Introduction
Effective and efficient leadership has a significant role in the success or failure of any organization. There are some qualities that make a person a good leader. The number of women who are reaching top positions in the management of an organization is very less, though nowadays there is some change in this fact and so many women are holding top leadership and managerial position.
Also there now there is change in belief that, women cannot come to a leadership position. It can be seen that one of the main reason why women did not come to the top positions of an organization is male domination. Discrimination in the work pace is common everywhere in the world. Females are the most victims of discrimination.
Does gender matter in leadership?
This is one of the most debated question issues in the leadership and management field. Some people argue that there is a significant influence of gender difference in the effectiveness of leadership function, but some others argue that there is no significance for gender difference for the effectiveness of leadership function.
There is some belief that women cannot do everything that the men do. The women are treated as powerless. And also the society has a notion that some positions cannot be assigned to women as they will not be able to perform well in that position. When talking about gender inequality in the workplace, it shows that discrimination is rising due to the rapid increase in the numbers of women entering the workplace.
Among the inequalities, one can find that there is inequality in career growth and pay. There are different opinions regarding the pay and career growth. Some argue that there is a glass ceiling, which refers to an imaginary career barrier, which restricts a woman to represent the top position. In contrast to it, some argue that there is no such glass ceiling, and today, women lead higher positions.
Women are naturally considered weaker than men and are considered incapable of executing activities which require a lot of effort and skills. Women were mostly assigned household activities which require less effort. A married woman with children cannot discharge her duties at home when they have to work in a hostile environment.
Therefore giving women equal treatment on par with men fails to create fairness. Organizations are reluctant to promote married women with children to higher managerial and leadership positions because of their household responsibilities and are not able to work for longer periods. Effective communication is an essential part of a good leadership style.
If there is no proper communication between the leader and followers, it can be said that the leadership style is not efficient. There is a common notion that women always come behind in effective communication. However, the trait of using both sides of the brain is treated as one of the attractive qualities of a good leader. Studies proved that women have this quality more than that of men (Kelley, 1997, p.34).
Leadership Style and gender difference
Women leaders call attention to individual relations, whereas men leaders concentrate on the achievement of men’s focus on assignment (Nicole, 2002).
Women are more likely to follow a democratic style of leadership, whereas men leaders are autocratic. Women leaders have a mentality of becoming part of a team and sharing the responsibility, but the majority of the male leaders have a commanding attitude.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the gender difference of the leaders significantly influences the way how they lead. In some cases or aspects, the leadership styles of women have an advantage over the leadership styles of men, but in some other cases, the leadership styles of men have an advantage over the leadership styles of women. To conclude, the effectiveness of the leadership lays in the fact that, whether the leaders have essential leadership qualities or not, irrespective of the fact whether they are male or female.
Work Cited
Kelley, Martha J. M. Gender Differences and Leadership-A Study, 2008. Web.
Nicole, Z. Stelter. Gender differences in leadership: Current social issues and future organizational implications, Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. All business.com, 2002. Web.