Introduction
In the present day, the issue of gender bias in the workplace remains disturbing. Even though the prevention of inequality in the labor market attracts the particular attention of scholars, executives, and policymakers, salary gaps and discrimination against working mothers still exist. The purpose of this analysis is to assess how different authors cover women’s leadership roles.
For this, the article by Ibarra et al. (2013), which focuses on the ignorance of personality shifts essential for leadership and gender biases in the case of female workers, will be chosen. It will be compared with another paper, “Women in the Workplace: A Research Roundup” (2013), which provides a scientific review of various aspects of gender inequality in the workplace. Both articles were chosen for their representativeness and credibility, as determined by an evidence-based research approach.
Article Analysis
The article “Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers” examines the labor-market barriers that limit women’s opportunities to become successful leaders. The purpose of this paper is to determine why multiple CEOs’ efforts to promote gender diversity in the workplace remain unsuccessful. In other words, while companies invest money, time, and effort in training programs and mentorship, fewer women agree to take leadership positions than their male counterparts.
At the same time, according to the authors’ assumptions, these initiatives fail as “they don’t address the often fragile process of coming to see oneself, and to be seen by others, as a leader” (Ibarra et al., 2013, para. 2). In particular, while leadership requires a fundamental and meaningful identity shift that empowers and encourages to accept new responsibilities, women frequently face gender bias reflected in men’s disbeliefs in their skills and competencies. The authors present the stories and comments of female leaders that support their conclusions about the importance of gender diversity through education and support for women’s transitions into new roles.
Another article, “Women in the Workplace: A Research Roundup” (2013), addresses all gender disparities in the labor market by summarizing recent business, psychological, and sociological studies on the topic. The rationale for this research is the need to take appropriate actions to prevent workplace discrimination. In turn, its purpose is to present existing scientific findings related to an identified problem. According to the findings, while female workers are less criticized than male workers, they are assigned fewer critical assignments. They are not suggested for promotion, respectively (“Women in the workplace: A research roundup,” 2013).
In addition, there are significant wage gaps between women and men, especially in sales. Finally, the authors pay particular attention to the prejudiced attitude toward working mothers, maternal penalties, and inappropriate working conditions that force them to leave. The authors’ assumptions coincide with common beliefs in existing gender disparities. At the same time, the paper is supported by numerical data from credible sources to strengthen the validity of conclusions that women are discriminated against from different perspectives and to a considerable extent.
Article Comparison
It goes without saying that the authors of both articles highlight gender bias and discrimination in the workplace, which may be regarded as the work’s most striking similarity. Ibarra et al. (2013) note men’s concerns about women’s natural competence to guide others, and female leaders’ deep concerns and inability to fulfill their potential in a bias-based working environment. Similarly, the article “Women in the Workplace: A Research Roundup” (2013) provides evidence of discriminatory attitudes, gaps in salaries, and men’s perceptions of women as family-oriented workers who cannot lead and make significant decisions.
On the one hand, both papers address the same problem and confirm its seriousness. On the other hand, differences in the authors’ approaches and articles’ purposes may nevertheless be detected. Thus, Ibarra et al. (2013) identify the lack of representativeness of female leaders and their issues, and propose three strategies to address it. In particular, they refer to promoting education to prevent second-generation gender bias, organizing workspaces to support women’s safe identity transitions, and shifting the focus from females’ perceptions to their leadership purposes for goal achievement (Ibarra et al., 2013). In contrast, another paper does not articulate any solutions – instead, it only highlights existing discrimination-related challenges.
Conclusions
To conclude, the analysis of the aforementioned works yields several essential insights. First of all, all authors identify and support, with evidence, the existence of poor gender diversity in the workplace, especially in promotion and leadership. This information should be considered to understand women’s perceptions of their positions in the labor market.
In addition, articles demonstrate the significance of women and men in leadership and the different approaches to their training and mentorship. This should be remembered to promote gender diversity and develop more efficient programs for female leadership. Finally, papers refer to substantial barriers for women who need to maintain a life-work balance within a framework of seeming equality but an unfair attitude. In this case, employers may review the conditions of their female employees to boost their productivity and job commitment.
References
Ibarra, H., Ely, R., & Kolb, D. (2013). Women rising: The unseen barriers. Harvard Business Review, 91(9), 60-68.
Women in the workplace: A research roundup (2013). Harvard Business Review, 91(9), 86-5.