The objective of this coursework is to study “women in power”, and the problems suffered with the gender differences in the organisation. It is shown the changing of roles women have endured over time and exhibit how do they position in society at the moment. It will be explained as well the reasons why women are failing to reach top positions in the organisations, and what it is necessary to do in order for them to be able to improve their situation.
“Women In Power” An organisation is an uneasy coalition of different interest groups and individuals, which are competing and co-operating as they pursue a variety of goals and ends. In this context, men and women clash in the power game, in which various players seek to control the organisations decisions and actions. In this competitive world, there’s a conflict between men and women distinguished by their way to face the workplace as well as the family life.
“Their Position In Society and In The Organisation” Twenty-five years ago women were still second-class citizens in the workplace, they had very few rights and could be sacked from their job simply because of the demands of pregnancy. Women were seen as mothers and housewives, but not business professionals. Women of today are standing up and being counted. Being a woman no longer excludes them from doing any job carried out by a male. Young women enjoy having their income and are choosing to fulfil their career ambitions instead of or before they consider having a family.
Education is playing a big part in full transition to workplace equality. Women are educated to the same level as or exceeding the level of their male counterparts; they are ambitious and have the law behind them, which should protect against discrimination. With all these factors working in their favour, women should be advancing into the top positions, earning high-level salaries, running industry- unfortunately; this is still not the case.
In reality females are still not getting a fair deal in the workplace. Given the social and legislative pressure for equal rights, how can this be? Part of the reason, unsurprisingly, is old-fashioned sexism. Despite the recent rhetoric of a move towards more informal, communicative leadership styles, at which women are said to excel, there still appears to be a “think manager, think male”, mind-set when it comes to the appointment of directors.
Female graduates applying for a fast-track trainee scheme tended to be better presented, more motivated and more in control than the men. But this was not reflected in the way they were rated by their mainly male interviewers. Men tended to be given more of a chance to shine. They were asked a greater number of open questions that gave them an opportunity to answer more than ‘yes’ or ‘no’. For the chance to say more about themselves, women had to take the initiative. When they did they were judged to be aggressive, whereas men were seen as assertive and self-confident.
Marie from PricewaterhouseCoopers says men are ” scared and threatened that a woman could do something better than a man”. And legislation makes little difference, since the government can make all employment laws but cannot change the attitude of the person behind the desk who has the power to “hire or fire”, according to her. A few companies have genuinely started to make an effort to promote women’s workplace rights.
Pretty much every major company has a “diversity programme” of some sort in place, but only a handful make a point of monitoring the results, and tweaking their practices in response to their staff. PricewaterhouseCoopers, for example, has introduced a raft of women-friendly measures, including flexitime, favourable parental leave arrangements, and grants for childcare and even subsidies for breast-feeding equipment.
“Conclusion” Ensuring the equality and empowerment of women will thus require nothing less than restructuring of our societies, economies and governments. The equal representation of women and men in decision-making processes in politics and economics, in addition to being an issue of human rights and democracy, contributes to good governance and ensures a more just and productive development of societies. A society that values paid work above all else, that prizes flexible labour markets, and that has seen ever- widening inequality, where children remain a largely private responsibility and where expectations of parenting are high but support is scarce, will need to rearrange its priorities before women (or men) will be able to live fully rounded lives.
