Leadership and Diversity

1
Topic 11

• Leadership and Diversity

2
Gender and Leadership

• Sex-Based Discrimination
• Implicit Theories
• Stereotypes and Role Expectations

3
Gender and Leadership

• Sex-Based Discrimination
• Other Explanations
• A lack of opportunity to gain experience and
  visibility in types of positions that would
  facilitate advancement
• Higher standards of performance for women than
  for men
• Exclusion of women from informal networks that
  aid advancement
• Lack of encouragement and opportunity for
  developmental activities

4
Gender and Leadership

• Sex-Based Discrimination
• Other Explanations
• Lack of opportunity for effective mentoring
• Difficulties created by competing family demands
• A lack of strong action by top management to
  ensure equal opportunity
• Intentional efforts by some men to retain control
  of the most powerful positions for themselves

5
Leadership and Gender

• The past two decades have seen significant
  increases in the number of women in business,
  law, and medicine
• An increase in the number of women occupying
  leadership positions
• Interest in the effects of sex and gender in
  terms of leader emergence, leadership style, uses
  of power, and effectiveness

6
Sex and Gender Role

• Two factors associated with individuals emerging
  as leaders in groups are biological sex and
  gender role
• Past research has consistently shown that men
  more often emerge as leaders than women (disputed
  by recent research)
• Recent evidence suggests that there have been
  shifts in societal acceptance of women as leaders
• Changes also appear to be occurring in
  perceptions of the importance of stereotypically
  masculine and feminine characteristics

7
Gender Role Effects

• Roles of the sexes have been blurred due to
  several trends
• The womens movement of recent decades
• The mass of women in the workforce
• The increasing number of women managers
• Societal shifts in gender-role perceptions
• A man or woman may possess either masculine or
  feminine characteristics, or both (androgynous
  individuals)
• Gender role is a better predictor of leader
  emergence than sex.

8
Guidelines for Managing Diversity

• Set an example in your own behavior of
  appreciation for diversity
• Encourage respect for individual differences
• Promote understanding of different values,
  beliefs, and traditions
• Explain the benefits of diversity for the team or
  organization
• Encourage and support others who promote
  tolerance of diversity

9
Guidelines for Managing Diversity

• Discourage use of stereotypes to describe people
• Identify biased beliefs and role expectations for
  women or minorities
• Challenge people who make prejudiced comments
• Speak out to protest against unfair treatment
  based on prejudice
• Take disciplinary action to stop harassment of
  women or minorities

10
Work Force Trends

• The average age of the work force is increasing
• White males now constitute less than 50 percent
  of the work force
• An increasing number of new entrants into the
  work force are women and people of color

11
U.S. Demographic Trends (by 2025)

• Average age will be close to 40
• Percentage of whites will drop from 72 in 2000
  to 62
• Hispanics will grow to 18.5 outnumbering African
  Americans
• More that 50 of the population of Hawaii,
  California, New Mexico, and Texas will be from
  minority group

12
U.S. Demographic Trends (contd)

• Non-English speaking households are increasing
• By 2050, average citizen will be non-European
• By 2050, only 60 of the new labor force will be
  white
• By 2050, half of the new labor force will be
  female

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Advantages of Managing for Diversity

• Reduction of turnover and absenteeism costs
• Offers a marketing advantage
• Advantage in recruiting and retaining talented
  people
• Unlocks the potential for excellence
• A creativity advantage and improved
  problem-solving and decision-making

14
Multicultural Leader

• A leader with skills and attitudes to relate
  effectively to and motivate people across race,
  gender, age, social attitudes, and lifestyles

15
The Multicultural Organization
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Cultural Diversity Initiatives

• Hold managers accountable for achieving diversity
• Establish minority recruitment, retention, and
  mentoring programs
• Conduct diversity training

17
Cultural Diversity Initiatives (contd)

• Conduct intercultural training
• Encourage the development of employee networks
• Avoid group characteristics when hiring for
  person-organization fit

18
Summary

• The modern leader must be multicultural
• Managing for diversity brings a competitive
  advantage to the firm
• The leader must be aware of overt and subtle
  cultural differences to influence, motivate, and
  inspire culturally diverse people

19
Summary (contd)

• Differences in cultural values help explain
  differences among people
• Cultural values influence leadership style as
  well as the behavior of other workers
• Cultural sensitivity is essential for inspiring
  people from different cultures