Cultural factors on managerial roles in female managers Research Paper

Cultural factors on managerial roles in female managers - Research Paper Example There has been a realization that barriers women face exist in medium to large organizations throughout the world (Davidson & Burke, 2004). The glass ceiling, that invisible but impenetrable barrier that keeps women out of the top levels of organizations, is a worldwide phenomenon. Organizations are also beginning to conclude that the full utilization and development of the talents of all employees has become a business imperative (Burke, 2005). If firms are to remain productive and competitive in an increasingly demanding global marketplace, they must recruit, retain, develop and promote their most talented people-regardless of their sex. This is increasingly seen not only as the ethical thing to do but also as the most progressive way of advancing organizations. In light of this reality, a number of leading organizations are making conscious efforts towards being more women-friendly (Burke, 2005). Thankfully, these efforts have helped increase the attention accorded to women in man agement. Organizations have a more structured approach aimed at promoting more women than has been traditionally the case. Currently, we can see that the proportions of women in the American labor force, in management overall, and in top management have increased in recent years. Also, the gap between proportions of women in the labor force and in management overall has virtually disappeared. ... and they occupied 50% of the overall managerial positions. A prior report, released in 2006, indicated that the women population had exceeded the men population in mid-level positions and occupations. Looking at these statistics, it is clear that women have made substantial progress in mid-level management; however, they still remain much maligned in top level management as statistics will reveal (Catalyst 2013). In 2010, only 2.4% of the Fortune 500 senior positions were occupied by women. In the FTSE 100, the situation was even worse with women occupying a mere 1.8% of the senior/top positions. These wanting statistics extend to boardroom seats, mainly in the major economies such as U.S. and U.K. Looking at the FTSE 100, women constitute only 12.5% of the overall directors, though this was a slight improvement from 11.7% in 2008 and 12.2% in 2009 (Toegel, 2011). However, the situation is not all gloom, as in certain countries the number of women holding senior positions in the corp orate world is competitive enough, an example of this is in Norway where women occupy 44.2% of the total board seats. All the same, this is an isolated case, and discrimination is more the norm in most corporations especially in U.S. and U.K. Research reveals that even in countries such as Norway, where women occupancy is quite competitive the number has not been achieved voluntarily (Toegel, 2011). The current situation was necessitated by a 2008 law which required that all publicly listed companies have a board constitution made up of at least 40 percent women (Catalyst 2013). Countries such as Norway provide hope for women, going forward much more effort will be directed to achieving competitive women numbers. There are some commendable steps, with France and Spain said to be