Gender and Leadership

Something that has been on my mind lately concerning gender and leadership is how inconsistent it seems. I hear all of the statistics of men making more money than women. Stories of sexual harassment, and off comments toward women. Also I have heard a lot about women not being respected as leaders in the work place, you know the glass ceiling and the good old boys and all that. The funny thing is that for those of us guys who grew up with a mother, we know what kind of power and authority woman have. We love, and respect them as people of great knowledge and skill. Even to this day my mothers opinion holds more sway in my life than any other person (I am not yet married.) So the question I want to address in this post, is how is it that women hold so much sway in our lives out side of work, and then do not seem able to translate that power to gain authority in the work place.

The power shift in the work place I would argue comes from the fact that people have power in context. Power is something that is given by the people over whom the power is held. Usually because those under the authority  are dependent on those in power for something. Hence with your mother, you needed her for the necesities of life and for contiued love and support. However the  power women hold in the work place is diminished as we no longer need them in that role. I understand this is looking at a narrow aspect of one possible role a woman could have in our lives, however I believe it is very common.
Now we have traditionally given the entrepreneurial role to men, or the leadership roles to men, they usually end up on top of organizations. It is not customary for woman to have power in a business context. This is why I think they have not been given the advantage in the business, or leadership world.
On top of this I don't think most women are socialized to become leaders, or at least to embrace leadership rolls. So their idea of what it means to hold authority or power within a leadership role (especially in business) is not the same as another context in which they might find themselves. Hence they enter the world of leadership not equipped with what they would need. I have felt this within my own working experience.
The reason as to why I found the limits on women confounding was that I had not seen any overt or even subtle ill behaviors toward women in the work place. All I have witnessed are women who where not willing to lead. The women I have worked with often shirk the leadership responsibility or pass it on to others.
I am not at all saying that women are not capable, or that they shouldn't be leaders. I just think that more women need to consider themselves leaders, not only in their personal lives, but also in their professional lives. Being a leader is lonely and difficult, and if women want to be leaders, I think now is the time in history when they have the best opportunity.