Women and Management

Abstract

It is very hard to believe that in the current economic state and with the advancements of the world that gender biasness still occurs. Women are often faced with challenges of advancing to management positions, although studies have shown that women in management can lead to positive outcomes for the organization. In this research paper I will address the woman manager and all of the barriers as well as the positive outcomes that have been reached with women being a forefront in the economic growth of organizations.

The Woman Manager

Finding women to take on leading roles in management has been an ongoing struggle for the U.S. job market. Holding the majority ruling over leadership qualities, women have are pushing slowly into become leaders. While the opportunities are become more and more available numbers are slow to rise. In business leadership in 2009, women held 49% of the jobs in the U.S. and 50% of all managerial positions. A 2006 report from the U.S. Department of Labor noted that women outnumber men in such mid-level occupations as financial managers; human resource managers; educational administrators; medical and health services managers; accountants and auditors; and budget analysts; and property, real estate, and social community service managers. So while at the middle-management level, women have made substantial progress, at the top management level the statistics are still quite depressing.

In 2010 only 2.4% of the U.S. Fortune 500 chief executives were female. In the FTSE 500 the statistics are even worse–only 1.8% of its companies are led by women. Women’s access to boardroom seats is also troubling, particularly in the U.S. and U.K. In the FTSE 100, for example, 12.5% of directors are women, a tiny improvement on the 12.2% in 2009 and 11.7% in 2008. In other cases women in management have shifted scenes. In Norway, for example, about 44.2% of board members are women. This has not come about by...