Women and Power

Men have continued to dominate the workforce in most companies for many years. This is due to the fact that they were viewed as the strongest gender. Women could not be assigned to positions that are too demanding hence they were barred from accessing powerful positions. However this attitude has changed over the years because there are many women who work in very reputable positions that were in the past reserved for men. This paper will focus on the efforts that have been made by women in a bid to achieve power.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Women and Power specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Men owe their power to their masculine bodies and money, whereas women rely on their knowledge to acquire power. According to Muoio (1998), today’s woman has proved men wrong because unlike in the past decades when she was designated to household duties, nowadays she can provide for the whole family without any hurdl es. Women have managed to climb the corporate ladder by seeking more knowledge that has placed them above their male counterparts. Moreover, the strategies employed by men have been rendered powerless by those of women. Sharon Patrick outlines that men have so much pride and thus they cannot dare bow down for the sake of retaining clients lest they loose their ego. Women on the other hand apply their motherly traits in business world and that is why they have been able to influence more clients to join their business circle. She explains that they use their politeness to lure more clients, and as common sense dictates they have more customers on their side because no client would dare go to a rude and arrogant male. These tactics made Sharon to become the president of Martha Stewart Living (Muoio, 2008) Women have been successful in influential positions because they are able to stand on their ground. This implies that they have strong working principles that can never be bent. This tactic has been useful to men because in most organizations men have been undermining them probably due to their low numbers in administrative units. For instance, Linda Chavez-Thomson, an executive vice president at AFL-CIO, was looked down upon by her colleagues because in their minds they had this attitude that women can only be secretaries but then Linda stood on her ground hence they had to assign that role to someone else and in the end a male member had to carry out the task that was meant for Linda.Advertising Looking for essay on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Dashu (2000) argues that women have a very clear vision and in regard to that they are able to plan ahead, unlike their male counterparts who mainly focus on the present events. It is certain that women observed what was taking place in a few decades ago and realized that the only way they could acquire power is through excellence in academics. They were indeed right about this because in today’s world organizations are looking for outstanding talents and women have an upper hand in this because they are able to multitask without creating an imbalance on their tasks at work and their roles back at their homes. Since women are humble, they have been able to establish working relationships with clients unlike men and thus employers have been bringing more women on board because at the end of the day it is the number of sales that one has accomplished that matter. As Mitchell Bernard of Patton Boggs puts it, organizations that underrate the talents and skills possessed by women have been receiving more resignation letters than ever before as the ladies are absorbed by other employers who are able to appreciate their efforts. Such organizations have been lagging behind in performance because they have to keep on recruiting new employees now and then while they would have been saved from that hustle by appreciating the employees that they already have at hand. Women have been quite daring because they have put their careers at risk while trying to get to power. Perhaps what men do not bother to understand is that leadership is usually bestowed to someone who has the skills and personality of leading others. In that case, a leader should be respected regardless of her gender because the tasks and responsibilities that she bears are nothing less to the ones assigned to male leaders. The major hindrance between women and power has been themselves. This is because they are very jealous towards each other and in fact instead of rallying behind their female candidates they have been opposing them. This is lack of confidence and self esteem and this explains why most women have been left to take middle level positions (Anand, 2004). Women have managed to overcome racial discrimination unlike their male counterparts because they are not seen as threats by the whites and in that case they have been allocat ed leadership position. Perhaps those that would discriminate them feel that they can eliminate them any time they wished because their resistance cannot be compared to that of men. In organizational teams that are chaired by men the members are under pressure to achieve the organizational goal because when a man is in charge there are no requests but demands.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Women and Power specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Coakley (2006), women are able to bond with team members and thus they use their persuasive skills such as sweet talking to ensure that the organization’s mission has been accomplished. Men have been regular critics of their female counterparts because they think they were born to rule over women and thus being under the leadership of a woman is like an insult to them. In conclusion, men should not judge a leader by her gender but instead should look at wha t she is able to do because we all have various abilities and skills and that’s what counts. Knowledge is the most appropriate source of power for both men and women because the others come and go. This is because ones you have acquired knowledge you can never loose it because you will keep on advancing it in order to remain more knowledgeable. References Anand, M. (2004). Dalit Women: Fear and Discrimination. Delhi: Gyan Books. Coakley, W.J. (2006).Women, Men, and Spiritual Power: Female Saints and their Male Collaborators, New York: Columbia University Press. Dashu, M. (2000). Women’s Power. Retrieved from http://www.suppressedhistories.net/articles/women_power.html Muoio, A. (1998, January 31). Women and Men, Work and Power. FastCompany. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/33732/women-and-men-work-and-power?page=0%2C0 This essay on Women and Power was written and submitted by user Super-Skrull to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.