Location: Home > Publications >The leadership Challenge: Women in Management (Hannah Piterman © March 2008)
7. Leadership and Authority
7.1 Leadership and masculinity
Leadership is a male domain.Traits associated with traditional, heroic leadership including individualism, control, asser tiveness, and skills of advocacy and domination, are socially ascribed to men and generally understood as masculine. (Sinclair, 2007, 2004a, 2004b; Fletcher, 2004; Collinson & Hearn, 1996; Calás & Smircich, 1993; Acker, 1990)
Three reasons which instilled confidence in me years ago - I'm male, I'm six foot two and prematurely grey. I know that works. It doesn't really but it gives me the confidence that it does. (Male senior manager)
The study finds the unspoken rules and arrangements of mainstream corporate Australia set particularly narrow parameters for leadership. The prevailing profile of the good business leader reflects the stereotypical traits of masculinity.
I think he has some power there being a male and it builds on itself... He's big and he's got a loud voice, he's only in his late 30s and he's really no better...but somehow there's a commanding thing that he has and it just seems to build on itself. (Female manager)
Characteristics commonly associated with the feminine, or a broader notion of the masculine, are not key drivers of authority in many business settings. As Sinclair's research suggests, men are also forced to conceal sides of themselves to survive (Sinclair, 1994). A number of women believe that their focus on achieving outcomes through a more personal and encouraging style of management is not seen as cutting it when it comes to moving up the organisational hierarchy.
[I was] told for many years that I'd never make [senior manager]...they would say to me,'You are too easy to get on with, you'll never get anywhere here.You're too affable'. Someone said I talked too much... They told me I had to be pretty aggressive... I think a lot of the other [senior managers] think I'm too soft. (Female manager)
I was expected to play the head kicker and bad guy as head of finance. I refused to play that game. It's not my style of operating. I'm not an aggressive person. I'm not a head-kicking type person. I would try and achieve the same result but I would go about it quite differently. In the end I thought I'm a poor cultural fit here. I don't believe in that style of management. (Female senior manager)
You have to use their [tough] language.He didn't want to hear that we discussed it over a nice conversation and agreed. I was expected to beat her over the head and rip her eyes out. When I reported to him, I had to tell him that I had laid into her. I had to change my language.You had to be a head-kicker. (Female senior manager)
I was once told in a promotional situation by a [senior manager], that really if I had been a man I would do better. (Female senior manager)
Many of the current generation of leaders have earned the right to leadership stature through their experiences in 'the field'. Leadership is aligned with physical prowess, resilience and a willingness to 'get your hands dirty'.
They've earned the right to manage by having experiences in the field. (Female senior manager)
When I first started work, I worked down the mine... We had to earn our stripes. (Female senior manager)
Sporting prowess, while not overtly expressed, may indeed be a proxy for physical acumen.
I played a lot of sport at a fairly elite level in both rugby and cricket. So the concept of working in teams and being challenged for something which was exciting was important to me. (Male senior manager)
It's the same with men being good at sport, they have an advantage as well... There is something about the total package that helps. (Female senior manager)
When business is viewed through a narrow prism, the skills and traits attributed to the feminine do not align with business essentials. Women who aspire to senior positions are challenged to demonstrate the value of their contributions.The way they look, communicate and respond to the organisational environment are all subject to scrutiny.
In some sectors it's male all the way down and rarely do you get to a female. It's very much perceived as a male club, male style.You fit into that formula...the voice, the tone, the body language, everything goes with it. (Female senior manager)
You've got to work out what your strategy is and how you get a bit of leverage with [senior men]. I think it is a visual contribution. (Female senior manager)
The paucity of women at senior level renders them as 'other' and not to be trusted by both sexes.
Most senior executives have extremely limited experience in working with women. Most women have had no experience in working with women. Men don't trust women. (Female senior manager)
I don't want women. I don't have time with recruitment consultants; we need someone that fits. We don't want to have to worry about fit. We have one woman from hell. I get on with her but she's aggressive and causes trouble. (Male senior manager)
In narrow, male-dominated environments talented women can be excluded from lead roles. They can achieve only by moving up the support ladder, or accepting support status when permitted into senior echelons.
Most of the financial departments are blokey. It's a 'go away little girl' culture in the financial space. In some quarters you'd have a hell of a time seeing a woman in the group. It's pack behaviour, a boys club (Female senior manager)
It was all male... We did all sit [in] on the senior manager meeting but there was a separate group working on strategy... I don't think I had a major role at the table there. I wanted to. I knocked on a couple of doors and said I wanted to participate... The [senior manager] at the time, his view was,'No, you have to focus on holding your team together and just continue to do that'. My opinion was, 'No I think I can do both, I can contribute strategically... I just think he was very closed as to who could add value. (Female senior manager)
Within this organisation you do not get many women... The industry would laugh at us if we got a woman. Some of the crusty old guys had spoken to their mates and said I'm OK (Female senior manager)
In some places it's actually...focused on females being in a support function as opposed to a business facing role. (Female senior manager)
All of the people sitting on that wall, all of them men and all of them in senior positions in the department did not think it was odd that the only senior female was sitting in the personal assistant area. (Female manager)
7.2 Intelligence
Within a narrow business setting, mastery of codified knowledge, or 'getting the numbers right' is considered the basis for good business leadership. 'Soft skills' such as stakeholder management and relationship-building are understood to support business transactions rather than drive them to positive outcomes. They are ascribed a lesser value than more tangible, 'hard edged' business tasks. They are also considered to be primarily feminine traits.
Organisations that demonstrate a 'hard' skill bias and downgrade the value of 'soft' management traits, consider women inherently less suitable for senior and leadership positions.
When women say to me,'Why is it that I'm always being told that I'm good at the soft stuff but I can't get promoted?' I say...'The message they are really trying to give you is you are not good at the hard stuff.' In my experience people get hired for hard skills but they are fired or not promoted for their soft skills. (Female senior manager)
Many women say the [organisation] gives too much emphasis to the financial side... A lot of women who have a lot to contribute in the people space...will certainly feel they are not being looked after and recognised because it's not very important criteria. (Male senior manager)
7.2.1 The downgrading of female intelligence
A number of dynamics occur to diminish the perceived value of 'female' attributes. Firstly, the narrow alignment of numerics with intellect, combined with the assumption that men are intrinsically more capable in this area, encourages a view of women as innately lacking business acumen. Secondly, attributing women with relationship skills and then de-legitimising those skills as secondary undermines female intellect and encourages a view of women as innately lacking business sense.
If you are a woman in management...there is a lack of respect for intelligence and experience and knowledge definitely from a male peer. (Female manager)
Because I'm female, sometimes people try and run rings around [me] because they don't think [I] know what's going on. (Female senior manager)
The study finds some evidence that women are perceived as lacking in the intellectual gravitas that business demands.
One of the guys had said,'When it comes to problem-solving I actually think she'll do the girly thing and bat her eye lids and try and get me to do that'. (Female senior manager)
When you talk to [female managers] it becomes a bit of a Country Women's Association and I want to have more robust conversation. (Male senior manager)
If we were looking at intellect as they do when they talk about talent, [the female manager] would probably not have been a talent. (Male senior manager)
The assumption that women do not have strong business intellect precludes their entry into senior management roles. Research has consistently identified the difficulty women face in gaining recognition as technical and intellectual equals to men (Reciniello, 1999).Women struggle to gain line management experience at the profit/loss end of business. In 2006, only 7.4 percent of Australian line managers were women, while the majority were still in support positions (EOWA, 2006a: 13). The well-documented reluctance of senior men to place women at the numbers end of management reflects the perception of women as numerically and, by implication, intellectually weak (Griffiths, 2005; Harvie, 2004; Wellington, et. al., 2003; Krautil, 2003).
The study concurs with these findings. Women are passed over for promotional opportunities and underestimated in money management roles because they are not seen to be 'good with the numbers'.
I'm probably the most senior money manager in our business. I've headed up the equity dealing desk and they are all guys who talk to you... You have big blokes ringing up and they think, 'Oh it's a girl. I'll negotiate really hard with her and I'll win'. But because they underestimated you, you do a better deal than they do. (Female senior manager)
There's a feeling here that not many women are numbers savvy and because the [male manager] is that sort of person [we] need him. He adds mystery, it gives him power. So a lot of his personality problems get overlooked because we need his financial input. (Female manager)
7.2.2 Women and numbers
The study finds no substantial evidence that women are incapable of operating at the profit/loss end of business. Rather, women who are given 'hard' business roles demonstrate great competency and skill.
From my perception she's very business focused, very good on the numbers, at driving results. (Male manager)
Indeed, some women are perceived to offer a richer form of 'hard' business management. They combine numerical competence with strong qualitative skills, and are able to communicate in a way that demystifies the numbers, enhancing key interactions and analysis.
From some of the women that I've worked with, I probably think that women generally have a greater capability for leadership than men... Again, I don't know if this is personality driven or gender driven but my experience with some of the women I've worked with is they can present a very balanced approach. So they can be very focused on the numbers but also very focused on the behavioural aspects of what they do as well, in terms of how it relates to other people. Whereas probably my experience with some of the men I've worked with, good on the numbers, strong on the numbers, not so much on some of the behaviours. (Male manager)
Many people can't understand numbers and are terrified of them... I was very good at telling people a story in pictures and words they could understand so they didn't feel stupid because they didn't understand the numbers. (Female senior manager)
A number of participants believe a lack of interest in finance and operations rather than a lack of competence is apparent among female managers. Women exclude themselves from this vital end of business.
Women hate operations. (Female senior manager)
At the moment when we are talking to graduates,we have a number of women who have done finance subjects but they'd love to do communications and marketing. (Female senior manager)
7.2.3 An holistic view of intellect
The outcome of any endeavour is improved when a compendium of skills and intelligences are drawn upon. Since the early 1980s, psychologists have identified a range of distinct intellectual components, including linguistic intelligence and logical or mathematical intelligence that operate as parts of an intellectual whole (Gardner, 1983).
Within the business community, there is growing awareness that a holistic approach to management, incorporating both 'soft' and 'hard' business skills produces more resilient and positive outcomes (Hampden- Turner, 1994). Processes such as gaining trust and achieving consensus are increasingly seen as essential traits for successful business leadership.
In businesses...process control, operations management, command, control and compliance are necessary to get the job done but that can be taken too far... You have to understand how to have ideas that improve the function of the team and demonstrate you can bring them in. (Female senior manager)
My [senior manager] understands his people skills are the most important thing running this company. He needs to make sure he has people he can trust and he needs to make sure he knows,'I've got to incent people, I've got to develop people, I've got to put different leaders in'... To the point where he actually sounds more like an HR person than he does a business person. He is across the issues and he knows how the jigsaw works. (Female senior manager)
Mining is not just about digging stuff out of the ground. It's about government and community relations.These days to be an asset you have to be strong in building relationships. (Female senior manager)
A broadening of the business equation to incorporate 'soft' skills presents a challenge to number-centric cultures. It requires a radical shift in mindset to appreciate a broader notion of managerial competency. A narrow business environment does not provide people with the reference points to make this perceptual leap. Indeed, one female executive nominated the difficulty of quantifying the value of 'soft' skills as a key reason many organisations fail to recognise the leadership potential of women.
'Hard' is easier to measure and calibrate and define.We know how to interview for 'hard' skills. 'Do you have the accountancy degree or don't you? Were you the CEO or weren't you?' We don't know how to interview for 'soft' skills. 'Are you a good listener?' She must be because she didn't say much in the interview. (Female senior manager)
The promotion of 'soft' skills in the management equation allows business to respond to the increasingly complex demands of a global economy. Women improve business outcomes precisely because they drive the communication dynamic (Sands, 1996; Hampden-Turner, 1994). Men can enhance their leadership contribution by expanding their 'soft' skill repertoire.
7.3 Emotion
In organisational settings that emphasis the importance of strategic and logical analysis, there is little recognition of the positive business value of human emotion (Palermo, 2004; Mills & Tancred, 1992). Narrow constructs of leadership provide little room for emotion. Rather, an ability to suppress or restrict emotional energy is perceived as an important leadership trait.
Emotionally aware isn't something we'd be valuing...that space for being reflective and really tuned into what is going on.What is valued more is someone who gets in, gets things done, delivers, delivers, delivers. (Female manager)
There is a much greater emphasis placed on strategic thinking, emotional toughness, and a facility for rapid...analysis of complex issues. (Male senior manager)
7.3.1 Male and female emotion
Within this environment, a negative construct of emotion is strongly aligned with the feminine. Indeed displays of emotion are mediated by gender stereotypical perceptions.
When a white male like Bill Clinton shares a moment of weakness from his past, it might be read as authentic; when a female leader does the same, it is more likely to be read as inappropriately confessional. (Sinclair, 2007: 137)
A perception of a strong association between women and emotional irrationality is apparent in the data. Female emotionality is considered innate, childlike and unprofessional.
Women tend to be a lot more emotional than men and dealing with their emotional breakdowns when things are occurring which are troublesome or stressful, I think some men probably wouldn't cope very well with that. I've learnt to do that as I became a parent. I've always had those man-sized tissues which have always helped a bit. (Male senior manager)
Emotion is not hugely part of our culture. (Female senior manager)
You need a bit of thick skin as well and sometimes women can be quite thin skinned and take offence at things which men would never take offence at. (Female senior manager)
[My senior manager] got me in a room one day and for an hour he shouted at me. I just sat there. He said,'Have you got any comment to make? You're not even getting upset by it'. He was trying to make me cry... It was quite alarming really. It's not been unusual to have that kind of behaviour here. (Female manager)
They'll use the time of the month to excuse, tears, 'Oh you wouldn't understand'.They'll quite happily throw that into the mix. (Male manager)
An alignment between female emotion and a lack of control undermines the capacity for women to display authentic leadership. At its extreme, the negative associations between women and emotion distort not only perceptions of female value but the nature of female participation in management.Women are aware that displays of emotion are viewed as irrational and out of control. They become wary of exhibiting emotions even when displaying positive emotional energy. They recognise that to survive they need to keep their emotions under wraps even when the culture tolerates or indeed rewards displays of male emotion.
It can be seen as a bit unprofessional if you are emotional or passionate about something. So you need to be slow and steady. (Female manager)
Sometimes I would have conversations with [my direct manager] and I felt he would look at me and just not understand where I was coming from. That was probably the emotional connectedness not happening... 'Don't talk to me about how you feel, it's all too confronting.' I was leading people and he was leading people and you can't not talk about emotions when you are dealing with people. It's just not possible to divorce the two. (Female senior manager)
There is a view that women are too emotional to operate at a senior level. As a woman I've learnt to deal with my emotions very privately. I wouldn't do myself any favours if I was emotional.You have to be smart with your emotions. Never burst into tears. If a man is emotional it's seen as very different. He gets brownie points for expressing feelings. (Female manager)
American women undertaking MBAs have been found to take on enormous personal compromises in order to fit with a very limited idea of the role emotion plays in business. This self-censoring not only mutes women's potential as professionals but impoverishes the business process by denying the opportunity for more insightful and creative management responses (Sinclair, 1994).
The study finds that in narrow business environments, male emotion commonly manifests through anger, intimidation, and bullying.This behaviour is at best excused or tolerated and at worst rewarded.
I've sat in meeting rooms where people have just been shouting at me and I think,'Why have I come all this way for this? Why are you being so emotional? Why are you behaving like this?' If I show any emotion then they've got what they wanted. (Female manager)
This manager is the biggest bully...and the executive manager will go,'This manager has got results and he has done this, this and this.' I say,'Yes but he's managed to do that by being a thug and a bully'.They don't want to hear that.The reality is this person has achieved great results by putting enormous pressure on everybody and not only that, he's teaching his direct reports...to achieve results by doing exactly what he does...shouting at people or belittling people. (Female manager)
There is a perception that the men can get away with it. It's accepted as natural aggression that's needed to do those jobs.You need to be pushy. If a female does it, it's almost seen as unnatural, whether it comes with the voice, the tone, the body language, everything that goes with it. (Female senior manager)
7.3.2 Expanding the understanding of emotion
The place of emotion in business is changing. There is growing recognition that positive business outcomes are achieved by harnessing positive emotional energy to enhance key relationship and communication processes. Management essentials are broadening to include elements such as emotional intelligence, creative thought and interpersonal engagement (Palermo, 2004).
One construct of emotional intelligence is, it's the ability to successfully engage with others so as to engender positive relationships and there are all kinds of semi-conscious tactics that you employ. Being persuasive and charming is surely an example of possessing emotional intelligence. (Male senior manager)
You can be in a room and someone is completely insensitive to another person... That social IQ, to be able to measure people's reactions...that ability is a certain level of intelligence. (Male senior manager)
Indeed, the essence of good leadership is increasingly associated with heightened emotional intelligence.
I think you can see both male and female leaders who have an innate ability to set a direction for an organisation, who are highly emotionally intelligent, have a seventh, eighth, ninth sense to be able to distil issues... They are the true leaders that people follow...they can actually set the direction as opposed to other leaders I have worked with...who wait for something to occur or don't have that additional sense. (Male manager)
The broadening of the management mindset to accommodate the positive potential of emotion is increasingly recognised as key to improving diversity and enhancing the essential business process (Hampden- Turner, 1994).
It takes a high degree of emotional intelligence to manage diversity in the workplace... I think that's probably why here we haven't seen, in terms of gender diversity, we haven't seen that much or enough senior women come through. (Male senior manager)
7.4 Communication
Gender differences in language and communication style exacerbate the cultural tensions between men and women at senior levels.The real and perceived communication tendencies of women, that may involve a complex use of language and a reluctance to engage in aggressive communication, do not hold them in good stead when the dominant communication style of an organisation is bullish and abrupt.
Within outcome-focused environments, certain communication styles are aligned with expediency and results. Clear and uncomplicated communication is considered an essential element of good leadership.
I think people in power are quite succinct usually, so people who make it have that ability. (Female senior manager)
I like to chew the fat. He [the boss] is solution orientated. (Female senior manager)
In a high stress executive environment, efficiency with words connotes efficient outcome. Messages must be conveyed quickly and simply.
It's something people say on our executive.You wouldn't survive unless you could get your ten second grab in very easily. You've got to be able to make your point very quickly. (Female senior manager)
7.4.1 Gendered communication patterns
Research on gender brain functions highlights significant differences in male and female communication patterns. Women's daily word usage has been estimated to be nearly three times that of men (Macrae, 2006).The data conveys a view of women as wordy, overly analytical and 'bogged down in the detail'. This verbosity is considered incompatible with leadership imperatives such as decisiveness and expediency.
I've been sitting [in] on the senior IT management meetings and still found that it was very male-dominated in the way they interact, in what they find funny... It wouldn't be the way I would like to participate in a management meeting. Delivery isn't everything. It's having your management recognise your value and if they are all men, I think they sometimes have slightly different flavours in what's important. So sometimes,'Oh, [women] are too warm and fuzzy and why do we have to worry about all that people shit?' (Female manager)
Internally competitive corporate environments are not generally considered good listening environments. The study finds this is particularly apparent in large executive meetings, where the loudest and most aggressive voices are heard, and often rewarded, to the exclusion of others.
At the managers' conference the other day somebody presented the thought that the only listening that occurred [in our organisation] was a pause in order to reload, rather than listening at all. (Male senior manager)
Personally, I'll take the opportunity when there is a quiet space to get in there. I don't like talking over people in those sorts of discussions but you don't always get the opportunity.You try to say something relevant whereas you feel some people are talking so they can be heard, whether it's relevant to the debate. (Female senior manager)
You can't sit in a meeting for two hours and not say anything... it is a strange culture where occasionally you've just got to throw a couple of things on the table and be prepared to be scoffed at... It does take a lot of training. (Female senior manager)
This dynamic can inhibit individuals who do not practice an imposing or bullish communication style, from making contributions and gaining visibility and recognition. Women and young, inexperienced men are most likely to find themselves in this position.
In meetings, if a woman doesn't say anything she is completely ignored and seen as irrelevant.Whereas, I think it's a bit mixed for men. I think young men who are slight and don't appear to be very powerful are seen as someone's assistant. (Female senior manager)
In a meeting it's very easy for males to talk over females. We [women] have a tendency to be polite. (Female senior manager)
I tell women...if you don't speak early, the probability of your ever speaking is reduced. (Female senior manager)
I'm actually thinking of a meeting yesterday where I put my point and someone started talking over me. I thought, I'm not going to talk over them back and I'm not going to keep talking, I'll just wait for [them] to finish. (Female senior manager)
Women's failure to be seen to be participating during meetings reinforces perceptions of them as non-performers, non-contributors, and the weak links in the chain.
I think with women, you've got to be heard and you've got to say stuff.You've got to make your presence felt, otherwise it's not just that you're seen as not having anything to contribute on that day but it's a black mark, it is seen as negative, you have nothing to say. (Female senior manager)
If you're sitting around a meeting table and you're getting a lot of contribution from particular people and only contribution when requested from others then you will naturally order people in that way... Perception is reality. (Male senior manager)
We have a few women at the board. They don't say anything. They don't have anything to say. (Male senior manager)
7.4.2 How can women be heard?
Within male-oriented monocultures, the distinct communication patterns of women tend to reduce their effectiveness as communicators rather than simply denote difference. In a highly combative and competitive environment, it is the male voice that is heard, sometimes to the exclusion of other voices. Women using more complex, team-oriented language have less impact on an executive who wants decisive action in a high pressure environment. Many women attempt to accommodate this expectation. Others are rendered mute.
I don't use language that might suggest that I'm not really sure what I'm talking about. I'm very clear on my facts. It's not something I was born with. I've observed.Why was that person so convincing? It's because of the language they used. (Female senior manager)
I've been saying to her, 'Don't use any marketing words, don't use any consulting words. Talk to him like you'd be talking to a front line person'. (Female senior manager)
I find women, when they get to put their point, often put it the wrong way... For many women, learning how to flex their own style but speak the language of others is a huge breakthrough in their effectiveness. (Female senior manager)
While contemporary business models include a higher level of tolerance for alternative communication styles, the expectation of decisive leadership is apparent across all organisational settings.
We reward decisiveness and technical prowess.We pride ourselves on how fast we deliver. What is not rewarded are people endlessly asking questions. (Female senior manager)
Only a small number of women take the risk of challenging these communication norms.
I almost try not to use their language... You do have to continually force yourself to be a little bit courageous...to help shift the culture. (Female manager)
7.5 Physicality and sexuality
The study finds physicality is still an issue for women in the workplace.A woman's physical presence and appearance can diminish perceptions of professional competence but, equally, can raise her visibility among key players.
The senior females are there, I'll be blunt, because of how they look not because of the way they behave or the way they work. (Female senior manager)
Most women who are successful in [industry] have down to earth appearances. Occasionally but not for very long you see women who have manicured nails, dress up and giggle. (Female senior manager)
7.5.1 The impact of appearance
Physical appearance is important for both women and men in professional life. Cultural rules govern dress codes and presentation styles across organisational settings. Nevertheless, physical attractiveness provides both men and women with distinct advantage.
I, as a boss...like to have a good-looking person reporting to me, they're also really useful to send out to your clients. (Female senior manager)
I don't like women blatantly using their sex appeal to get on. Some do. But guys are human. They can fantasize romantically and sexually and can be more likely to be supportive to those they find attractive. (Male senior manager)
For women, getting their 'look' right is particularly important to career advancement. It is fundamental to gaining acceptance and respect in the workplace.
When I first [joined the organisation] one of the professionals gave us a bit of a lecture about what was appropriate in the workplace in terms of women's attire and she said, 'Put your jacket on before you leave your office. It's not kind of expected of guys but it is of women and always wear stockings in the workplace'. (Female manager)
You see some junior women not dressing appropriately, big dangly earrings and things like that.They look awesome but you can see people thinking, 'That's not appropriate for the workplace'. People won't take you seriously. (Female manager)
Relations between senior men and upcoming women are also considered to be improved if the woman pays particular attention to her appearance.
In a professional services organisation, one of the ways you get ahead...step one is look decent. It's natural. Blokes don't want to take out somebody they think looks daggy or too out there. (Female senior manager)
7.5.2 Attractiveness
The study finds that physical appearance is an issue in organisational life. A number of women believe their physical appearance works against them in particular organisational environments. While physical attractiveness can provide individuals with an edge, a woman's appearance can also encourage negative associations with stereotypes such as the 'dumb blonde'. A physically attractive or sexually alluring woman has to fight for credibility in a male-dominated environment.
My experience with some of the [senior managers]...[as] a young, blonde-headed girl, 'What does she really know about what [we] do?' (Female manager)
I went [to work in] a transport company.That was a smart decision. A tall blonde working in a transport company!" (Female senior manager)
"I've got a baby face and I'm blonde...I don't look like I've got 32 years experience...and I've always found in every new job that I've had to prove myself. (Female senior manager)
Other women are aware of the power of physical appearance. Many perceive that a particular physical type of woman rises up through the management ranks. Women operating at a senior level of management are all considered to be 'cut from the same cloth'.
You'll notice we are all cut from the same cloth... It's the way he likes us to look. (Female senior manager)
There's a level of attractiveness...blonde and tall... I guess that's probably something for me, that probably gets me in, and you don't like to admit that but I'm sure that would be part of it. (Female manager)
While we have a lot of women in executive management, they tend to be, from my point of view, all very similar looking... They brought in some female executives from outside and it's not a problem but they just look like all those other female executives on that floor... They all have that sort of look. (Female manager)
The thing that will get women noticed, certainly under this management structure, is reasonable appearance.When I realised that's what happened, I was bitterly disappointed. Then I realised it wasn't really my problem if that's what was going to make me visible to people, I'm smart enough to deserve to be there anyway. (Female senior manager)
I really think that is something that needs to be outed or named. There is a certain level of attractiveness or fit, a look fit, appearance fit. (Female manager)
I know one senior manager who just wanted to have attractive young women around him and this helped them in their career. (Male senior manager)
7.5.3 Sexuality in the workplace
Women know their appearance has a huge impact on their professional visibility. Society is constantly bombarded with sexist media messages and imagery.Women are criticised for their hairstyles, weight, sexual history or un-sexiness (Baird, 2007). Physicality and associated sexuality can be the most challenging aspect of femininity that women have to manage in the workplace.Women cannot completely disassociate from their physical presence, although attempts have been made such as the phenomena of androgynous power dressing during the 1980s (Cochrane & Hoepper, 2007).
Acknowledging or embracing physicality brings women into complex dynamics with male colleagues.
I've seen some women get promoted because they quite outrageously play the card with men, flattery and all the rest of it, lessons about managing up. If you are dealing with a manager that has a lot of ego, stroking the ego is not going to hurt. I think men expect that from women but they don't necessarily expect it from other men. Men can be promoted who don't play that kind of game at all but I think it's extremely hard for women. I don't think it is conscious in any way. (Female senior manager)
You can't divide work from the rest of the world. It is natural to warm to some people more than others, and some women, particularly young women, more than others, get our attention - either paternally or though some sublimated romantic or sexual impulse.They are more likely to be embraced and cared for. (Male senior manager)
While feminine traits increase women's visibility among senior men, they must follow through with a nonthreatening level of toughness to be taken seriously.
He likes you to look good but he also likes you to have testicles. (Female senior manager)
There are ways of relating that men find easier and less threatening. It probably relates to looks, more feminine rather than less feminine but also the level of respect that women are required to exercise towards men in order to be seen to be behaving in an appropriate way. (Female senior manager)
A number of women accept certain flirtatiousness in their dealings with men, as a means of diluting rather than exacerbating the natural tension between the sexes. There is even some suggestion that embracing sexuality can empower women.
I'm not suggesting at all that people ever tolerate blatant harassment of any sort. I'm talking about the day-to-day type stuff, the odd tease or odd joke that comes along... If someone says, 'You look nice today', well feel terrific about that. Say,'Thank you', and tease them back...You can use your gender in your favour as well and I do. (Female senior manager)
Do I dress to look in a particular way? Absolutely. Do I dress to get compliments from the men I work with? Yes. When I get the compliments can I tell which [men] really like working with women and treat us as equals and which don't? Absolutely. For me, it's a weapon and also a barometer of what...people think. (Female senior manager)
There will often be a natural frisson between some men and women at work.We are all sexual beings. It doesn't have to be overt or acknowledged, but no doubt these subtle relationships will have a subtle influence on how people treat each other, including support and providing opportunities. (Male senior manager)
However, a number of participants warn that this is a delicate dynamic to manage and the dangers lie mostly for women.Women must hit the right balance in their interactions with senior men.Too little warmth can mark women as overly sensitive or prickly, while too much flirtation can be perceived as a challenge to male authority.
Some women make themselves prickly and no-one wants to work with prickly people... You are being difficult to be with where you kind of feel 'I've got to watch my Ps and Qs with this person. If I put a step out they are going to nail me'. (Female senior manager)
Some women reject the use of their sexuality to achieve status and acceptance. They are unable to accommodate a level of personal compromise, are uncomfortable with sexuality in the workplace and display a firm belief in participating on their own terms.
I know there are other women who do use it [attractiveness]. I am a woman and there are womanly things about me that I don't need to come to work and exploit.They are for home, for my partner exclusively... I feel old enough, mature enough, and confident [enough] in my abilities now to insist on that. (Female senior manager)
7.6 Acknowledging gender in the workplace
Commentary from interviewees on physicality and sexuality reveals a tension between those who perceive that a gender neutral workplace aligns with concepts such as meritocracy and transparency, and those who argue that a denial of gender exacerbates the natural tensions between the sexes and creates smokescreens around the true dynamic between men and women.
Organisations that promote gender neutralality have been found to perpetuate a 'myth of disembodiment' and a notion of a masculine 'norm' that rewards male sexual identity through a leadership paradigm that is deeply imbued with themes of seduction and masculine conquest (Sinclair, 2007, 2004a, 2004b).
I think in corporate Australia we've almost tried to deny people's physiology and people's dynamics and to impose this bullshit world of when you come to work you stop being a woman and you start being an automaton. It's 2006.You've got to recognise that people are built a certain way and when they come to work their dynamics and the way they're built is still going to operate. (Female senior manager)
Gender neutrality is code for male in this society. (Female senior manager)
7.6.1 The high visibility and high vulnerability of senior women
The study concurs with research that suggests women face unique challenges when they take up leadership roles in male-dominated environments.Their heightened visibility renders them vulnerable to increased scrutiny and pressures of minority/majority dynamics (Kram &McCollom, 1998). While women may not necessarily be working in a radically different way to men, they are nonetheless perceived differently and subject to criticism for misdemeanours that would be forgiven in males (Sinclair, 2004a, 2000, 1994; Meyerson & Fletcher, 2000; Kram &McCollom, 1998; Reciniello, 1999).
When I feel like criticising one of the women senior executives I ask myself would I criticise a male in the same position for the same things and I find that in many cases I probably wouldn't. (Female senior manager)
This 'high visibility, high vulnerability' dynamic (Kram & McCollom, 1998) is particularly apparent in narrow organisational settings that are unconsciously but endemically resistant to female presence.Women's physical and verbal presentation comes under intense scrutiny. A dual pressure is placed on them to demonstrate the value of diversity while assimilating with a male-oriented culture.
I've seen a number of women pushed beyond proving they can do their role. Over the last five to ten years there have been attempts made to push a lot more women up without them having to prove themselves... I can imagine the immense amount of pressure on them... If they are one of two, or one of one in that sort of role, lots of people look at them. (Male senior manager)
Women look different in the roles and they approach roles differently.And I've heard women being criticised for things men wouldn't be criticised for and the penalty women pay will be harsher than the penalty for men in the same situation. (Female senior manager)
It's always a fine line.You've got to be partly accepted by the culture but not too accepted. You've got to keep a radar out for what is that majority culture. How do you unpack it and how do you keep reminding, particularly our senior executive team, that the way we do things often unintentionally excludes predominantly women but also people from different backgrounds who don't fit that culture. (Female manager)
I remember going to a board meeting where I had a big group of men. I was the only female there and they were all 40 plus years old. They made it clear to me that a woman does not enter the boardroom... I proved my capability through my delivery of work to a point where they trusted me and I became part of the team.What you achieve is you actually gain respect and acceptance by delivery of better quality product [than] the guys need to do. (Female senior manager)
The minority status of women at executive level highlights their 'otherness'.The presence of a small number of women appears to intensify scrutiny of their performance and potential rather than mark their natural assimilation into leadership ranks. This cultural dynamic sees women as visible and therefore vulnerable to attack, particularly once they reach senior management level. This presents as a major challenge to women negotiating the career ladder.
For any woman that's got to play this kind of behavioural, cultural game, it's going to be a real straight jacket... Men have a walk up start.All they have to do is act like men and they are OK. (Male senior manager)
Women [in politics] are judged brutally.Any woman who rises to the top or attempts to rise to the top gets kneecapped. (Male senior manager)
7.7 Collusion with the dominant culture
The study finds women accept the challenge and burden of life in the corporate 'straight jacket'. They internalise the responsibility for their poor cultural fit (Reciniello, 1999) and through personal adaptation and sacrifice, strive to be 'OK' in the eyes of men.They display the anxieties of the minority to infiltrate and survive in the fray (Vallacher, et. al., 2003).
I don't embrace [the culture], I just know I have to manage it and deal with it. I have to be entirely different. (Female senior manager)
It's a tough industry.You need to be tough. It's big business. It's male dominated, global, 24/7. It's not for the faint hearted. If you are in a senior position you have to watch your back every day. (Female senior manager)
Anxiety around their capacity to gain acceptance can lead women to repudiate aspects of themselves, and of other women, that render them visible. Particularly in strong masculine monocultures, women survive by their adeptness at mapping the external environment and accommodating to its demands. They are flexible. They move with the flow and they submerge behaviour that may be perceived as overtly feminine.
I'm usually the only woman in the room. I'm conscious of trying to blend in rather than stand out.You don't want to draw attention to yourself.You tend to think twice before you say anything. If you are in an all male environment you hold back and express opinion off line. (Female senior manager)
Women have to do it more than men.Women have to be flexible in style.They have to have intuition. (Female senior manager)
Women generally tend to move with the flow.They don't rattle the cage. (Female manager)
I'm very aware of the girl talk and I often say to more junior people,'That's what a woman would say and that's OK but think about what message that's sending out'. (Female manager)
Women adopt excessively hard and aggressive demeanours, talk sport and hide authentic female characteristics that may encourage perceptions of weakness or ineptitude among their male colleagues.
They've, I think, taken the view this is a man's world and I have to be better than the men. So I will behave as the men do plus some in order to show that I'm not to be messed with. (Female senior manager)
A couple of women in particular...they were very masculine in their style, they were very aggressive in conversation, were much very one of the boys, for want of a better word. (Female manager)
Indeed, women judge their own behaviours through a pejorative prism.
Women in groups can be catty, bitchy, they talk... While this may be the way women process information, men are not comfortable about that. (Female senior manager)
However, fitting in is a delicate enterprise that does not always produce the desired outcomes. While some women can effectively navigate organisational life by adopting an 'honorary bloke' persona, this approach carries risk. Women lose credibility and respect among male and female colleagues for 'camouflaging their gender (Sinclair, 2004b) and eschewing their 'natural' femininity.
This sounds terrible but it's almost against the natural law because it's not instinctively, innately how women behave or are seen in terms of the way they are respected. So that can be a turn off. (Male senior manager) It's probably unfair but you can get very assertive men who can get away with it because that looks more like the natural law. (Male senior manager)
I think women trying to move up the career ladder are viewed differently from men trying to do the same thing. I think the perception is [that] for men it's natural, they are trying to earn a livelihood and support their family, whereas the woman is trying to take over the world. (Female manager)
A female came to work for my team...and she was hesitant about joining us because our floor is called the scary floor... I think it's the aggression or the hard commercial reality about the demands that we put on people... She was very soft...it wasn't her nature to be aggressive and she actually became quite aggressive. (Female senior manager)
Women are punished for fraudulent or unnatural behaviour when they attempt to assimilate into the masculine mainstream. A number of senior men view women's attempts to blend into an extremely masculine environment as signalling weakness, poor judgment, and poor suitability for leadership. This is a difficult arena for women to negotiate. Assertiveness applauded in men's behaviour is often seen as aggressive when it comes from women.
If you get a woman acting aggressively and more aggressively than male counterparts, I think people would doubt the wisdom or judgment that person might have to undertake a leadership role. (Male senior manager)
You don't really often hear about guys being described as pushy other than real estate guys but you hear about pushy women all the time. I think in society we are prepared to put that label on women more frequently. You don't hear about bossy guys, your mum is bossy, your primary school teacher was bossy, guys aren't bossy, they're directional. (Female manager)
If you are assertive and make decisions easily then you are called aggressive. It wouldn't happen if I was a man. You can't fight that problem. (Female senior manager)
Rather than appearing safe and familiar, women who attempt to assimilate into male corporate culture attract suspicion and derision from men and women. They become the feared (Reciniello, 1999) and fabled 'power bitches' of senior corporate life, the 'Rottweiler with lipstick' (Beck & Davis, 2005, p. 282).They remain outsiders.
There is the power bitch and she behaves like a man and that in itself is quite frightening, not only to men but also to other women in the organisation. (Female manager)
One woman manager scares the pants off me, very aggressive, very successful, very capable... I think for some women there's a belief that that's what it does take... There's nothing wrong with that, you've got to be aggressive, you've got to be tough... Now the trouble is...if a man does it, it's like he's a tough one. If a woman does it, she's a hard bitch. (Male manager)
[You] say, 'Don't deal with her because she's a real bitch'...these people are alienated, particularly by their peers, 'I don't like working with you. You are arrogant'. (Male senior manager)
The study finds that a high level of personal compromise not only interferes with women's performance but undermines their sense of self and their ability to assert authentic presence and authority. The findings support Australian research (Sinclair, 2007, 2004a, 2004b; Palermo, 2004) that, for many women, the loss of personal authenticity is too high a price to pay for participation in the professional workforce.
Women looking at a female senior manager [say], 'I don't want to be that person. I don't want to change'. It's a little bit about being authentic. (Female manager)
I thought, if that's what it takes to be a [senior manager] here, I don't want to change my personality to do that, it sounds quite vile. (Female manager)
7.8 Regulating invisible barriers
The forces that manipulate and restrict female behaviour in some corporate settings are subtle and complex.They also go to the heart of some of the most unpalatable dynamics between men and women.These dynamics are not easily discussed and therefore cannot easily be addressed.Yet they remain frustratingly present for many ambitious women.
They say there's a problem here, all our women are leaving... But there is no study done, no understanding of why that is the case...it's just hidden. (Female manager)
There are no nude women in lockers, it's a professional organisation but just because it's not coarse, doesn't mean it's not a male influence. (Female manager)
You talk about the glass ceiling, it's definitely here. Some of it is so entrenched that people really don't know how to behave anymore. (Female manager)
A majority of organisational interventions to support women and enhance talent management rely on a gender neutral, level playing field environment.
This is a meritorious system.You are either as good as the next person or worse than the next person, male, female or whatever. (Male senior manager)
It's solely merit that applies. I'm completely comfortable with merit promotion. (Male senior manager)
I think within [the department], it's far more transparent achievement.This is the culture where women can achieve better, in [a] meritocracy environment. (Male manager)
Principles such as meritocracy and transparency can only guide selection and promotion processes if there is recognition of cultural barriers.
[When I see a woman in the boardroom]...it's the pink elephant in the room. (Male senior manager)
A woman getting promoted, that just doesn't happen.They [women] need to push themselves forward. I wouldn't have got my recent promotion if I didn't ask for it. It was comfortable for me to ask my boss. (Female senior manager)
7.9 Conclusion
Women face numerous cultural dilemmas when they aspire to success across a range of business settings. Seeking to accommodate to the limiting female archetype that dominates the narrow business environment fundamentally undermines female contribution and the establishment of female authority. Moreover, attempts to fit in with the masculine model of leadership encourages suspicion and derision from peers.Women face tacit barriers to demonstrating their authentic value.
The pressure on women to demonstrate the value add of diversity while assimilating in a resistant male environment, places them in a cultural 'straight jacket'. This restrictive dynamic has its basis in a male-dominated culture that resists the presence and authority of women. To remove the cultural 'straight jacket' that women face, strategies need to address underpinning cultural barriers. The 'undiscussable' needs to be brought to the fore for the implicit to be made explicit.
Until we unravel and expose the links between being a leader and enacting a particular form of manliness, then, in gender and racial terms, leadership will remain the domain of an homogenous elite. (Sinclair, 2004a:175) 49