bias and unwarranted prejudices. It is important to sensitize people about the unconscious biases that may pervade their conversations and actions in the workplace. Speaking up against such behaviour is equally potent.
- Intentional Representation– As already highlighted, the number of women helming top leadership roles are quite miniscule. Thus, companies need to intentionally appoint highly qualified women to their executive teams. Yet it is important to not reduce this change as simply another form of tokenism. It is pertinent to rather incorporate this ideology as a definitive organizational policy change.
- Ensure Sponsorships for Women– Networking is an essential part of building illustrious careers. Women face challenges in the male-dominated corporate world because of the lack of such sponsorships and connections. This excludes them from attaining high visibility assignments and promotions. For this purpose, organizations can consciously include women during these networking events, they can also reassess the diversity quotient of the ‘go-to’ group at the firm.
- Create a Safe Workplace– It is important to cognize that women can only attain their true potential when they feel safe in the workplace. According to studies, at least one-quarter of women have faced harassment in the workplace. Thus, implementing policies and strategies that counter such actions and institute strict punishment for them must be a top priority for organizations. Adopting a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy can also be fruitful in this regard. Creating a safe workplace also means that women will not feel that they are risking their careers when they file harassment complaints. Each complaint must also be diligently investigated by a special board to uphold the sanctity of the ‘zero-tolerance’ stance.
Impact of Authentic Female Leadership
When women come to represent significant and powerful minorities at the senior management levels, a ‘tipping point’ effect is noted. This is indicative of a succinct cultural change that makes the corporate and organizational milieu much more ‘female friendly’. When women hold decisive leadership positions in organizations, the cultural construct of good leadership and promotion eligibility also shifts in favour of female candidates. Apart from this important change, when a formidable number of women hold key organizational positions, they discard the need to adhere to survival scripts and are in a position to implement their authentic and unencumbered leadership styles. Moreover, such diversity in leadership styles can be beneficial for organizations as it reflects the recognition of the heterogeneity of their leaders.
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