Economic Barriers And Social Challenges Confronting Women For Leadership And Management Positions

Abstract

This work examines the economic and social factors inhibiting women from going for leadership and or management positions despite female empowerment with the current society is acknowledged in many decades. Although the fight for equal rights is graceful indeed and the women tend to enter the labour market more actively than before, there is still a number of barriers preventing women from becoming leaders. For example, these are the economic barriers that include the pay gap between male and female employees that affect women to the extent that they cannot progress much in their businesses. Preceding research has established that women are by and large paid less than men for perform comparative work and this does not just incorporate jeopardizing their procuring capacities but in like way crushes them with comparative advancement open doors. Women also get fewer resources – or allocate themselves fewer resources – that are really critical to advancement such as networking and sponsorship. Gender stereotyping at the social level where women are supposed to be at lower successive positions for not being supposed to be in the leadership levels. These biases reaffirms once again that leadership qualities are something only male people possess not women. Also, cultural norms, such as women having to juggle between corporate ladders and the demands of their family to not abandon the family responsibilities and climb it, places hostile work environment in place where there will be promotions skipping women or a work–family conflict by choosing between the two. The other problem is that of job and family demands where women find themselves in an over vulnerable position due to lack of flexible work arrangements and proper parental leaves policies when these factors are at their lowest in the organizations that are highly rigid in terms of structure especially in rigid industries. This study attempts to find out how the economic and social barrier to the progress of women to leadership position by taking a quantitative and qualitative data that involve survey and interviews of women in the leadership position or women who would like to be in a leadership position. Following these findings, however, the barriers do not go away, and this is proof clear that organizational and social change are needed. Hence, it is crucial to ask for policy modifications regarding gender fairness related to the equal remuneration of the same job, a gender diverse on board directors and equal presentations of the programmes to have positive male role models for women. This study finally recommends for such organizing culture that supports positive change to enable women to take senior management and leadership positions and fully participate in leadership roles.