Beyond Glass Ceilings and Brick Walls - International Labour ...

• Successful organizations will require leaders who will be able to draw
out the best from all the employees. They would be those that are liberal,
broad-minded and able to assess situations and personnel for their longterm
value, and be less prone to be influenced by traditional values in
taking decisions for the organization, formulating policy, developing
strategies and implementing operational plans.
Several on-going changes affect the way women adapt to the world around
them. There is a global trend where more women are entering national politics
in larger numbers. Even though this may not be apparent in Sri Lanka, it is
visible in other parts of Asia.
The activism and interest of various grassroots level women’s organizations
may be an indication of things to come in the future. Increasing numbers of
women are becoming CEOs in other parts of the world. Local business
women’s organizations and women’s chambers of commerce have been
established. Globally, more women are starting their own businesses and
companies; and the entrepreneurial abilities of women are increasingly evident.
Further, more women are entering traditional male bastions of occupations
such as the police, armed forces, combat units etc. These trends have been
observed more clearly in the industrialized West (Aburdene and Naisbitt,
1994). Managers and leaders as well as policy-makers need to be aware of
these trends as they have important implications for the lives of women as
well as for the success of organizations.
The differences in the management styles and abilities of men and
women are being studied and reported in various forums. Although these
studies may not be conclusive and clear, they question an important
issue: the validity of traditionally-held beliefs that were preventing women
reaching senior positions of management. As reported by Aburdene and
Naisbitt (1994), Judy B. Rosener, Professor of the Graduate School of
Management, University of California, studying CEOs- women and men
of similar age with similar education and jobs found major differences
between the two groups. Men see job performance as a series of
transactions whereas women transform self-interest in to organizational goals.
Further, the study reveals that women leaders tend to encourage participation,
share power and information, enhance other people’s self worth and motivate
others to get excited about their work. In another study quoted by the same
authors, by studying four successful women executives, it was possible to
identify “feminine” characteristics. The characteristics are: supporting,
encouraging and teaching; open communication; soliciting inputs in general;
and creating a positive collegial work environment. These charasteristics
were adopted by these women executives to make their organizations very
successful.
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