The issue of gender equality is getting louder and louder. Now, there are many women who are successful and successful in becoming leaders, whether they lead a country or in the workplace.
Now women are no longer synonymous with the words kitchen, well, and mattress. Women have the power to be what they want and be the best version of themselves, including being a leader. But unfortunately, there are still many assumptions or myths circulating about female leaders.
What are the myths about female leaders that are often heard? Check out the following reviews.
Female Leaders Are Not As Ambitious As Male Leaders
There is an assumption that if a woman becomes a leader, she will not be as ambitious as a male leader. But according to a study involving nearly 10,000 male and female undergraduate business school graduates around the world, women also have the same ambitions as men in a career context. Women also have aspirations to become CEOs or become leaders in the workplace.
But the problems faced by women when dealing with ambition are struggles and sacrifices that must be made. When a woman wants to be ambitious, society often perceives it as a negative thing. They will be labeled arrogant, power hungry, even selfish. It's ironic that success and ambition are positively correlated with men, but not with women. In fact, regardless of gender, everyone has the right to be a leader.
Women Don't Have the Skills to Be Effective Leaders
Another myth is that women do not have the skills to be effective leaders. Launching from Forbes, research shows that women naturally have effective leadership competencies.
This means those competencies, such as developing new leaders, demonstrating communication and social skills, harnessing creativity and innovation, problem solving, demonstrating judgment and team leadership, among others, are naturally available to women leaders.
Women and men actually lead in the same way. However, there are still many stereotypes circulating. Women are considered to have 'taking care' behavior, such as supporting others and giving rewards to subordinates. While male leaders are considered more effective in delegating and solving problems. Based solely on gender, men are perceived as better leaders.
If women act consistent with gender stereotypes, they are seen as too good and weak. If they go against gender stereotypes, they are seen as too tough.
Female Leaders Are More Emotional
Women are often dubbed as emotional individuals. For this reason, many believe that women cannot lead under pressure. The belief that women are more emotional than men is one of the strongest gender stereotypes still entrenched in society.
In fact, research from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences shows that when women are leaders in the workplace, conflict is reduced. This is especially true when the workplace is male-dominated.
This is no reason to doubt the ability of women to become leaders. Because, although they may be more emotional, female leaders are much more empathetic and show a high level of emotional intelligence, which are traits of a good leader. Women's intuition and sensitivity can help create a harmonious work environment and uphold togetherness.