3-2 Milestone One Contemporary Analysis of Issues related to Women in leadership

Nicolle Spady

SNHU

OL 676 Women in Leadership

Prof. Baxter

1.26.25
 Women in leadership face challenges due to many barriers that persist from earlier

cultural and historical eras. While people are receiving increased attention regarding gender

equality, substantial obstacles still prevent women from achieving senior positions. These

obstacles adversely affect organizational performance and societal progress. Women leaders face

three major issues at work, which include unequal pay scales and minimal presence among

senior executives alongside traditional societal norms about how female leaders should behave.

Issues or Challenges Women Face in Positions of Leadership

Women encounter one of the biggest barriers to leadership through earning lower wages

than men working in similar roles. Women receive lower paychecks than men, even after

controlling for variables that include experience and education levels. According to Haile et al.

(2016), gender inequality in upper management positions stems from traditional norms and

work-life integration challenges, which create this wage gap. Organizations do not offer ongoing

pay equity support for women to consider executive positions because they lack flexible care

programs.

Executive leadership positions throughout finance technology and engineering have

predominantly appointed male representatives. At the organizational leadership level, women

remain consistently underrepresented. According to Phipps and Prieto's study (2021), female

executives have maintained fewer than 6% of the S&P 500 firm's CEO positions since 2017.

Such industries have been dominated for a long time by patriarchal standards that result in

continued obstacles to women obtaining leadership positions.

Leadership advancement for women remains challenging due to societal norms about

how leaders should behave, which produce barriers to their professional lexical progress. From a
traditional perspective, leaders display male attributes, but female leaders need to balance

demonstrating strength and keeping their empathetic nature. Phipps and Prieto (2021) explain

that social bias creates negative outcomes for women because sex-based judgments about

leadership lead either to ineffective leadership feedback or accusations of aggressive behaviors.

How These Issues Serve as Barriers to Success

The various obstacles serve as difficult hindrances that prevent women from achieving

leadership roles. Women experience limitations in career progression because of the wage

inequality structure. The financial constraints it imposes show organizations and the larger social

world that female work delivers less significance than male work. This wage gap maintains that

women demonstrate lower leadership capabilities, leading to an ongoing pattern of women

receiving diminished appreciation in leadership roles.

The scarcity of women in leadership positions within finance and technology adds to this

situation, thereby ensuring continued inequality. Women commonly miss out on both the

established networks and related professional opportunities that historic male-dominated social

systems create. Despite fulfilling qualifications and success criteria, women face continued

barriers to their ascent, known as the "glass ceiling" (Gatti, 2023). When upper-level

management positions remain predominantly occupied by men, it becomes harder for first-

generation women to discover senior-level mentors who can help them advance toward

leadership positions. The absence of female representation stubbornly maintains the perception

that leadership exists primarily for male leadership roles, thereby keeping women from believing

they can occupy top positions.

with expected feminine traits. Women face challenges because these behavioral standards

usually clash with one another while forcing them to repeatedly show leadership qualities

without considering their personal needs. The blending of positive attributes like assertiveness

and decisiveness in women tends to prompt "bossy" or "too tough" labels but receives no such

negative marks when men share those same traits (Phipps & Prieto, 2021). The bias actively

hinders women's success while hampering their abilities to receive credit for leadership qualities.

Historical Context of These Issues

Throughout history, women have encountered multiple structural hurdles that prevent

their entry into leadership positions (Smith & Sinkford, 2022). For centuries, women primarily

dedicated themselves to household duties, and professional venues remained mostly empty of

female participation. The increased labor force participation of women during the twentieth

century did not change deeply rooted stereotypes that blocked their professional growth.

Women's movements that gained momentum during the 1960s up to the 1970s worked to

both expose gender bias and fight for fair salaries, including professional advancement

possibilities. The path toward equal gender representation among leaders has pursued its journey

at a frustratingly slow pace. Female workforce entry into multiple occupations has developed,

but executive leadership positions within top businesses still tend to be predominantly occupied

by males. Gender bias reinforced by negative leadership stereotypes, together with inadequate

policy reforms, obstructs women who try to advance in leadership roles (Phipps & Prieto, 2021).

During the 1980s, affirmative action programs strived to solve gender inequalities but

failed to deliver enduring results, while minority women encountered multiple barriers to career
advancement. Women who faced dual discrimination from their gender and race encountered

additional barriers to career growth, creating what studies call the "concrete ceiling" (Otaye‐

Ebede & Shaffakat, 2024). The historical remnants of gender inequality maintain their influence

on leadership frameworks, thus requiring continuous defenders of transformation.

Wage disparities, systemic underrepresentation, and social expectations that hinder

women's ultimate success remain obstacles to their path to leadership growth. Replying to all

current obstacles to women's leadership opportunities involves structural innovation and a

groupwide commitment to leadership gender equality.

Gatti, D. (2023). Beyond the Glass Ceiling: How women attain tenure and career progression in

stigmatized careers.

Haile, S., Emmanuel, T., & Dzathor, A. (2016). BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES

CONFRONTING WOMEN FOR LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT POSITIONS:

REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. International Journal of Business & Public Administration,

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Otaye‐Ebede, L., & Shaffakat, S. (2024). Breaking the concrete ceiling: Resources and strategies

for career success amongst Black and Asian minority ethnic women leaders. Journal of

Occupational and Organizational Psychology.

Phipps, S. T., & Prieto, L. C. (2021). Leaning in: A historical perspective on influencing

women's leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 173(2), 245–259.

Smith, S. G., & Sinkford, J. C. (2022). Gender equality in the 21st century: Overcoming barriers
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