Is equality inevitable? This was one of the major questions posed during “Women Lead the Way,” a lecture presented by Elizabethtown College Librarian and Director of the High Library Bethann Zambella. As part of the Called to Lead programming this semester, the lecture, which took place on Thursday, March 14, focused on the obstacles women face in the workplace. According to Zambella, women cannot just wait for equality to happen; they need to continue to work for sustained progress.
Called to Lead is a leadership development program at the College which is open to all students. Those students who take part in lectures such as “Women Lead the Way” or attend service learning trips, among other opportunities, earn points toward a grand total and reach milestones along the way. Zambella is a part of Called to Lead’s Mentoring Program, which pairs students with faculty members with whom they form a partnership and are encouraged to learn from each other.
“Is women’s leadership different than men’s?” Zambella then asked. There are several studies and theories which attempt to explain the inequality in the workplace. Zambella mentioned the communal vs. agentic theory, a model which classifies stereotypical female traits — kind, helpful, sympathetic, soft-spoken — as communal, and stereotypical male traits — aggressive, ambitious, self-confident, self-reliant — as agentic. The theory speculates that those with agentic qualities (mostly males) are better suited for success in business and leadership roles. Women can attempt to adopt some agentic qualities in the pursuit of higher pay or more responsibility, but they run the risk of being called a certain b-word: “If a woman is aggressive or self-confident, often she’s condemned,” Zambella said.
It seems the most persistent issues that contribute to inequality in every area of life are stereotypes. Stereotypes affect thinking about different races, different religions, and in this instance, different genders. In the workplace, these stereotypes manifest themselves as obstacles to women’s success. Perhaps the most detrimental and controversial of these is the assumption that women are responsible for childrearing. There are a host of healthcare issues that go hand-in-hand with this assumption, and it is one of the major reasons that women fall behind on their career paths, not to mention one of the major contributing factors in the age gap between men and women. “There are a lot of assumptions people still have,” Zambella said. “Childcare is a huge issue because it’s still seen as a women’s issue.”
The European Union has recently shown some progressive signs on the topic of women in leadership roles. A European Commission proposal would require 40 percent of members on corporate Boards of Directors be women by 2020. This proposed quota is controversial because critics worry underqualified women will be placed in positions while men will be turned away, for the quota’s sake. In response to such criticisms, “board-ready women” are being vigorously promoted. The Forté Foundation aspires to build a list of board-ready women and call attention to the lack of women on corporate boards. In addition, the Women’s Leadership Foundation created a “Board Bound Program” which is tailored to the individual woman’s needs and skill set to prepare her to serve on a board of directors.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s article “Unlocking the Full Potential of Women in the U.S. Economy,” the inclusion of women on corporate boards improves financial performance and overall organizational health. In the United States, women hold about 15 percent of positions on corporate boards. Within the College’s Board of Trustees, nine out of 42 members are women, or 21 percent. “No one’s at 50 percent,” Zambella said, “which is where I think we’d really like to be.”
While it is difficult to imagine or articulate a definitive plan to recognize the talent and potential of female leadership, Zambella suggested some things we can do. While quotas, such as those proposed in the European Union, may not be the best idea in the United States, Zambella feels some type of benchmark would be helpful. She also pointed out the importance of voting for those politicians who will support women and their rights. There was an eruption of activism and growth in the women’s movement of the 1960s and 1970s, but that activity seems to have lulled, along with meaningful progress, as Zambella cited.
But what can men do to support their female counterparts? Zambella feels the best thing they can do is to be the ones who begin the discussion of gender equality. Stereotypically, women who consistently bring up women’s issues are seen as man-hating feminists, which can be detrimental to their careers. If men and women can be aware of gender issues in the workplace and have mutual discussions about how to overcome them, they are one step closer to making a change.