Women Executives for Many Individuals

Women Executives

For many individuals in the field of business management becoming a top level executive is the ultimate career goal. For women achieving this goal can be an extremely difficult and daunting task. The purpose of this discussion is to examine why there are so few women in senior executive positions in corporate America.

According to Nelson & Levesque, (2007) women in executive positions in Corporate America are few and far between. The authors point out that the most recent data available shows that...women represented just 16% of corporate executive officers among all Fortune 500 companies in 2006 compared to 9% in 1995. Although this represents an absolute increase from prior decades, women executives of Fortune 500 companies in 2005 still held less than 10% of clout titles (those higher than vice president), fewer than 1% of Chief Executive Office and Board Chair positions, and only 6% of the top earner positions (Nelson & Levesque, 2007 p.209)."

The article asserts that there are several barriers associated with women becoming executives. Chief amongst these obstacles is the discrimination that women face that is both intentional and unintentional (Nelson & Levesque, 2007). The intentional discrimination takes place when women are stereotyped and placed in positions that will not lead to executive management over the long-term. The authors explain that gender stereotypes often have an affect upon the manner in which female employees are evaluated as it relates to such characteristics as competence and leadership skills (Nelson & Levesque, 2007).

In fact one study found that both males and females preferred to hire male applicants even when there were female applicants who were just as qualified or had similar resumes. The article explains that gender role stereotypes have hurt women's chances as it relates to becoming top executives (Nelson & Levesque, 2007). In addition corporations are often unprepared or unwilling to understand that the leadership style of women may not be the same or consistent with the leadership style of male counterparts. Because of this oversight women are often overlooked as it pertains to holding leadership positions.

Discrimination against women in the workplace can also be seen as it relates to the wage gap. According to the Journal of Economic Issues, there are substantial gender wage gaps (Mitra, 2003). These wage gaps may be discouraging to women and prevent them from even pursuing leadership roles or executive positions.

Another barrier associated with women holding executive positions in corporate America is childcare and family issues (Sumer, 2006). This barrier exists as a result of the physical differences between men and women and the roles that men and women play in the caring for children. As it pertains to the physical differences women have to miss some time at work after having a child to allow their bodies to heal. Missing this time from work can be detrimental to pursuing certain management positions. However men who become fathers do not have this same type of barrier. In addition, although many fathers are more involved with the daily care of their children, mothers are still the primary caregivers (Sumer, 2006). With this being understood, women often have a harder time balancing work and family life (Sumer, 2006).

In some cases it may be difficult for women to find childcare and as a result they may not have the luxury of being able to work the long hours that male counterparts can work. Some corporations have attempted to assist working mothers as it relates to childcare by offering childcare facilities in the workplace (Sumer, 2006). It appears that this practice is beneficial to women in some ways. In fact, it has been reported that corporations that offer childcare and/or family friendly work schedules are more likely to have women in top executive positions.

Also in some cases women are choosing to stay home with their children instead of pursuing executive careers. In some cases these women return to corporate America but they have missed many years, which can contribute to their inability to rise through the ranks of executive leadership. In either case it is obvious that women have significant barriers related to their ability to become top executives in corporate America.