Why are Women not Appearing in Leadership Positions?

by Shilpa Shankar

Historically, due to the customs and religions followed in many countries, men and women were not given equal access to education. However, in recent times there has been improvement for women to have equal access to education. This has led to more job opportuinities for women in modern times. Women are engaged in job opportunities like their male counterparts in various sectors such as: Science and Technology, Finance, Law, Trade and Commerce. Providing equal opportunity for women has not led to women occupying higher positions. This has led to fewer leadership roles occupied by women in various sectors.

In an effort to understand this problem, I conducted a survey by interviewing people from various countries namely: China, US, India, Singapore and Taiwan in an effort to know their diverse views of this problem. Towards this I composed a set of questions to understand the various factors affecting a women’s career in different countries.  In addition, I was interested in determining whether old customs and religions followed in different countries still have a role to play on the career life of women.

Shilpa Shankar of Delhi Public School with MBI WIS mentor, Prof Linda Kenney.

According to the interviewees of different countries, most of the interviewees felt that women tend to compromise on their career growth for their family. Family pressure can be a concern in various ways; in some cases family pressure may be marriage oriented issues and in others, families may not support women to pursue higher studies or encourage them to work.

Safety is another concern in certain countries where some of the working places are not safe. For example, commuting from one place to another during night hours may not be safe. However, in some countries, safety is not a factor for women losing out on careers, since commuting via public transport systems at night hours is comparatively safe.

Women’s attitude and confidence also plays a major role, where it is important to be confident and determined to become a successful leader. For example, a woman representative has been selected for the vice president position of Taiwan. Yet, there are women who don’t have the urge and determination towards their goals and as a result they may not become successful leaders.

In rural areas of some countries some interviewees felt that the rule of “equal pay for equal work” was not implemented fruitfully. People also felt that the government of some countries such as India should initiate social groups which would ensure compulsory education to all children in the rural areas, which would help them in their future.

Apart from these factors, the other important concern is the culture and tradition of individual countries. Some cultures of countries did not support women working and growing in their career. Male dominance is another concern in some countries which have a prolonged history and have adopted a culture which is reluctant to change. At the same time, countries which don’t have a long history of male dominance tend to have adapted to equal representation, which is an encouraging factor for women to grow immensely in their career.

Tradition and customs of countries differ from each other. There were many restrictions for women due to these customs. However, in modern times some countries have developed with time and do not have much restriction for women working .While in other countries tradition still has a role to play. Hence in many cases women lag behind in their career growth and don’t realize their potential.

Based on the analysis, I conclude that women should learn to balance between their office and family, by accepting their challenges and working with determination and passion towards their goal. Families should support and encourage women, which may help them grow as leaders in their careers. Tradition and culture are good to follow but at the same time making changes in a developing world is also important. It is also important to set higher career goals, which will help in growing as a leader. More encouragement for women in pursuing their higher studies is an important component to become a successful leader.

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Prof Linda Kenney for guiding and supervising me in this project. I would also like to thank the interviewees and administrative staff for their support and encouragement. I would also want to thank Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) and the National University of Singapore (NUS).