blog 30

According to the reading, Gender on Trial, leadership styles have been limited for women and increased for men. Leadership styles have served as disadvantage to women and advantage for men lawyers. Part of the problem today in law, is that there are not as many women who hold a high position. Due to the gender gap and gender expectations women are now at a stand still. In the video clip, “Shared Leadership: The Value Women Leaders Bring,” it was explained how women do not get the same opportunity as men. It explained how our country could benefit if women also held higher positions. However, that is still not accomplished. In the same video clip, the interviewee stated that “the glass ceiling has never been broken.” In my opinion I do not believe that it has been broken too. Just as she stated it may have been cracked but never broken. Due to stereotypes that men place on women, it is going to be a struggle for a women to finally reach and break the glass ceiling. The pipeline theory has not been proven right for women. The myth that if “they are able to get enough women at the lower levels of the pipeline then they will come out on top” is not correct. Women are still at the lower levels of the pipeline and still have not gotten the same opportunity for equality. If women were given the chance there would be many positive outcomes. One would be equality, advancement, and more opportunities for both genders.
Women bring different experiences and different styles of managing to the table. In the reading it presents that if women “talk in the ways that are expected of women,” then that woman is liked but not respected. However, if a woman of authority talk in a way that is “expected of a man,” then she is “not likely to be liked, but is respected.” The conventional views of leadership styles projects that men are more “expected to be aggressive” and women are not suppose to show signs of aggression. Women are to project signs of “nurture and inclusive” (Gender on Trial, pg. 115). This serves as a disadvantage to women because if they show signs of aggression it is “double bind.” It contradicts the gender expectations of women being nurtures, nice, kind, and “supportive behaviors.” It is an advantage to men because men are already perceived to be the aggressive ones. These expectation for both genders frame expected leadership behaviors. Women are expected to take the “nice” style approach when managing. This approach is expected because it is the more “caring, supportive” approach. When women take a different approach of managing such as the aggressive approach she may be looked at as a “bitch” and not following the norms of femininity. The stereotype of women behavior does not expect women to be aggressive. For an example, I work for a bank and there were three male vice presidents who ran the floor. However, when one of the male vice presidents moved to a different site, the bank hired a woman. When we were in our meeting everyone was wondering who she was. No one expected her to hold the position she was holding. My first perception of her without hearing her speak was that she was going to be nice. However, when in a meeting she was very aggressive and did not display the “nice style” approach. Therefore, my immediate thought of her was that she was rude and mean. Due to stereotype and what we were taught our roles as a female are since birth added to my perception of her. Though now, I understand her style of approach and I soon grew to adjust to her managing style.
Another style of management, in which personally if I were asked to choose a style, would be the “middle of the road approach.” This style of management I personally like and would prefer is because it incorporate a little of both of the other styles of managing. With this style of managing it allows the person to “be assertive and also graceful.” It gives the opportunity to “command respect and yet still be fun to be around.”