More women are heading the world’s biggest companies than ever before. However, a research says that as the number of women leaders in companies is increasing, the trust in them is decreasing. The research suggests that women who are breaking through the invisible walls that hinder women in their careers are not faring well.
The ‘Reykjavík Index for Leadership’ is an annual survey conducted by Kantor Public comparing perceptions of the qualifications of men and women in positions of authority. A new index was released this November. The index says that trust in women leaders has dropped significantly over the past year. This is the first time that trust in women has fallen in this index since 2018.
Across the G7 countries, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the US, less than half (47 percent) of those surveyed said they would be ‘very comfortable’ having a woman as the CEO of a large company in their country. Last year there were 54 percent of people who said this, but now it has decreased significantly.
Also men reacted more critically towards women than women. One in 10 respondents clearly said they would not be at all comfortable with a female CEO.
Similar responses were received in the case of women political leaders. In the G7 countries, only 45 percent of those questioned said that they would be ‘very comfortable’ having a woman as the head of government. This figure has now fallen from 52 percent in 2021.
The results of this survey disappointed many people. However, experts and academics on the topic of leadership and gender discrimination are not surprised. They have made different formulations to undermine confidence in women leaders. However, they all say that correcting these differences in beliefs is crucial to eradicating the entrenched discrimination at every level in companies and organizations.
Conventional status quo
Various reasons are cited for the lack of confidence in women CEOs. However.. most of the reasons seem to have some things in common. Some experts argue that systemic anti-feminism and gender bias have been exacerbated by recent political developments and the Covid pandemic.
As women leave the wage labor market and take care of children and other domestic tasks at home during the Covid epidemic, “old stereotypes about the role of women at work and at home have been strengthened,” said Professor Dana Greenberg, who teaches organizational behavior at Babson College in Massachusetts, USA. mentioned. As a result, she says, discrimination against women has become more socially acceptable.
Also, she stated that this development also shows the natural human attitude of giving preference to the familiar in crisis and uncertain situations.
“We may be entering a recession. That is the time we fear. Fear causes us to turn to what we have been taught is traditionally safe and secure. When it comes to leadership, our traditional thinking is that it is safe for men to lead. Therefore, in such uncertain situations, men’s thinking increases over women in key roles,” she explained.
The Kantor Public Survey, which surveyed more than 14,000 people around the world in partnership with the Reykjavík Global Forum Annual Conference and the Women Political Leaders Network, revealed that major global stock market indexes and confidence in women leaders have moved in the same direction over the past few years: S&P 500, FTSE 100 When the shares sold significantly.. the confidence in women leaders also fell.
Experts believe that there may be political reasons for changing attitudes towards women leaders in some countries.
“When there is a national debate about whether or not women should be allowed to take control of their own health care, what do you expect?” commented Michelle Harrison, Global CEO of Cantor Public. She indirectly referred to the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of a previous ruling on women’s rights regarding abortion in America. That is, when a woman’s reproductive rights are openly questioned, a woman’s autonomy in whatever she chooses to do with her life becomes a common topic of discussion.
Greenberg says that even a powerful leader behaving in a certain way. For example, former US President Donald Trump’s comments and behavior towards women during his tenure may have contributed to the generalization of gender discrimination.
This evolution extends to social media trends as well. Violent misogyny online has seen a sharp rise in the last five years, a study shows.
British author and researcher Laura Bates stated in her 2020 book ‘Men Who Hate Women’ that the prevalence of misogynistic or violence-promoting information online has directly led to a sexist culture in everyday life.
