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Student 3 – Role

Role

 

Definition: Organizational Behavior notes, “A role is a set of behaviors that people are expected to perform because they hold certain positions in a team and organization” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2008, p. 233).

 

Summary: The article entitled “Still missing: Female business leaders” written by Egan (2015) discusses the fact that there are significantly less women in leading roles in the workplace when compared to men. When it comes to running a business, a man is more likely to be considered for the job than a woman. Even though there is an awareness of the issue, the problem is still far from being solved.

 

Discussion: When it comes to roles in the workplace, one issue that tends to be avoided is the matter of a lack of women in leading roles. A study of companies in the S&P 500 showed that only 14.2% of the top five leadership positions were held by women (Egan, 2015). As you can see, this is very low. From the beginning of time, the man was said to be the head of his household. The man is supposed to be the leader of everything and make all the decisions. Unfortunately, not only does this still hold true today, but this custom has also transitioned to the workplace as well. Although this matter has definitely made some progress, it is still an issue. There are many factors involved with this problem. For one thing, mission-critical jobs go to men. Studies show that many successful women end up in roles in human resources and investor relations (Egan, 2015). These roles are important, but they don’t necessarily lead to the top levels. Stereotyping is also a problem. Most people don’t even picture a woman being the CEO of a company. It’s as if the mind automatically thinks of a white male when they think about a CEO. Another setback is support. In the business world, it’s greatly beneficial for high-ranking sponsors to encourage an individual’s advancement. Not just be a sponsor, but actively campaign. Egan reports, “Sponsorship means you are really fighting for that person (Egan, 2015).”

 

Even though there is still a definite remaining issue with women progressing in the workplace, society is beginning to notice the benefits of having a woman at the top. Businesses have realized that women bring diversity. Women possess different skills than men. They have thoughtful deliberations about risk-taking, and appeal to female consumers (Egan, 2015). Diversities lead to financial success as well. Studies have also shown that this gender diversity has gotten better. In this article, it was reported that in 2013, women held 16.9% of the board seats in the Fortune 500, which is up from 11.7% in 2000 (Egan, 2015). What’s more, is the fact that some government officials in countries such as Germany, are attempting to close the gender gap. They’re doing so by making sure a certain percentage of women hold board seats. Unfortunately, the U.S. has little interest in such quotas. Women have mixed feelings on this solution as well. As the article states, “No one wants to be seen as the token female who only got a role because of a quota (Egan, 2015).” How would feel if you found out the only reason you were hired for a job was because the company had to meet a quota? Do you agree with this solution?

 

If you think about it, men have always been put before women. God created Adam before Eve. Women even got their name from men. Genesis 2:23 says “This now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man (Egan, 2015).”

Do you think God meant for women to be second to men?

 

References

 

Egan, M. (2015). Still missing: Female business leaders. CNN Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/24/investing/female-ceo-pipeline-leadership/

 

Kottasova, I. (2015). U.S. gender pay gap is getting worse. CNN Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/18/news/gender-pay-gap/

 

McShane, S., & Von Glinow, M. (2013). Organizational behavior (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

 

Sahadi, J. (2016). Stunning lack of women in corporate leadership roles worldwide. CNN Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/08/pf/women-corporate-leadership/