WHY WOMEN ARE UNDERREPRESENTED
Women are less likely to be accepted as worthy of top executive positions because of the prevalence of gender-biased judgments in the corporate workplace. The qualities necessary to complete typically male gendered work stand in stark contrast with those that society has determined fitting for women. Gender-stereotypic prescriptions denote norms suitable for men and women, and define the fields in which women should work as communal and service-oriented. The very actions that are rewarded when men complete them, such as aggressive networking or self-promoting, are punished when taken by women. The disapproval that successful female leaders in male gender-typed environments face can be attributed to them abandoning the less controlling, more passive, community-based role that is expected of women in our society. While men are celebrated for being confident and strong, the same decisions make women seem hostile to their peers. However, when women do not take these measures and display nicer, kinder attributes, they are labeled as incompetent and inefficient. The position of women is worsened when they are of a lower socio-economic class and therefore have less access to resources, which often either come with a price tag or are unknown to girls without well-connected parents. Disadvantages are also more prominent for women of color.
Karpowitz, Christopher F., and Tali Mendelberg. The Silent Sex: Gender, Deliberation, and Institutions. N.p.: Princeton 2014. Print.
“Gender Disparity On-Screen and Behind the Camera in Family Films” Stacy L. Smith PhD and Marc Choueiti
“The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Spring 2016)”
“Why Are Women Penalized for Success at Male Tasks?: The Implied Communality Deficit.” Madeline Heilman, Tyler Okimoto
“Women in the Workplace 2015” LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company
“Penalties for Success: Reactions to Women Who Succeed at Male Gender-Typed Tasks” by Madeline E. Heilman and Aaron S. Wallen, Daniella Fuchs and Melinda M. Tamkins