By Selin K.
Everything seems fine: women can vote, work, and have achieved a lot already. But once you take a closer look, you will witness that women are still underprivileged in their professional careers. It starts with being outnumbered - at least in terms of salary and number of female managers. Famous authors have already outlined how also our actions play a role in this. "Female leadership" refers to numerous publications that screen this social dilemma in detail. But once women reach a leading position, the management style is often chalked up against us. Oldfashioned and stereotypical characteristics like emotional intelligence and empathy seem to be contra-productive for a management position. But do women lead differently? Do we subconsciously behave more masculinely in our daily work? Can we lead successfully while fully showing our femininity?
We all do it. We all love it! Arguing about superiors is part of being an employee. Male or female, it doesn't matter; there will always be some clashing about it. However, they say women lead differently, do they? Emotional, yielding, empathetic: These are the most common phrases used to describe how female managers vary from their male counterparts. No wonder there is a significant risk of falling back on clichés or even getting lost in them when answering those questions. According to the bias, women are considered the "softer" managers. Looking closer at this argument, we clearly cannot ignore the stereotypical gender debate. As the outdated gender roles describe, boys are already loud and leading in kindergarten. They demand, tell you what to do, and somehow always get their way. On the other hand, we have lovely girls listening carefully and are only supportive. Those traditional patterns are still rooted in some minds. Even today, women starting their careers get confronted, whether they have a modern understanding of their roles or not.
"...As a woman and a boss, you have to manage your responsibilities and face the challenge of balancing such preconceived ideas and not doubting yourself and your abilities—especially next to male leaders, who are excellent in self-marketing..." Ilayda Karakus from Ilayda Karakus Design
But does this force us to act more masculine in our daily work? And more importantly, can we lead successfully while fully showing our femininity? Or are we hiding our feminine power behind closed doors? Besides all the challenges we have, adapting work environment is beneficial for female leadership. Nowadays, companies could no longer be successful without the potential of highly qualified women. It goes hand in hand with the transformation of work and new methods. Leadership is entirely redefined in Agile Working. Collaboration is a key competence. The supposed basics of traditional gender bias are now swinging in favor of women. By guiding instead of commanding and arranging, female leadership is advantageous for companies. It perfectly fits the framing that female superiors have adequate social and communication skills. They quickly pick up the team's mood and have excellent gut feelings and empathy.
Can we lead successfully while fully showing our femininity?
Yes, we can! The old question of whether ambitious women have to adapt to the male management style to succeed is downsizing. Regardless of gender, we expect leaders to be participative and supportive. Luckily, all the stereotypical characteristics that prevented women from becoming exemplary leaders favor them today. Naturally, being a woman is not enough to lead well. Female leaders also need a dash of dominance, clarity, and decisiveness. Of course, any way of leading can be successful regardless of gender. Some men lead badly, and some women are not suitable as leaders. However, this should never be determined by gender but only by individual behavior and skills.
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