Running head: WOMEN IN BUSINESS LITERATURE REVIEW 1
Women in Business Literature Review
Lakeisha Pruitt
Liberty University
BUSI 600
7/8/2018
WOMEN IN BUSINESS LITERATURE REVIEW
Women in Business Literature Review
The involvement of women in business has evolved over time. It has been a subject of
interest to many scholars, business leaders, human rights activists and those who have taken an
interest in advocating for affirmative action to rectify the injustices that have been masterminded
against women to the advantage of the their male counterparts. Different scholars and agencies
both in the public and private sector have as such conducted various surveys and researches on
the subject and written their findings, conclusions and recommendations. This literature review
examines the findings in these previously written literature by different scholars and agencies.
The literature review will cover, among others; the history of women in business, glass ceiling,
leadership, barriers, work-life balance, career disruptions, and overcoming barriers in the
workplace among others.
History of Women in Business
Women have been involved in business for a very long time despite the numerous
obstacles that have always been in their way. Christie, (2017) explores the stories of some of the
women who were in economic business activities in the 1700s. She explores their stories through
a number of litigations that involved these women and their properties that they acquired through
their business activities. One such woman is Mary Jacobs who in 1787 instituted a legal action in
the Court of Common Pleas based in Montreal. Jacobs sought to recover a debt owed to herself,
Donald and Elizabeth Fisher.
Christie, (2017), contends that women have been involved in business activities for a
long time as business owners as well as customers. She identifies instances where women were
sole business owners as well as business partners working alongside their husbands. According
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to Christie, some official records revealed important information about women’s involvement in
business. Civil judicial records in Quebec and Montreal have revealed that during the 18th
century 384 women were actively involved in business in Quebec between 1764and 1820. These
findings by Christie are proof that involvement of women in business is something that has been
around for quite some time.
However, she also mentions few limitations that impacted women who were in business
in those early days. For instance, the common law that was in operation at the time required that
married women only appear in court with their husbands. This could have implied that men still
had control of their wives involvement in business. There are instances in which some women
had to conduct their businesses in the names of their husbands. It is clear from this scholar’s
findings that some of the challenges women in business face today have been around for quite a
long time.
Glass Ceiling
Ben-Noam, (2018), explores the glass ceiling that has always been an impediment to
women’s accession to elite-level positions not only in business but also in other leadership
positions in politics. He notes that there has been a significant increase in the number of women
ascending to higher positions though the parity between them and their male counterparts is still
quite apparent. He explores the stereotypical thinking as well as the dilemmas that women have
to overcome to get promoted or appointed to top positions. Ben-Noam contends that some of the
glass ceilings that obstruct the ascension of women to higher positions are internal obstacles that
arise from the manner in which the women might have been socialized early as they grew up. He
suggests that such internal obstacles can be worked on.
WOMEN IN BUSINESS LITERATURE REVIEW
In effect, Ben-Noam, (2018), is of the view that the glass ceiling has been an impediment
to women’s progress in business, and in other career fields has not solely been as a result of
external factors for which women do not have direct control. The manner in which women are
socialized in many societies has made them believe that they are meant to play second fiddle to
men. As such, they easily accept being bypassed during promotions and even being remunerated
lower as compared to men even though they are capable of having the same job descriptions. He
contends that this is a situation that can be solved through therapeutic treatment. This involves
taking women through a therapy treatment that will help them unlearn the socialization that they
grew through and believe in their ability to achieve the same success that men have been
perennially achieving.
Shambaugh, (2008), the author of It's Not a Glass Ceiling, It's a Sticky Floor: Free
Yourself From the Hidden Behaviors Sabotaging Your Career Success, also believes that other
than the perceived glass ceiling, there are other internal factors that are an impediment to
women’s success and ascension to higher positions of leadership in business and society. She
asserts that there are self-defeating actions that women take end up restraining their progress.
She calls these actions “sticky floors”. According to Shambaugh, (2008), women have certain
attitudes, traits and behaviors that impede them from achieving what they have the ability to
achieve. These can be referenced back to what Ben-Noam, (2018), noted about the effect of
socialization on the ability of women to prosper at the highest level. The attitudes, behaviors and
traits are most likely to stem from how the women grew up knowing that the top positions of
leadership in the society are reserved for men.
While Ben-Noam, (2018), recommended the use of therapeutic treatment to help women
overcome these sticky floors and socialization glass ceiling, Shambaugh, (2008), recommends a
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number of strategies whose application depend on the type of glass ceiling or sticky floor that
one is facing. The strategies are based on being practical and direct in pursuit of one’s goals. For
instance, the first strategy is based on balancing work and life. This is one of the things that has
been a major impediment to women as most of them are the keepers of their homes. She
proposes that instead of the women letting their life hinder their progress in the corporate world,
they should seek to find a balance that can enable them excel in both areas.
Shambaugh, (2008), also portends that women should never shy away from asking for
what they want. This is because women are often overlooked and regarded as being less
ambitious when promotions are considered. It is, therefore, important for the women to make it
clear that they are interested for the top positions and work towards achieving their goals.
Working hard silently and expecting to be recognized does not work for women. They also have
to speak out and make it clear that they have their eyes on the top management positions in their
organizations.
Leadership
Palmer, & Simon, (2008), explore political leadership for women and the reasons as to
why the integration of women in the U.S congress has been quite slow. The first obstacle that
women in political leadership face is the difficulties that are encountered in trying to dislodge an
incumbent. Many incumbents in political positions are men. It has been almost impossible for
women to compete against them due to a number of factors that have been identified by Palmer,
& Simon, (2008). One of the factors that they note is the fact that playing field is not level for
men and women. It seem to be tilted in favor of men. The electorate evaluate the performance of
men in a different scale from that in which they evaluate the performance of female elected
leaders. The male aspiring leaders in politics also tend to have more resources for campaign than
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their female colleagues. They tend to get more financers than women do. People also volunteer
more to support campaigns for male candidates than they do for female candidates.
There is a very small percentage of women in corporate leadership. This is according to
Pafford, & Schaefer, (2017), who note that as of August 2016, only 19.9% of board positions
were held by women in leading corporate entities. Only 4.6% CEO positions in these entities
were held by women. This indicates a systematic bias about the ability of women to perform
exceptionally well in high positions in the corporate world. There is a pre-established societal
role that regard masculine characteristics highly as compared to feminine characteristics when
they are being considered for managerial leadership positions. Pafford, & Schaefer, (2017),
contend that women who are in corporate leadership have proven that they have the same
capabilities as their male counterparts in performing in the higher positions.
The promotion of individuals into those higher positions of corporate leadership should,
therefore, be based on competency rather than gender as seems to be the case in many cases.
Shambaugh, (2008), notes that women who hold top positions in the Fortune 500 companies
have posted better performances in terms of the bottom-line as compared to their male
counterparts in the same positions. There is, therefore, no question about the ability of women to
perform or to lead effectively. Helgesen, Johnson, (2010), say that the problem seems to be the
society coming to terms with the fact that women have the capabilities to lead just as their male
counterparts.
Pafford, & Schaefer, (2017), however, note that there are significant improvements in
women leadership around the world. They, however, contend that it might be until 2085 before
there is gender parity in top management positions. This is despite the fact that there are more
women graduating from universities with higher education degrees as compared to men. Pafford,
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& Schaefer, (2017), note that the performance of the women who are currently in leadership
positions can help expedite the gender parity at the top of leadership. Women should feel free to
challenge men for the top positions. Currently, Palmer, & Simon, (2008), say that research
reveals that in political contests, women are more likely to compete against women incumbents.
There are few women who can gather the strength and will to try and dislodge incumbent male
leaders.
Work-Life Balance
The term work-life balance has not been around for a very long time. In the United States
for instance, it is a term that was officially coined in 1986. At the time of its coining it was
applied to every single person. There is a need to maintain a balance between work and family
since both of them play a significant role in the society. As Phipps, & Prieto, (2016) note, women
tend to have more roles at home in many societies around the world. That is simply how many
societies are socialized. In addition to that, the biological creation of women has also given them
other roles in terms of being the ones carry and breastfeed babies upon delivery. Women,
therefore, get held back with family related issues than rather than their male counterparts
(Phipps, & Prieto, 2016). This is what calls for work-life balance among the women if they have
to succeed in leadership ranks both in business and also in the society and political positions.
Phipps, & Prieto, (2016) have revealed that it is difficult for women who work for
multinational business organizations to be promoted to positions that will require them to change
their geographical place of work. Most women would not accept moving to new countries to take
up leadership positions when their organizations open their branches in new countries. This is
because they think about their families and prefer to stay around for their families. This
oftentimes implies that they miss out on great opportunities of gaining valuable experience in
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international business management practices. Phipps, & Prieto, note that this limits their chances
of future promotions to higher management positions.
Toffoletti, & Starr, (2016), feel that policies that promote work-life balance are deep-
rooted in Australian universities. Despite the presence of such policies, the authors note that
academics in the institutions still feel that they cannot successfully meet the goals that they are
expected to achieve at work as well as those that need to achieve outside work. It is, apparent,
therefore, that despite the efforts that are being put in place by many organizations to help in
gaining the work-life balance, it is still not easy to achieve the balance. This is truer for women
because what is expected of them at home is more than the expectations on their male
counterparts while at work, the expectations of men and women with the same job descriptions
are the same (Toffoletti, & Starr, 2016).
Career Disruptions
Women are highly likely to face career interruptions which portrays them as being less
committed to advancing their careers. The main factor that contributes to career disruptions for
women is separating work life and family according to Bilimoria, & Piderit, (2007). In many
parts of the world, the roles and responsibilities that have been bestowed upon women has been
the main point of disruption in their careers. Bilimoria, & Piderit, (2007), agree that as much as
both men and women have roles in the family, women tend to give priority to family and then
work comes second while men work in the opposite direction putting more emphasis on work.
This could be due to societal expectations of both genders. In many societies around the world,
the man is regarded as the bread winner and whenever a woman is involved in gainful economic
activities, her income is regarded as a supplement to what the man brings home. This, therefore,
explains the emphasis that the two genders place on work and family responsibilities.
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Stone, (2007), implies that as women continue to prioritize families, they end up
curtailing their chances of rising higher in corporate ranks. There are cases where women have
had to resign from their jobs in order to participate more in the growth and development of their
children. The term “full-time mum” is more common than the term “full-time dad”. Equally,
there are more stay at home mum than there are stay at home dads. This is all the making of the
society. However, as Bilimoria, & Piderit, (2007), have discovered, there are increasingly more
women who are taking a different direction by challenging the status quo and gunning for the top
positions. Science has made it easy for some women to have their biological children without
carrying the pregnancies. However, there are only a handful of families who can afford to have
their children in such ways either by having surrogate mothers or through incubation.
Sprunt, (2016), suggest that there are other issues that disrupt the career of women other
than family responsibilities. Incentives and pay are some of those issues. It has been noted that
compensation for women with the same job description as men has been found to be lower. This
makes it difficult for women to have a strong argument point when in the family, one person has
to stop working to take care of the home. The one who brings home the least money will always
have a weaker argument. In the end, the women who earn less than their male counterparts end
up resigning their jobs and disrupting their careers. Some women opt to work at home but that
does not do much in helping them to climb the corporate ladder. Higher management positions
require people who are able to exhibit leadership qualities and show commitment their to the
organization. This is hardly possible to do while working at home. Requesting to work from
home is a clear sign, to some employers, that one lacks the total commitment to the organization
and would prefer to split their time between the organization and doing other things (Sprunt,
2016).
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Overcoming Barriers in the Workplace
In order for women to succeed in business and in the workplace, it is essential that they
endeavor to overcome the current barriers that hinder their ascension to higher positions of
leadership. Sprunt, (2016), notes that overcoming the barriers for women will take more than just
the effort from the women themselves. It requires the input of every single individual in the
society. Having identified some of the barriers that women encounter, Sprunt, (2016), insists that
every party to every single barrier has to take part in taking off the barriers on the path of women
to higher positions of leadership. She notes that significant progress is being achieved in
preparing women through education to for leadership. However, as Felker, (1999), notes, a lot
still needs to be done to ensure that women are afforded the same opportunities as men to ascend
to positions of leadership.
Speranza, (2017), believes that women in leadership positions can exhibit certain types of
behaviors that can help with dismantling the barriers that hinder women from rising to higher
levels of leadership. She identifies these behaviors as competence, listening and display of
respect. She believes that when these behaviors are displayed together, they will allow women in
leadership to build relationships, build trust and dismantle the existing social bias against the
position of women in leadership.
Speranza, (2017), conducted a research among the women expatriates. In her research, she
wanted to find out the factors that are essential for women to succeed in expatriate roles. Her
research idea was informed by the fact that there are very few female expatriates not only from
the U.S. government but also from multinational corporations. Her findings revealed that
"adaptive leadership and specific leadership behaviors can reduce gender barriers” (26). Cultural
adaptation, display of respect, competence and listening are the most important leadership
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behaviors that are critical to being successful while on leadership assignment. She notes that
exhibiting these behaviors among women deconstructs the existing gender barriers and gave
them the conductive environment to lead and succeed in multinational settings.
Majority of the barriers that women face in their places of work are socially constructed
and they have been a culture in the environments in which the women live and work (Speranza,
2017). She also notes that adaptation is very important because environments in which leaders
have to work in are very different. For instance, the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia is
totally different from the U.S., but it does not mean that women cannot hold leadership positions
in Saudi Arabia. All that women need to do is adapt to the environment and through competence
and display of respect, earn the trust and respect from society that will eventually recognize the
ability to lead (Speranza, 2017).
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References
Ben-Noam, S. (2018). Cracking the Intrapsychic “Glass Ceiling” for Women in Leadership:
Therapeutic Interventions. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 38(4), 299-311.
http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=pbh&AN=129717027&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Bilimoria, D., & Piderit, S. K. (2007). Handbook on Women in Business and Management.
Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzE
4MjEyOF9fQU41?sid=1992769b-0099-494d-8c85-
b09280c0870e@sessionmgr4008&vid=8&format=EB&rid=1
Christie, N. (2017). Women in the Formal and Informal Economies of Late Eighteenth-Century
Quebec, 1763-1830. Gender & History, 29(1), 104-123. doi:10.1111/1468-0424.12280
http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=asn&AN=121743995&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Felker, S. J. (1999). A View from Education: How Corporate Women Perceive Their Workplace
Environment. Dissertation Abstracts International. Section A: Humanities And Social
Sciences, 59(08), 2834. http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fyh&AN=MRB-
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Helgesen, S., & Johnson, J. (2010). The Female Vision: Women's Real Power at Work. San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?
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url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
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Pafford, S., & Schaefer, T. (2017). WOMEN AT WORK AND BUSINESS LEADERSHIP
EFFECTIVENESS. Journal Of Organizational Culture, Communications & Conflict,
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Palmer, B., & Simon, D. M. (2008). Breaking the Political Glass Ceiling: Women and
Congressional Elections. New York, NY: Routledge.
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Advocated Work-Life Balance: An Ethical Perspective. Journal Of Business Ethics,
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Shambaugh, R. (2008). It's Not a Glass Ceiling, It's a Sticky Floor : Free Yourself From the
Hidden Behaviors Sabotaging Your Career Success. New York: McGraw-Hill
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Speranza, C. (2017). Women Expatriate Leaders: How Leadership Behaviors Can Reduce
Gender Barriers. Creighton Journal Of Interdisciplinary Leadership, 3(1), 20-32.
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http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
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Sprunt, E. (2016). A Guide for Dual-Career Couples: Rewriting the Rules : Rewriting the Rules.
Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger. http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
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Stone, P. (2007). Opting Out? : Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home. Berkeley:
University of California Press.
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Discourses of Work and Care. Gender, Work & Organization, 23(5), 489-504.
doi:10.1111/gwao.12133 http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
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