Changing Role Of Urban Women
Women around the world continue to face systemic barriers and frustrations in the
workplace. While the phenomenon is universal, the details differ from country to country,
shaped by cultural and economic forces. According to a recent survey of business
students and alumni conducted by the Global Network for Advanced Management,
“Women remain underrepresented in business leadership roles worldwide, and
intriguing variation across the globe and even across industries within the same country
suggests that there is more to blame than a monolithic culture of patriarchy.” Global
Network Perspectives asked expert faculty across the Global Network to comment on
the barriers explicit or implicit to women participating in the economy in their countries.
Institutional mindsets.
Institutional mindsets include various types of gender bias and stereotyping. For
example, role incongruity occurs when someone holds beliefs or stereotypes about a
group that are inconsistent with the behavior thought to be necessary to succeed in a
specific role. In other words, there is a common belief that gender differences make
women and men effective in different roles. Thus, women are less effective to the extent
that the leader role is masculinized, and men are less effective when the role is
feminized. For example, a woman can be a very effective military leader, but her platoon
may not support her, because she’s in a role considered to be incongruent with
femininity. A similar problem exists with male nurses: A man can be an excellent nurse,
but those he cares for may not receive him positively, because he’s in a role considered
incongruent with his gender. Role congruity theory makes it difficult for men and women
to succeed as leaders if their behaviors are not perceived to be congruent with their
genders.
Individual mindsets.
Individual mindsets are the thoughts and behaviors women might have that hold them
back. Data show that most women reach the director level and stay there, or self-select
out of the workforce. The majority of women do not pursue vice president, president or
C-level positions for a myriad of reasons, including socialization pressures, lack of
confidence, risk aversion, valuing work-life balance or a desire to avoid politics. It’s
important to note that women often want different things than men do and are
Women around the world continue to face systemic barriers and frustrations in the
workplace. While the phenomenon is universal, the details differ from country to country,
shaped by cultural and economic forces. According to a recent survey of business
students and alumni conducted by the Global Network for Advanced Management,
“Women remain underrepresented in business leadership roles worldwide, and
intriguing variation across the globe and even across industries within the same country
suggests that there is more to blame than a monolithic culture of patriarchy.” Global
Network Perspectives asked expert faculty across the Global Network to comment on
the barriers explicit or implicit to women participating in the economy in their countries.
Institutional mindsets.
Institutional mindsets include various types of gender bias and stereotyping. For
example, role incongruity occurs when someone holds beliefs or stereotypes about a
group that are inconsistent with the behavior thought to be necessary to succeed in a
specific role. In other words, there is a common belief that gender differences make
women and men effective in different roles. Thus, women are less effective to the extent
that the leader role is masculinized, and men are less effective when the role is
feminized. For example, a woman can be a very effective military leader, but her platoon
may not support her, because she’s in a role considered to be incongruent with
femininity. A similar problem exists with male nurses: A man can be an excellent nurse,
but those he cares for may not receive him positively, because he’s in a role considered
incongruent with his gender. Role congruity theory makes it difficult for men and women
to succeed as leaders if their behaviors are not perceived to be congruent with their
genders.
Individual mindsets.
Individual mindsets are the thoughts and behaviors women might have that hold them
back. Data show that most women reach the director level and stay there, or self-select
out of the workforce. The majority of women do not pursue vice president, president or
C-level positions for a myriad of reasons, including socialization pressures, lack of
confidence, risk aversion, valuing work-life balance or a desire to avoid politics. It’s
important to note that women often want different things than men do and are
