WOMEN LEADERSHIP IN INDIA : AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Abstract
It is still amazing how several studies, including classic and contemporary research, show remarkable trends of long-term expansion and growth in companies with female managers or leaders, suggesting that there may be a direct relationship between gender and inherited effective traits for effective leadership. Women are more likely to be found in middle management positions today than they were more than a decade ago, but top positions are still less accessible for most of them although many studies have already established that women have somehow inherited qualities of soft skills useful for leadership roles. Accordingly, the question arises whether gender has a direct effect on the leadership position of a person. This paper conducts an exploratory study to shed light on the various factors that influence the actual behaviour and performance of women in top positions. In addition, the paper attempts to examine the real barriers that prevent women from achieving leadership positions in organisations. The data is collected with the help of a structured questionnaire distributed to an appropriate sample of Employees across the board and with a random sampling approach. The paper looks at identifying the attitudes and behavior of Women leaders and traits responsible for their growth and success. The paper also explores potential causes of the glass ceiling, discrimination, and bias against women in leadership positions.
Keyword : Leadership, Behavior, Women, Gender
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Agrawal, S., Cojocaru, A., Montalva, V., Narayan, A., Bundervoet, T., & Ten, A. (2021). COVID-19 and Inequality. Alon, T., Doepke, M., Olmstead-Rumsey, J., & Tertilt, M. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on gender equality (No. w26947). National Bureau of economic research. Antonakis, J., Avolio, B. J., & Sivasubramaniam, N. (2003). Context and leadership: An examination of the nine-factor full-range leadership theory using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The leadership quarterly, 14(3), 261-295. Avolio, B. J. (2010). Full range leadership development (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Bange, E. M., Han, N. A., Wileyto, P., Kim, J. Y., Gouma, S., Robinson, J., ... & Huang, A. C. (2021). CD8+ T cells contribute to survival in patients with COVID-19 and hematologic cancer. Nature medicine, 27(7), 1280-1289. Barsh, J. & Yee, L. (2011, September). Changing companies’ minds about women. McKinsey Quarterly. Available at www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/changing_companies_minds_about_women Barsh, J., & Yee, L. (2011). Unlocking the full potential of women in the US economy. McKinsey & Company, (April). Bass, B. M. (1998). Transformational leadership: Industry, military, and educational impact. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Colvin, G. (2016). Humans are underrated: What high achievers know that brilliant machines never will. Penguin. Cucagna, E., & Romero, J. (2021). The gendered impacts of covid-19 on labor markets in latin america and the caribbean. Cumming, G., Fidler, F., Kalinowski, P., & Lai, J. (2012). The statistical recommendations of the American Psychological Association Publication Manual: Effect sizes, confidence intervals, and meta‐analysis. Australian Journal of Psychology, 64(3), 138-146. De Paz Nieves, C., Gaddis, I., & Muller, M. (2021). Gender and COVID-19. Desvaux, G., & Devillard, S. 2008. Women matter 2: Female leadership a competitive edge for the future. URL: goo.gl/u9gNHI. Last accessed on 27 April 2017. Dimock, M. (2019). Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins. Pew Research Center, 17(1), 1-7. Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & Van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: a meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological bulletin, 129(4), 569. European Institute for Gender Equality. (2017). Gender equality index 2017: Measuring gender equality in the European Union 2005–2015. https://doi.org/10.2839/770576 Helgesen, S. (1990). The female advantage: Women's ways of leadership. New York, NY: Currency Doubleday. How empowering women can benefit Central and Eastern Europe, McKinsey Quarterly, 2021. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/europe/closing%20the%20gender%20gap%20in%20central%20and%20eastern%20europe/20210917_win%20win_cee%20women%20report_final.pdf How to accelerate gender diversity on boards, McKinsey Quarterly, 2017 Report: Women Matter. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/women%20matter/women%20matter%20ten%20years%20of%20insights%20on%20the%20importance%20of%20gender%20diversity/women-matter-time-to-accelerate-ten-years-of-insights-into-gender-diversity.pdf Judge, T. A., & Piccolo, R. F. (2004). Transformational and transactional leadership: a meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Journal of applied psychology, 89(5), 755. Loden, M. (1985). Feminine leadership: How to succeed in business without being one of the boys. New York, NY: Crown. Malisch, J. L., Harris, B. N., Sherrer, S. M., Lewis, K. A., Shepherd, S. L., McCarthy, P. C., ... & Deitloff, J. (2020). In the wake of COVID-19, academia needs new solutions to ensure gender equity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(27), 15378-15381. Mattis, M. C. (2004). Women entrepreneurs: out from under the glass ceiling. Women in management review. McCleary, K., Goetzel, R. Z., Roemer, E. C., Berko, J., Kent, K., & De La Torre, H. (2017). Employer and employee opinions about workplace health promotion (wellness) programs: results of the 2015 Harris Poll Nielsen Survey. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 59(3), 256-263. Milazzo, V. L. (2006). Inside Every Woman: Using the 10 Strengths You DidnÂt Know You Had to Get the Career and Life You Want Now. John Wiley & Sons. Reprinted in 2010. Nye, J., 2004b. ‘When Hard Power Undermines Soft Power’, New Perspectives Quarterly, 21(3), pp.13-15. Okimoto, T. G., & Brescoll, V. L. (2010). The price of power: Power seeking and backlash against female politicians. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(7), 923-936. Rosener, J. B. (1990). Ways women lead. Harvard Business Review, 68(6), 119?125. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-9014-0_3 Rudman, L. A., Moss-Racusin, C. A., Phelan, J. E., & Nauts, S. (2012). Status incongruity and backlash effects: Defending the gender hierarchy motivates prejudice against female leaders. Journal of experimental social psychology, 48(1), 165-179. Sargent. A. G. (1981). The androgynous manager. New York, NY: Amacom. Thomas, R., Cooper, M., Cardazone, G., Urban, K., Cardazone, G., Bohrer, A., & Mahajan, S. (2021). Women in the Workplace 2020. New York: McKinsey & Company.[Google Scholar]. Vishnani, S., & Shah, B. K. (2007). Impact of working capital management policies on corporate performance—An empirical study. Global business review, 8(2), 267-281. Wang, G., Oh, I. S., Courtright, S. H., & Colbert, A. E. (2011). Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of research. Group & organization management, 36(2), 223-270.