Reference no: EM133106598

Leadership

Read the article below and answer ALL the question

Article - A CEO's Guide To Gender Equality (Attached)

Exhibit One:

The difficulty

Big as the prize may be, gender equality still eludes companies around the globe. Despite modest improvements in the past few years, women are underrepresented at every level in the corporate pipeline-especially the senior level (Exhibit 2).

Exhibit Two:

Why is progress in gender equality so hard to achieve? A number of factors are involved, but one leading reason is undoubtedly unconscious bias. Film actress Geena Davis believes that it results, in part, from lopsided male representation in television and film-a long-standing trend observed by the Institute on Gender in Media that she founded. "When we present the data to studios and content creators," she says, "their jaws are on the ground. In family films, the ratio of male to female characters is 3:1. Shockingly, the ratio of male to female characters has been exactly the same since 1946. Of the characters with jobs, 81 percent are male."

Perception gaps may also be an obstacle. McKinsey research on diversity shows that fewer men than women acknowledge the challenges faced by female employees at work. For instance, when asked whether "even with equal skills and qualifications, women have much more difficulty reaching top-management positions," the gender divide was striking: 93 percent of women agreed with the statement, but just 58 percent of men. And while just 5 percent of women disagreed with the statement, some 28 percent of men did (See exhibit 3).

Exhibit Three:

What's more, women hear mixed messages about their own careers. "Think of a career like a marathon," says Facebook chief operating officer and Lean In founder Sheryl Sandberg. "Long, gruelling, ultimately rewarding. What voices do the men hear from the beginning? ‘You've got this. Keep going. Great race ahead of you.' What do the women hear from day one out of college? ‘You sure you want to run? Marathon's really long. You're probably not going to want to finish. Don't you want kids one day?' The voices for men get stronger, ‘Yes, go. You've got this.' The voices for women can get openly hostile. ‘Are you sure you should be running when your kids need you at home?'"

Exhibit Four:

Broaden your action. Our research shows that gender equality requires executives to intervene across a broad range of factors, setting in motion disparate resources and people for years at a time. The focus in these interventions must be to help women become better leaders-and to design conditions under which they can. Crucial aspects include sponsoring (and not just mentoring) women, neutralizing the effects of maternity leaves on career advancement and wage increases, and evolving the criteria companies use for promotions to include a diversity of leadership styles. To learn how eBay embarked on a journey to bring more women into its top ranks, see "Realizing the power of talented women."

Hold challenging conversations. Companies that make progress tend to hold a series of challenging conversations about gender issues among their executive teams. The following five questions can help spur these discussions:

1. Where are the women in our talent pipeline?
2. What skills are we helping women build?
3. Do we provide sponsors as well as role models?
4. Are we rooting out unconscious bias?
5. How much are our policies helping?

Question 1:

With reference to the case study above and using specific examples, discuss the importance of gender equality in the workplace. Why should progressive CEO's be paying attention to this topical concept?

Question 2:

With the aid of examples, critically discuss why gender equality in the work place is difficult to achieve globally and locally.

Question 3:

With reference to the case study and your theoretical knowledge, discuss, (using specific organisational examples), how the challenges discussed in question two above can be overcome.

Question 4:

Using specific examples, contrast the concepts of masculine leadership and feminine leadership.

Question 5:

Contemporary leaders; male and indeed female, are expected to make decisions that reflect global considerations. With reference to this statement and the case study, discuss the global skills these leaders should possess and how organisations can ensure that their leaders obtain these skills.

Attachment:- Leadership.rar