Leadership Management Report: Obstacles to Women Leadership

This report delves into the significant issue of gender discrimination in Australian workplaces, specifically focusing on the obstacles women face in achieving senior management positions. It highlights the persistent challenges of unequal pay, hiring processes, and societal perceptions that hinder women's advancement. The report examines legislative efforts like the Federal Sex Discrimination Act and organizational strategies to promote diversity, such as surveys and diversity initiatives. It assesses both the successes and failures of these approaches, noting that while some progress has been made, significant barriers remain. The report offers recommendations for fostering gender equality, including establishing a supportive organizational culture, implementing clear communication strategies, and advocating for improved government regulations. Finally, it underscores the critical role of leaders in promoting women's rights, ensuring equal opportunities, and driving positive change within the workplace.

Running head: LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT
Obstacles to the women leadership
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Executive Summary
The purpose of the report is to state about an issue where the women are not getting promotion in
the upper level post of any workplaces in Australia. The governments and the organization
themselves have raised concern that despite the more number of women in the office, they are
not getting any changes to represent in the middle and senior level of the management. In this
regard, the report discusses about the leadership of women. Despite belonging to the modern era,
the women are not getting their valuable chances in terms of promotion and they are being
subjected to racial discrimination. Therefore, the company needs to take steps in order to
minimize this discrimination and giving women fair chances in this field.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Defining the issue and importance of the issue...............................................................................3
Issues addressing the problems faced by women in leadership.......................................................4
The success achieved after addressing the issue..............................................................................6
The success not achieved after addressing the issues.....................................................................6
Recommendations to resolve the issues..........................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The purpose of the topic is to discuss about the women’s promotion in the middle and
senior management and the way women are suffering from the critical gender discrimination
while they are presenting them as a leader to the organization (Lonescu, 2012). It is therefore,
important to discuss the issue and the importance of this issue is being taken into consideration in
this topic. Therefore, by taking into account many organizations, it is important to discuss, the
importance of the issue and the steps that are being taken into account regarding making the
improvements of the women in the status of leadership. Further in the topic, it is discussed
whether and how much the issues that are being addressed work and the reasons behind being
women are considered to be dropped out from the promotion level. Recommendations are given
and in what areas, leaders must be aware of to bring changes in this area (Lonescu, 2012).
Defining the issue and importance of the issue
The workplaces in the later half of the 20th century, it is getting populated with the female
workers. However, unlike the male workers, the females are not getting enough promotions in
the post of senior management. The main issues behind this problem can be varied. According to
the survey conducted, it is said that women are not getting promotion at higher level is mainly
due to the unequal pay, gender discrimination and the process of hiring. Therefore, the matter is
of a serious concern in the organizations (Baker, 2014; John, 2013).
Leadership means delegation, inspiring, communication, collaboration respect the
capacity to adapt to change and learn. The personality of the woman tends to be soft, having

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emotions and the women tend to be more of a helper. However, there are examples of women
who can fit the status of being a proper leadership. The growth of competition in today’s modern
society is becoming intense day by day (Baker, 2014). It would become nice to see people and
support from business and nurturing the differences between the people rather than forcing them
to comply. Forcing the people to feel men in the top and women to follow the orders of men.
There are challenges to the women who are in the leadership stage. Other than the gender
discrimination in the workplace, the women also face problems in terms of lack of confidence in
them. Accordingly, the society is also lacking forward to accept woman as a leader in the
workplace environment (Center et al., 2017; Rhode, 2016). Against this background, it is rather
important to analyze what keeps women away from the leadership qualities and this issue should
be considered important in terms of gender equality and checking the characteristics of the
modern century, where the importance of both the gender must be given importance in terms of
their work. Therefore, the obstacles of women in representing the post of senior manager have to
be checked properly with the application of different policies and procedures in the organization
(Center et al., 2017; John, 2013).
Issues addressing the problems faced by women in leadership
Women has increased their level of participation at a professional level, but the
promotion to the post of executive or senior levels has been dropped by a significant level. In
Australia as well also in other countries, the women playing the role of leadership is still
remaining as an important issue with which it can be dealt. Against, this background, attempts
have been made to address the issue properly in terms of a transforming environment of the
business.

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The issues regarding the promotion of women in the status of an executive manager have
been addressed through passing of Federal Sex Discrimination Act in Australia and action based
on affirmation (Cook & Glass, 2014). This discusses about the further promotion of women
without getting into conflict with the status of male and the acts also take care of the equal
opportunity for both men and women in terms of payment and their work (Northhouse, 2015). In
the year 2004, just the working women of Australia over one- third is employed in the
professional and associate level. The enactment of the legislation has made its contribution to a
rhetorical based framework for the full economic and social participation of women in Australia.
In Woolworths, The business community has also addressed this issue or the challenges in
diversity around the barriers who is facing women in management. The company has also
inculcated different diversity strategies in order to respond to the needs to control and maintain
the field dynamics based on the level of playing and the process of promotion, the process of
caring responsibilities in the life of the women (Cook & Glass, 2014; Tuminez, Duell & Majid,
2012). Different organizations in Australia, address the issue of promotion through the
implementation of handling over the survey questions to the women, in order to derive answers
from them about their promotion in their workplace organization. It has been found in West
farmers that out of the survey questions produced, the organization tried to take steps in order to
stop gender discrimination in their workplace (Latu et al., 2013; John, 2013).
A number of business leaders believe that the transparency and meritocracy are being
emphasized at strategy and policy level, a level playing field ambience would render support to
the career of women to the senior positions. The leaders believe that a critical mass of women
would organically occur without intervening, such as quotas and the inculcation of values that
provides support to the diversity is a greater way to move. The individuals or the governments

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have also taken initiatives to bring changes in this particular area, through the setting of the
targets and quotas for women for the positions of middle and senior management.
The success achieved after addressing the issue
With the enactment of the legislation and the steps taken by organization to reduce the
gender discrimination in the level of promotion, it can be stated that, the workforce in the
organization increased the diversity and that also lead to the higher performances. In many
organizations of Australia, the diversity leads to the increase in higher performances (Rosenbach,
Taylor & Youndt, 2012; John, 2013). Companies who are having MSCI world index having a
stronger female leadership has generated a return on equity at 10.1% versus to 7.6% for those
who are not having female leadership.
The success not achieved after addressing the issues
Leadership issue is identified in the professional sectors in the context of women.
However, women are participated at the various professional levels while they are still facing
issues related to their position and promotion in the professional sectors. However, it has been
addressed that as an executive manager women face issues in their professional career (Pfau-
Effinger, 2017). Therefore, many companies have evolved their strategies regarding the women
worker to give them similar opportunity in their working environment. Despite of theses the
women are still facing issues as some strategies of the business organization fail to be succeeded.
However, in Wesfarmers the company takes initiative to mitigate the gender discrimination but
still it has been seen in this organization (Andall, 2017). Hence, the anti-discrimination regarding
the gender discrimination has been failed. The poor provision of the work policies and the
practice resist the organization to get success to implement the actions to resolve the issues

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related to the women in their promotion. Therefore, Australian government failed to take proper
regulation to reserve the right of the women in the working sectors, which affect the process of
providing similar opportunity to the women in their professional career. On the other hand, due
to presence of negative stereotype around the women in their professional sectors also hamper
the process of achieving leadership or senior executive in an organization (Ali et al., 2017).
There is a big gap in the understanding of the organizational culture regarding the working
experience of women. The culture of the organization is not well as a result women are resisted
to get higher position in their professional sector (Pilcher, 2017). Poor arrangement of the
workplace affected the position of the women and some unspoken rules and regulation act as the
hidden barriers in the working practice of the women. However, due such barriers the practices
in the business organization are to give the women similar opportunity is affected and failed
(Mills, 2017).
Recommendations to resolve the issues
 Establishment of the gender equality is the vital practice to give similar opportunity to the
women in the workplace. However, gender discrimination is the main reason that resists
the women to get higher position in the professional sectors. According to Johnson,
(2017), it is important for the organization to reduce the gender discrimination in the
workplace. Therefore, it will be helpful for the women to get promotion in the senior
position in their professional career.
 Development of the proper organizational culture will be beneficial for the women to get
promotion their professional career. However, good working culture will give
opportunity to the women to enhance their career. However, positive working culture
triggers the equality in the working place and reduces inequalities.

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 Establishment of the cultural diversity will be helpful keep the rights of the women
belong from different cultural backgrounds. This cultural diversity will be effective to
enhance the career of the women in the professional sector.
 Managers of the organization should responsible to the female workers. They need to
conduct a meeting and make a clear communication with the female workers. This will
be beneficial for the women in their professional development.
 Government needs to implement rules and regulation regarding the employment of
women. However, in Australia improvement in the employment right act will be
beneficial for the women to get equal benefits and scope in their professional career.
Responsibilities of the leader to bring changes in the women employment
Leader should be aware about the women’s right in the workplace (Karamessini &
Rubery, 2013). However, it is crucial for a leader to protect the right of the women by giving
them similar opportunity like male worker. For this reason, an effective communication is
required. Communication is the core area of the leadership. A leader can communicate with the
vision of change regarding the women employment through effective communication. Hence, in
an organization the leader needs to communicate with the women workers and to understand
their feelings and emotion regarding their position. An effective leadership can resolve issues
related to the women employment thus, effective communication is the major role of a leader to
deliver the changes in an organization (Whatmore, 2016).
The leaders should bring the issues regarding the position of women in an organization to
the hierarchy level. This could be effective for the women to get opportunity for their
professional development. Providing promotion, reward the leader can improve the career of the

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women in an organization. However, leaders act as the media who lead the issues of the
employee to the hierarchy. On the other hand, by collecting feedbacks from the women
employees the leader can understand whether the employee are satisfied or not with their work
(Fagan et al., 2015). Therefore, by developing winning strategy the leaders become champions
by delivering the changes in favor to the women employment in the organization. The leaders
execute the changes in brilliant process. In order to improve the women employment in an
organization leaders play an important role. However, the leaders should be given their concern
about the issues regarding the female workers in the workplace. Apart from this, the leader must
be aware about the issues related to women employment and women’s right. By establishing an
effective communication, the leaders are able to develop the women professionally.
Conclusion
The entire piece of study reveals the issues of the women in professional level. It has
been stated that the women who are representing the workforce are not getting promoted to the
higher level. Against this background, it is important to note down the women must be
empowered and the organization must influence them to take part while representing the senior
management position. Both the country and genders must be aware about their position and the
men must cooperate with the women and the organizational culture to render support to the
female while the latter is rising in their position

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