As it would be observed, everything in the current world seems to have taken a different course, probably for the better, owing to the many development plans that have emerged from industrialization and urbanization. As a matter of fact, the time is gone when the highest positions in politics and business organizations would be a preserve of the men, while females stayed at home to manage family affairs as mothers and homemakers. Even though there are some notable differences that would tend to occur between the role of men and women in the modern workplace environment, women have come out to join hands with men in real developmental matters in the society.
Particularly, there are varied views and perceptions across the world in regard to the aspects of leadership and gender. These perceptions, however, have greatly impacted the opportunities of womenfolk in matters related to the profession. Some of the common profession or career matters that would be determined by gender include promotion placement, managerial selection, and plans about workplace training.
Based on these aspects, many organizations in the world have established different coexistence platforms for men and women employees in the workplace, particularly in regard to the existing beliefs about gender and leadership. One outstanding aspect here is whereby women are treated differently when it comes to training about leadership affairs. Even though this habit appears to have taken shape in many business organizations, women are still the same as their male counterparts when it comes to leadership training, and should therefore not be treated as if they were different.
As a matter of fact, females have proved their capabilities in the contemporary world, where they have made a greater impact on politics and business, among other distinguished fields (Klenke, 1996). However, even though it is now apparent that women can do anything their male counterparts can do, and even better in some cases, this does not make women equal to men in society.
This should explain the reason why some aspects of responsibility and accountability across labor markets and business organizations in many countries would be divided in regard to gender. Among other aspects, cultural beliefs and perceptions have continued to play a significant role in seeing that gender differences are established and maintained across labor markets. Cultures are important, and they do play a key role in shaping our lives in the most appropriate manners possible.
However, there is a need for contemporary global communities to adopt healthy cultures that would ensure that both the present and the future generations are no longer enslaved by the ties of the past, particularly in matters involving gender roles in the society. In this regard, it is important for modern organizations to create and maintain healthy cultures that would welcome the womenfolk into leadership affairs, particularly in labor markets and business sectors.
Of course, the acceptance of gender equality in public and political affairs may have proven to be a gradual process, but it would not be long before the whole world adopts this idea which has been necessitated by modernity. Women, just like men, have continued to play a very active role in management roles involving business and politics. Women’s successful involvement and participation in professions that have previously been dominated by men have come with immense impact on the current world, thus leading to recognition of women capabilities in global labor markets (Rhode, 2003).
A country such as the U.S., for instance, has long realized this big potential in women, thus granting them equal opportunities in all areas of accountability in the society, particularly in matters to do with the economy. According to recent reports by the U.S. Department of Labor, women have in the past few years held about 49 percent of the country’s jobs and about 50 percent of the high-profile positions across the nation. More importantly, there have also been some notable moments where the number of women has outnumbered that of the men in various managerial positions in the country’s business sector. Based on these facts, if there are situations where women should be treated differently than their male counterparts, it is actually not in professional matters. Men and women are not different as leaders or managers, and therefore, should not be exposed to different leadership or managerial training settings.
Naturally, women are said to be good leaders who can do as better as their male counterparts in almost everything that involves management. This has the meaning that women have the same capabilities as men in today’s professional arena. In that sense, both women and men are smart in matters involving business these days. Based on this observation, there is a need to bring the two genders together for common learning engagements.
As observed from various regions, modern societal trends have clearly shown that both men and women can excel in matters involving organizational leadership and management. In this regard, there is a need for global organizations to adopt balanced leadership styles for both men and women, without extending special attention to members of a particular sex, while rejecting the other. In fact, if there should be training solely meant for women in an organization that comprises of both men and women employees, it should be something to do with encouragement of the womenfolk to actively take part in leadership affairs. These forms of training engagements are acceptable since they raise awareness on common barriers which tend to hinder the progress of women in career and professional matters in the contemporary world.
It has been argued by some people that women are weaker than men when it comes to managerial duties, and therefore, corporate initiatives and resources that would ensure they get special attention should be adopted by all organizations (Feyerherm and Vick, 2005). Based on this claim, women would require special training or coaching through appropriate women leadership courses, to be able to match the abilities and prudence of their male colleagues in business and organizational matters. The proponents of this claim have also expressed strong interests in advocating for initiatives which are aimed at diversifying opportunities for the womenfolk to get to the top of the organizational systems. Personally, for me, this claim should be disregarded because both genders are equally intelligent and intellectually smart.
More importantly, some previous studies have shown women to have great potential for good leadership and other skills that would be essential for business and organizational success. In this respect, giving the womenfolk alone special lessons on leadership would only place them in a better position in the workplace, thus enabling them to outdo their male counterparts in managerial and leadership activities. More importantly, such offerings extended to ladies alone can often result in harsh relationships between the two genders. This is likely to happen in situations where the womenfolk end up thinking that they are more qualified than their male colleagues in the workplace, and can, therefore, do better than them in leadership and managerial activities. If left uncontrolled, this could result in serious workplace quarrels and conflicts in the long term as people fight for recognition and leadership positions in organizations.
One effective way of encouraging and bringing workers together in a friendly workplace atmosphere is by encouraging equal treatment of all employees in matters involving leadership and business management. This can be achieved through integrated training in the workplace, where both ladies and gentlemen are brought together for common managerial lessons. This kind of engagement where workers are allowed to connect purposefully does not only enhance respect amongst themselves, but it also helps in building leadership in the workplace, thus promoting gender-balanced knowledge and skills in business (Kaplan and Norton, 2001).
Some of the common positive outcomes that are likely to be realized through general involvement of members of different sex into a common workplace engagement would include the development of effective interpersonal communications, management, and resolution of workplace conflicts, and appropriate matching of leadership styles to challenges of management and leadership. Moreover, this also encourages the spirit of team building, which is essential for enhanced business performance and productivity. Viewing and treating women as if they were different in matters involving leadership training simply means that people will have to forget about the many benefits that are associated with the idea of creating leadership in the workplace, as an effective way of promoting and enhancing employees’ relationship with one another.
Even though it is true that women are associated with unique demands and interests that may require special attention and approach, probably as a result of the fast-changing cultural trends, this should not be an excuse to make them different when it comes to matters involving leadership training. As a matter of fact, members of different genders are likely to do well in various leadership aspects.
This, however, means that there are some specific areas of accountability where women tend to outperform the male and vice versa. For instance, according to research on leadership competencies conducted in several developed countries, women would tend to do better than their male counterparts in the competencies associated with management activities (Yoder, 2001). Other common areas where women are likely to come out stronger than men include interpersonal aspects and sectors involving planning. Men, on the other hand, would score higher compared to women in personal contact, strategic vision, and commercial focus. Men are also good at making their presence felt and expressing views in a more confident manner, among other traits of leadership and management.
Moreover, female leadership style is said to be more social, while that of the male is visionary and strategic. This is a perfect indication that the natural styles of leadership associated with men and women are quite complementary. In this regard, organizations can be assured of generating excellent performance out of their workforce, if they established a balance of these two forms of leadership. This can only be achieved through engagement of both genders in general training, among other engagements that are likely to play a key role in boosting leadership and management skills among employees.
As Powell (1990) observes, bringing men and women together through teamwork engagements normally modifies each other’s leadership behavior, thus bringing out the best from the entire workforce. Another worthy noting aspect as far as this matter is concerned is that, even though some situations may require ladies to be trained under separate settings in leadership matters, many women would tend to fancy it when they are trained along with their male colleagues at work, then when they are alone. This, however, is a natural habit which applies to men as well.
Based on the observations made on this paper, women are not really different when it comes to leadership training. As observed here, females are as smart as men in almost every area of accountability, and this is evident in the contemporary business and political arenas where their capabilities have been proven beyond any doubt. Women have also been actively involved in key managerial positions as it is observed in the United States, among other developed countries.
As Burke and Collins (2001) observe, women are also said to possess great potential in leadership matters, among other aspects of management that would be essential for successful performance and productivity. This paper has also raised awareness of how people of different genders are likely to differ in various aspects of management and leadership. In this regard, there is also a focus on how these people should be brought together under common training settings for their own benefit and for the better of the entire organization. All these observations are clear indications that contemporary women are no longer different from their male counterparts, and therefore, there should be no boundaries in the way men and women employees tend to coexist in modern-day political and business arenas.
References
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Powell, G. (1990). One more time: do female and male managers differ? The Executive, 4(3), 68-75. Web.
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