CHAPTER 2: The Stalled Gender Revolution: Implications for Women Leaders

Women have made significant progress in terms of educational achievement and participation in the workforce in the past five decades, yet men still hold a substantially disproportionate number of leadership positions in almost every industry. This chapter explores factors that have contributed to the dearth of women in leadership positions. These factors include covert and overt gender discrimination, women’s socialization, and inhibiting cultural norms. Women struggle to compete with men for leadership positions in a culture in which women are expected to provide more childcare and household management than men. Elevated expectations related to motherhood in American culture and the prevalence of increasingly longer workweeks may impact women’s participation in leadership activities as well. This chapter also provides suggestions for both eliminating the obstructions preventing women from achieving leadership roles and creating a more equitable society that supports women reaching their full potential.