Running Through the Maze: Women Leading with Social Media
In the past century women have gone from being barefoot and pregnant, under the
cement ceiling and below a glass window to navigating through a complicated
maze to become a leader in business and government today. Given the
facts, in order to move women up the corporate ladder; they themselves have to
take charge and make change. It seems that women are reluctant to embrace
their innate skills and take the seat at the head of the table. Thanks to
technology, revolutions are taking place all over the world, yet women in
business still fail to take top rank in C-suite positions. The many reasons for
this paradox are known. It is up to women to find solutions and take
steps to endeavor today.
American women are increasingly praised for
having excellent skills for leadership. Research has shown that women,
more than men possess leadership styles associated with effective performance
as leaders. However, it is well known that there are significantly fewer women
in leadership roles than men.
Leaders are individuals who are change agents, social activists,
and catalysts in their disciplines. Leaders employ varying leadership styles
which can change with corporate cultures. The collaborative, transformational,
and context-driven leadership styles are interpersonal leadership styles
thought to be feminine. They are in contradiction to
characteristically male leadership styles that are driven by authoritarianism
and swift decision making.
Women are continually challenged with
accommodating conflicting demands of their roles as women and leaders.
Generally, society expects women be communal, showing kindness, concern for
others, warmth, and gentleness. And that men be agentic, manifesting
traits such as confidence, aggressiveness, and discipline. Agentic
displays of confidence and assertion are not considered communal and so women
leaders become targets of prejudice. Many people view women as not having what
it takes to lead—that is, as not being tough enough or not taking charge. They
dislike female leaders who display these very directive and assertive qualities
because such women seem masculine.
Today’s successful women are expected to be strong, smart,
independent and leading, without giving up the social moirés of past
generations. Often, women leaders are viewed as neglectful mothers,
uncaring wives & rigid. They appear conflicting with societal
expectations. For women who aspire to
top leadership, routes exist but are full of twists and turns. Today women are
faced with obstacles but can persevere. Women should know that there are
walls all around but they can find their way through and effectively lead.
The intricate maze of issues that surround
today’s woman in business can be daunting, leading many young women leaders
give up. It is impossible for today's women to meet all
the expectations put upon them by our multicultural society and
business structures. The prejudice of past towards women increase
resistance to leadership because the traits associated with leadership are
thought to be unbecoming or masculine. As women struggle to get ahead,
the general fact is that men as a group still have the benefit of higher wages
and faster promotions. Women’s ideals still reflect back to generations
past and demands of family life are the responsibility of women. Even
though men increasingly share housework and child rearing, the bulk of domestic
work still falls on women. And because many women balance professional
and domestic life there is a lack of social capital. As women struggle to
do it all there is less time to network. Networking with other
professionals is the most important way to move ahead in business. And
lastly women are waiting to be asked. Women wait to be asked to take a
leadership role, while men actively pursue them.
Women don’t get to climb up the corporate ladder
one rung at a time. The climb is convoluted like the game Chutes and
Ladders. There are ways to shape change and promote women leaders.
As communication through the internet is evolving
rapidly, it is leveling the field for women to rise up and take their place as
leaders. With the real time web and social applications, women can keep
in touch with professionals, while still caring for family. Social
networking does not replace live networking, but makes time spent live
networking productive. The use of job websites to break up the good old
boy network, objective performance goals which utilize measurement and family
friendly benefits help women move to the top. Online education has also
played a role as women can develop professionally faster and easier. The
majority of Social Media and all of its applications are being utilized by
women who are naturally communal. Making your way through the leadership maze
has become simpler because getting your message out is at your fingertips.
Change is here for the game changers, social media for the social activists and
new methods of communication for the catalyst. The internet and social
networking are powerful tools for women to lead.
