Explaining Gender Differences

The premise of the study described in the article looks at the relationship between the number of female employees working in management positions in a firm and the management practices employed by these firms. The results concluded that “overall, the findings suggest that the concept of good workplace management practices converges on female leadership styles when the percentage of female managers increases.” Specifically, they found that in teams led by female managers, there was improved communication between employees and management as well as increased collaboration, specifically in the decision-making department. These findings suggest that although right now, the male style of leadership is idolized and held as the standard, there are …show more content…
This study aimed to understand why despite the fact that there are so many ambitious and qualified women, they make up such a small percentage of leaders in the business world. Interestingly, the study found it may not just be organizational standards or decisions that hold women back- but women themselves. The article explains, “men and women have different preferences when it comes to achieving high-level positions in the workplace; more specifically, the life goals and outcomes that men and women associate with professional advancement are different.” Therefore, it’s possible that there are many women that actively chose not to take on high level business positions because that is not necessarily how they define themselves as a success. In the study of 800 participants, composed of men and women who are currently employed, when evaluating their overall life goals, women listed more and varied goals which were less related to attaining power compared to the men’s goals which were more power driven (men are more motivated by and towards power). This is a new development to the study of why men and women experience different treatment in trying to reach the top; previously it had been attributed to obstacles within the companies themselves and innate differences between men and women that affect their career trajectory, with no consequence given to differing gender related goals. Perhaps, women don’t see themselves as victims of gender discrimination, because they are often not; they may be actively choosing not to take on certain roles and positions! This could certainly also explain why there are women who achieve high positions in the business world, many of whom we had the pleasure to hear from this semester, despite these obstacles. Conceivably, these women choose to overcome some of the things that make it difficult to