Gender in business practice and theory
The past few decades have been characterised by an increment in the rate at which women are entering the business arena. The motivation for women to venture into entrepreneurship has arisen from a number of factors such as the need to achieve work-life balance.
The available literature shows that women have encountered numerous cases of discrimination at the workplace (Joanne 2013). For example, they are not provided with an opportunity to progress through the career path in addition to inequitable pay (Brush 2006).
Subsequently, entrepreneurship has become a vital element that women are adopting in order to achieve their personal goals. Through entrepreneurship, women are in a position to circumvent the ‘glass ceiling’ effect associated with paid employment (Brush 2006).
Therefore, their contribution to the global economy has increased substantially. Wang and Calvano (2015) affirm that the success of women in business has arisen from the adoption of better ethical business practices as compared to men. Women tend to approach business based on a strong moral-orientation.
According to the Gilligan’s moral expectation theory, women are highly emphatic on moral issues in conducting business practices (Kim & Sherraden 2014).
Despite their effort to venture into the business world through entrepreneurship or paid work, women continue to experience numerous challenges that limit their long-term success. Different theories have been formulated in an effort to explain the factors limiting the women’s success in business and the workplace.
First, the liberal theory cites discrimination and difficulty in accessing the necessary resources required to succeed in business as the key factors hindering the women’s entrepreneurship and career progress in their respective workplace (Kim & Sherraden 2014).
Conversely, the social feminist theory affirms that the difference between men and women is inherent and it arises from early and ongoing socialisation (Locklin 2007). The theory postulates that men and women engage in different social activities in their early life that shape their general worldview.
On the social feminist theory, Locklin (2007, p.22) posits that women’s lesser experience ‘in working in similar firms and in helping to start-up businesses may help to explain the slower income growth, smaller size, and sales per employee of their firms’.
Contradictory perspectives
The above theories highlight the existence of contradictory perspectives regarding women. First, women are perceived as less educated and experienced to warrant them an opportunity to be leaders in business entities or engage in entrepreneurship.
This perspective has become a major source of discrimination of women in the workplace. The viewpoint adopted by social feminist theorists that the differences between men and women in business arise from how they are socialised does not translate into a significant difference with reference to business performance.
Additionally, the social feminism theory underscores the fact that men and women are not equal, which has become a major source of discrimination and sex stereotyping against women.
The perception that women have limited experience and the necessary knowledge to establish successful business entities has further increased the challenges faced by women in businesses.
For example, finance lenders such as financial institutions develop the perception that extending financial credit to women is a riskier decision as compared to issuing loans to men.
On the contrary, the performance of women in the business is also affected by their innate traits such as charisma, which is critical in entrepreneurship and career progression in the workplace.
Despite their involvement in entrepreneurship, women are considered as more suited in the service-oriented industries as compared to men. Brush (2006, p.196) emphasises that the ‘traditional male-centred business model is assumed to be the normal model for entrepreneurship’.
The existence of this perspective has led to the development of stereotypic belief and expectations of how women and men should act. Moreover, such beliefs have significantly influenced the division of roles between men and women.
Women have been associated with domestic activities and care giving over the past decades, which negatively affect their identity in paid-work environments (Michailidis, Morphitou & Theophylatou 2012). The male-centred business environment limits the development of a fair business environment (Bernard 2000).
Contemporary issues and global perspective
Over the past few years, the role women in business and their contribution to the global economy has increased considerably. Consequently, organisations are increasingly appreciating women as a critical component of their human capital. Furthermore, governments have identified women as a critical component of the labour market.
This aspect has motivated most countries to advocate equality in the workplace. Locklin (2007) cites the adoption of legislations on equality in the workplace as one of the contemporary gender issues in the workplace. Australia is one of the countries that have appreciated the importance of equality in the workplace.
The country has implemented a number of legislations. For example, in 2012, the country adopted the Workplace Gender Equality Act (Gaze 2014). Other key legislations that Australia has integrated include the 1984 Sex Discrimination Act and the 1986 Affirmative Action Act (Gaze 2014).
Governments are not only prohibiting sexual harassment against women in the workplace, but they are also increasingly pressurising business entities to eliminate discriminatory practices based on gender.
In their quest to comply with government policies, business entities have considered gender as one of the critical components in the pursuit for diversity in the workplace. The objective of gender equality policies is to provide employees with equal employment and career progression opportunities irrespective of their gender.
Therefore, women are increasingly being provided with the opportunity to progress through the diverse levels of management via job promotion. Therefore, one can argue that the growth on the relevance of gender in the workplace has arisen from the need to entrench the concepts of equity and fairness in the workplace.
Currently, women have risen to take their rightful places in the management of international organisations.
The current Yahoo! CEO, Marissa Mayer, is a good example of what women can achieve when given the opportunity to lead. In addition, women have ventured politics and achieved significant progress including leading key government institutions.
In some parts of the world, women have become presidents, prime ministers, and chancellors among other numerous powerful positions.
Despite the steps being adopted by governments and organisations in an effort to entrench equality in the workplace, the labour market is characterised by limited exploitation of the female talent.
Gaze (2014, p.622) asserts that lack of ‘women in senior positions coupled with the low participation rates amongst women aged between 25 and 44 years indicate inefficient use of the female talent’.
Critical reflection on personal experience
The module has been of critical importance in my personal development. First, the contents of the module have led to a deep understanding on how to apply strategic management practices in the workplace.
This goal has been achieved by the appreciation of different models that can assist organisational managers in understanding the external and internal business environments. Some of the models that I will apply in my strategic management practices include value chain analysis and the integration of resource-based view.
Therefore, the module has been a critical source of insight on how to formulate effective business and corporate level strategies.
With reference to the resource-based view, the module has led to the appreciation of the importance of exploiting the talent possessed by employees irrespective of their gender. The module on women in business has contributed to a significant appreciation of women as a critical component of the global labour market.
Therefore, organisations should incorporate women in their human capital base in order to exploit the female talent. For example, the available literature shows that women are more emphatic on business ethics as compared to their male counterparts. Ethics has become one of the foundations in attaining long-term business excellence.
Thus, providing women with managerial opportunity in the workplace is essential in transforming organisations into ethical business entities.
Furthermore, the module has been a critical source of insight on the challenges that women encounter in paid-work forms of employment. Women have been considered as unequal in the workplaces over the past decades. This aspect has translated into the existence of discriminatory practices against women.
Some of the most common discriminatory practices entail failure to provide women with an opportunity to hold managerial positions. These practices have mainly originated from the existence of sex stereotype and discrimination that associates women with domestic roles such as the provision of childcare.
However, women have been extensively involved in business by venturing into entrepreneurship over the past few years.
Despite the notion that women are inexperienced coupled with the lack of the necessary educational qualification, they have been successful in entrepreneurship. Therefore, in the course of undertaking future managerial roles in the workplace, I will ensure that the concept of equity is applied effectively.
This move will provide all individuals in the workplace with an opportunity to progress through their desired career path. By appreciating the aspects learnt in the module, I will be in a position to be an effective organisational leader.
This goal will be achieved by adopting strategies that focus on optimising the contribution of human capital to organisational success.
Reference List
Bernard, M 2000, Women ageing; changes identities, challenging myths, Psychology Press, Chicago.
Brush, C 2006, Growth-oriented women entrepreneurs and their businesses a global research perspective, Edward Elgar Publishers, Cheltenham.
Gaze, B 2014, Gender equality reporting and the future of equal opportunity at work, Melbourne Law School, Melbourne.
Joanne, P 2013, ‘Women, choice and promotion or why women are still a minority in the professoriate’, Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 444-454.
Kim, S & Sherraden, M 2014, ‘The impact of gender and social networks on micro-enterprise business performance’, Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 49-65.
Locklin, N 2007, Women’s work and identity in eighteenth –century Brittany, Ashgate Publishers, Aldershot.
Michailidis, M, Morphitou, R & Theophylatou, I 2012, ‘ Women at work equality versus inequality; barriers for advancing in the workplace’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 23, no. 20, pp. 4321-4245.
Wang, L & Calvano, L 2015, ‘Is business ethics education effective? An analysis of gender, personal ethical perspectives and moral judgement ‘, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 2, no.1, pp. 591-602.