Seminar report

On
Role Of Manager as a Woman
Submitted in the partial fulfillment for the requirement of the
Degree of

Master of Business Administration (Integrated

course)
(2014-2019)

Submitted to
Punjabi University, Patiala

Supervisor
Submitted By
Pairajneer Kaur

MBA[IC] 1st

Dr. Harpreet Singh

Roll
no. 914

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Written words have the tendency to degenerate genuine
gratitude into stilted formality but this is the only way to express
my feelings. I am indebted to all those who supported me in this
learning process and in successful completion of my Seminar
Report. I wish to express my seminar report predication to all those
with whom in interacted and whose thought and insight helped me
in increasing my knowledge and understanding the seminar report.
I also owe my thanks to my teacher Dr. Harpreet Singh for
their kind guidance and unstinted support throughout the training
and even before.

Pairajneer Kaur

DECLARATION
I Sandeep Kaur here by declared that the work which is being presented in
the project report Role Of Woman As a Manager is the Original Work
by me under the supervision of Dr. Harpreet Singh (Assistant Professor) for
fulfillment of the award of degree Master of -Business administration (integrated
course) to the University School Of Business Studies, Guru Kashi Campus,
Talwandi Sabo (Bathinda).

-----------------------------Signature

Contents
1.
Introducti
on
2. Theme
One:
Status of
women in
leadership
positions
globally
2.1.
Count
ry
experi
ences
2.2.
Abilit
y of
wome
n in
leader
ship
positi
ons to
influe
nce
chang
e
2.3.
Instru
ments
and

metho
dologi
es to
measu
re
impac
t
3. Theme
Two:
Factors
that
influence
womens
access to
decisionmaking
positions
views
from
public
administr
ation, the
judiciary
and the
private
sector
3.1.
Repre
sentati
on of
wome
n in
the
public

sector
3.2.
Repre
sentati
on of
wome
n in
the
judici
ary
3.2.
Repre
sentati
on of
wome
n in
the
privat
e
sector
4. Theme
Three:
Factors
that
influence
womens
access to
decisionmaking
positions
views
from
civil

society,
trade
unions,
profession
al
associatio
ns,
academia,
and the
media
4.1.
Repre
sentati
on of
wome
n in
civil
societ
y/
NGOs
4.2.
Repre
sentati
on of
wome
n in
trade
unions
4.3.
Repre
sentati
on of
wome
n in

acade
mia
4.4.
Repre
sentati
on of
wome
n in
the
media
4.5.
Crosscuttin
g
constr
aints
and
barrier
s to
wome
ns
leader
ship
4.6.
Chang
ing
norms
and
challe
nging
the
status
quo
5. Theme

Four:
Wrap up
and other
issues
6.
Conclusio
n
7.
Suggestio
ns
8.
Bibliogra
phy

1.

Introduction
The purpose of the online discussion Women in Leadership Roles was to analyze the status of
women in senior leadership positions in several sectors. The online discussion Women in
leadership roles was sponsored by UNHCR. It was hosted on Womens Watch, the inter-agency
portal on the work of the United Nations on gender equality (www.un.org/womenwatch). The
Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), United Nations Department of Economic and
Social Affairs (DESA), coordinated the discussion from 19 November to 15 December 2007. Ms.
Shaheen Sidi Mohamed, consultant, moderated the discussion and compiled this report.
This report provides an overview of the discussion, with some illustrative examples of
contributions. It does not aim to give comprehensive coverage of all inputs received. All postings
can be viewed at: http://esaconf.un.org/WB/?boardID=leadership. The inputs from this online
discussion will serve as a resource for the work of the Commission on the Status of Women in
developing concrete recommendations on this topic.
Over the past three decades, the international community has made numerous commitments to
promoting gender equality and eliminating discrimination against women, including through the
Conve ntion on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), and the Millennium Summit (2000). In the 2005
World Summit, Member States reaffirmed the Platform for Action and the outcome of the twentythird special session of the General Assembly as an essential contribution to achieving the
internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium
Declaration.
The Beijing Platform for Action considered the inequality between men and women in the sharing
of power and decision- making at all levels as one of the critical areas of concern for the
empowerment of women. It stated Women's equal participation in decision- making is not only a
demand for simple justice or democracy but can also be seen as a necessary condition for women's
interests to be taken into account. Without the active participation of women and the incorporation
of women's perspective at all levels of decision- making, the goals of equality, development and
peace cannot be achieved.

As a result of these commitments, governments were expected to implement policies and

programmes which would advance gender equality, including in leadership positions, giving
women full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision- making. The
commitments and goals pertaining to gender equality in decision- making at the political and other
levels have not yet been achieved. In both developing and developed countries, women continue to
be under-represented in decision- making and leadership in several areas. The consequence of this
gender gap is that women do not participate fully in decisions that shape their lives; and
communities and countries are not capitalizing on the full potential of one half of their societies.
The 2006 Commission on the Status of Women underscored the importance of incorporating
womens leadership in a wide range of decision-making positions. The Commissions agreed

conclusions on equal participation of women and men in decision- making processes at all levels
expressed concern about the lack, at the local, national, regional and international levels, of
sufficient information and data disaggregated by sex on the participation of women and men in
decision- making processes in all areas, including the economy, the public and private sectors, the
judiciary, international affairs, academia, trade unions, the media, non- governmental organizations
3

and others; and called on the relevant entities of the United Nations system, other international
and regional organizations, including the international financial institutions, national parliaments,
political parties, civil society, including the private sector, trade unions, academia, the media, nongovernmental organizations and other actors

to take a series of actions to improve the

participation of women in decision- making.

The online discussion covered the following themes during a four-week period:
Week 1: Overview of the current situation and impact of women leaders in different areas (public
administration, judiciary, private sector, academia, media and civil society, including trade unions
and professional associations).
Week 2: Constraints and strategies: public administration, including the judiciary, and the private
sector.
Week 3: Constraints and strategies: civil society, including trade unions and professional
associations, the media and academia.
Week 4: Wrap up and other issues.
The Division for the Advancement of Women invited interested individuals and groups to
participate in the online discussion. The total number of registrations was 1236 (93 per cent women
and 7 per cent men) from 81 countries. Registrants came from Africa (30 per cent), Asia and the
Pacific (21 per cent), North America (20 per cent), and Europe (19 per cent). The majority of
registrants represented NGOs (40 per cent), followed by academia (15 per cent), United Nations (8
per cent), government (8 per cent), and the private sector (7 per cent).
During the discussion, a total of 323 messages were posted. 150 individuals contributed to the
discussion with at least one posting (89 percent women and 11 percent men) from 44 countries.
Contributors came from Africa (41 percent), Asia and the Pacific (27 percent), Europe (13 percent)

and North America (11 percent). They were affiliated with the NGO sector (44 percent), followed
by academia (19 per cent), government (9 percent), United Nations (7 percent) and the private
sector (6 percent).
More specific statistics displaying the geographical distribution of all the registrants and discussion
members (who contributed messages), their organizational backgrounds, geographic distribution,
and countries of origin, can be found in Annexes 1 and 2.

2. Theme One: Status of women in leadership positions globally

1. While there is a considerable amount of information available on women in political

leadership positions, much less is known about the representation of women as decisionmakers in other public and private sector institutions. This online discussion sought to gain an
overview of women in leadership positions in different domains and countries; understand the
factors that hinder and facilitate the role of women in leadership at the national and regional
levels; share good practices and strategies for promoting women in leadership ; and discuss
what is being done at the country level to measure womens impact in leadership positions.
Summary of discussion
2. The first topic of discussion was entitled Overview of the current situation and impact of
women leaders in public administration, the judiciary, private sector, academia, media and civil
society, including trade unions and professional associations.
3. The Moderator began the week with a series of questions to solicit participants views on
country experiences concerning women in leadership positions in various sectors, including:

Issues of access or constraints women face to participate in decision-making bodies.

Ability of women in leadership positions to influence change.

Instruments and methodologies used to measure impact.

2.2.

Country experiences

4. Participants contributions indicated slow change. In many countries women are participating
in areas of public life where they were not previously visible. Women are slowly but
increasingly occupying senior positions in the public and private sectors, including the
judiciary, the academia and the media. There was less evidence in the discussion of women in
leadership roles in trade unions, professional associations, and non-traditional areas. Men are
still overwhelmingly the decision- makers as senior executives and board members of

corporations, public sector officials, judges and law- makers, media executives, negotiators in
trade unions, and leaders of civil society organizations and may not have womens issues as
their primary concern. Participants frequently highlighted the gains that have been achieved
including in the political arena, with women heads of state or government in a few countries.
5. Participants shared country case studies from Argentina, Australia, Cameroon, India, South
Africa, Suriname and Syria, illustrating improvements in the representation of women at the
highest levels of leadership as a result of government policy. Some examples of contributions
indicating overall improvement in womens representation as leaders include:
Victoria Kenny from Argentina noted that while women are still underrepresented in Latin
America in most sectors, there is a cultural shift that is slowly taking place, allowing a
window of opportunity [for wo men] to move into leadership positions.

Phelele Tengeni from South Africa noted how the government has laid a solid foundation
in terms of policy, putting the public service firmly on the route of transformation. Non-

sexism is one of the fundamental tenets that are enshrined in the South African
Constitution. The results to date have been positive. She noted that in 1995 the equity
target was 30 percent representation of women in management positions. In October 2006
many government departments achieved the minimum quota, with records as high as 40
percent women in managerial positions.

Chitra Mohanlal, a participant contributing from the National Bureau for Gender Policy,
Suriname, reported that 25 per cent of the parliament consists of women representatives.
There are three female ministers [heading] the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of
Labor, Technological Development and Environment and the Ministry of Transport,
Communications and Tourism. There are also three female ambassadors. In primary and
secondary schools there are also a number of women directors. The Institute for Women
Development and Gender Studies at the University is run by a woman. In the judiciary
there is one female judge and seven others are being trained to become jud ges. NGOs are
being led by women and they are organizing activities to empower women and achieve
gender equality. There is a lack of data and statistics on the number of men and women in
leadership roles in the private sector. In the private sector, on the board of the Cooperative
BankGODOthere are three female members, while the director is also a woman. The
general editor of a popular newspaper and the director of a radio station is also a woman.

6. Others noted that, despite positive gains by a few ind ividual women in the country, the
majority of women continue to face significant social and economic barriers to assuming
leadership roles, with specific mention of Guinea, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
Challenges to women participating more fully as decision-makers include inequalities in
education, health and employment, discrimination, the feminization of poverty, the urban-rural
divide, as well as the effects of armed conflict, trade liberalization and HIV/AIDSall of
which affect women disproportionately.
7. Countries facing socio-political and economic upheavals have additional challenges in
ensuring that women are represented as leaders. Seyhan Aydnlgil from Turkey pointed out
that in an environment of rising conservatism, there may be backsliding in hard-won
advancements made towards gender equality. She believes women in senior decision- making
positions, as well as lower ranking positions within traditional and non-traditional sectors of
employment, risk losing their positions. Similarly, participants from other countries felt that

previously gained achievements were being reversedas a result of, inter alia, armed conflict
in Iraq, economic conditions in Bangladesh, and the transition process in Poland.
2.2. Ability of women in leadership positions to influence change
8. Several participants commented on whether having women in positions of leadership improved
the gender responsiveness of policies and programmes. A few participants reported instances
where women with decision- making authority succeeded in introducing changes to improve
the lives of many women. For example, Margaret Rukuni of the Zimbabwe Open University,
noted that the country has finally passed a Domestic Violence Act, primarily because our
Minister of Women's Affairs is a female with passion for alleviating women from poverty,
ignorance and repression.

9. Similarly, Margaret Mburu of the Tabasco Community Network and the Engendering Peace
Process Initiative in Kenya shared the example of how women leaders, supported by a woman
parliamentarian, were able to get a 15 per cent reduction on tax levied on sanitary napkins. This
was a significant achievement of benefit to the millions of women in the country who rely on
these products.
10. On the other hand, participants from both deve loping and industrialized countries, including
South Africa, Ethiopia, Philippines and Canada, indicated that having more women in positions
of power does not necessarily result in women- friendly social, economic and political
systems that are responsive to womens concerns. For instance, Lourdes de la Torre of Cagayan
de Oro College, Phinma Education Network, Philippines, noted that although in academia
women dominate as teachers and administrators, they cannot assert their opposition to genderbiased admission policies that are discriminatory. An example of such a policy is that a student
will not be allowed to enroll if she is pregnant and unmarried. This sentiment was echoed by
participants from Pakistan and Bangladesh who felt that womens leadership, even as Heads of
State in their countries, did not automatically translate into improvements in the status of
womens lives.
11. In addition, a few participants noted that women in positions of power often do not have
control over large budgets. This limits their influence and the resources they can allocate to
gender equality. Lourdes de la Torre from the Philippines pointed out that In the local
government units, some women were chosen as chief executive while most women elected for
public service are in the legislative branch of government. However, most often their initiatives
to provide better opportunities to women to be productive economically are hampered by their
men counterparts in the council. Budget allocations that [women] proposed were blocked and
did not get approval. She added that, The Women in Development and Nation-building Act
provides that all national agencies of government should allocate 5 per cent of their annual
budget for women and development. Yet, many government agencies ignored this law and
nothing is done against any agency that does not follow the law. This prevents women to have
full access to resources that should have been allocated by the different government entities.
12. Moses Emanuel from Tanzania reiterated that improved policy- making to address womens
concerns cannot only result from appointing women in leadership positions, but requires wider
gender sensitization. He said, I believe Tanzania is among the leading African countries in

promoting gender equality and giving women leadership opportunities... However, improved
policy making and gender sensitization cannot easily be measured by having a woman leader in
a ministry, agency or department, and if this is the case, I do not think it is sustainable. I think
gender sensitivity is a culture that we are breeding, and although in a disoriented manner, it is
slowly being reflected. We still need to do a lot in different socio-cultural, economic, political,
public and private institutions to nurture positive gender sensitivity.
13. In the same vein, several participants concurred with Ceta Ramkhalwasnsingh from Canada
who outlined a holistic approach for countering gender inequality. She stated that even though
in Canada there is a robust public policy framework and legislation, as well as an increasing
presence of women in leadership roles in numerous sectors, there is not yet practical equality
between men and women. She added that, Violence against women, child poverty,
inadequate access to affordable housing, limited availability of childcare, high levels of
illiteracy and the presence of a significant gender wage gap continue to be significant barriers

to equality. Hence, women's presence in leadership positions will not by itself result in
equitable outcomes for wo men, but is a necessary aspect of change strategies. She further
stressed that achieving gender equality hinges on several factors including (a) the existence of
a critical mass of women and men who are committed to this goal, (b) the availability of
resources applied to reaching the goal, (c) the extent to which the policies and programmes
apply inter-sectorally and take into account the multiple dimensions of gender (such as class,
race, disability, or sexual orientation), and (d) the commitment to measure and evaluate
outcomes.

2.3.Instruments and methodologies to measure impact

14. While participants stressed the importance of measurement and impact assessment of women
in leadership positions, their responses reflected the paucity of data available on women in
leadership positions beyond the political arena.
15. Leontina dos Muchangos from Mozambique shared information on the African Gender
Development Index, developed by the Economic Commission of Africa, to assess the gender
gap in African countries and measure progress in eliminating this gap. The tool is based on a
holistic understanding of the concepts of gender equality and womens empowerment,
incorporating the full range of concerns which confront women, including physical, sociocultural, religious, legal, political and economic issues. (For further information, see
http://www.uneca.org/eca_programmes/acgd/default.htm).
16. Meaza Ashenfi from Ethiopia noted the importance of capturing performa nce data in different
areas of public representation, highlighting the fact that achievements in womens
representation are unequal across different areas. For instance, she noted that in a study of 12
countries using the African Gender Development Index Egypt is one of the lowest performers
with respect to women in parliament. Yet, it has done very well in women's representation in
decision- making positions within the civil service. The same is true in the case of Ethiopia.
17. Jennifer Park, contributing on behalf of Women in International Security based in the US,
presented the concept of a report card as a tool to measure womens representation in
international security-related positions. Women in International Security (WIIS), a global
membership organization dedicated to increasing the influence of women in international peace

and security fields, is currently undertaking a research project on women's leadership in key
decision- making roles in international peace and security-related sectors. For the first
production of this study, WIIS will be focusing on the US Government (State Department,
Defense, Energy, and USAID) military, academia, think-tank, and private sector corporations
(defense contractors and consulting firms). We aim to publish a report with recommendations
and lessons learned in the course of a year for each of the related sectors. We hope that there
will be cross-cutting solutions that will benefit the wider international audience. (For more
information see: http://wiis.georgetown.edu). Similar benchmarking tools can be effectively
used to rank institutions and countries on their performance in promoting womens leadership.
Such high- visibility instruments often serve as incentives for parties to become lead
performers.
18. Commenting on the importance of impact measurement, Phelele Tengeni from South Africa
reminded participants that while equality in numbers might be a noble goal, ultimately it was

the impact of womens leadership that counted. She commented that, We must continue to
strive towards making ourselves as women count, beyond the politically correct statistics. We
need to evaluate outcomes, and measure what the impact has been, of having women in
leadership positions. She raised the following pertinent questions: Has it been business as
usual in the sense of women behaving exactly the same way as men where they control budgets
or are we seeing different choices, such as channeling more resources with greater urgency to
challenges of poverty, HIV/AIDS, women and child-headed families? Are we seeing
campaigns reflecting womens outlook? Research is needed to test the question of outcomes.
19. Participants responses reflected the fact that much more needs to be done by countries to track
the participation and impact of women in leadership positions outside the political realm. With
rigorous measurement and reporting procedures countries can be held accountable to their
commitments to achieve gender equality. In addition, improved collection and analysis of sexdisaggregated data can provide policy makers with data on the areas that require greatest
attention for designing gender equality initiatives.

3. Theme Two: Factors that influence womens access to decision-making

positionsviews from public administration, the judiciary and the private
sector
20. In many countries women are under-represented at decision-making levels in most areas of
public administration. Women and men have different priorities for developing policies and
laws because of their different gender roles in the household and community, their occupations
in labor markets and their access to key resources, such as capital, property and credit.
Womens leadership in the public sector, including the judiciary, is critical for increasing the
capacity of public institutions to create policies and laws that respond to the different situations
and needs of women.
21. Strategic, forward- looking private sector firms recognize the importance of including women
at senior levels of management to improve their competitiveness. Women managers at the
highest levels continue, however, to have a meager share of corporate board and other
executive positions around the world.
22. Despite the odds against them, statistics show that since the Fourth World Conference on
Women in 1995, women are slowly making inroads into male-dominated areas, particularly in

political life. In 1995, women represented 11.3 per cent of all legislators in national
parliaments. As of January 2008, they represented 17.9 per cent, the highest percentage in
history (http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm), illustrating the very slow and uneven progress
in womens political participation.

Summary of discussion
23. The discussion sought insights into the status of women leaders in executive position in the
public sector, the judiciary and the private sector. It also solicited participants input on the
different constraints women face in these positions. The week began with the moderator
seeking participants views on:

Representation of women in senior leadership positions in public administration, including

the judiciary, and the private sector.

Institutional and individual factors that constrain and facilitate womens access to decisionmaking positions.

Mechanisms and good practices that promote womens role in decision-making.

24. The discussion did not generate sector-specific statistical information on the representation of
women leaders and the factors that influence their presence or absence from the public and
private sectors. This lack of data by sector may be the result of a lack of available data on
womens representation in these areas. However, participants highlighted several cross-cutting
issues and suggested strategies and mechanisms to promote women in decision- making
positions across the public sector, the judiciary and the private sector.

3.1. Representation of women in the public sector

25. Participants provided examples of womens representation in the public sector:

Dianne Lockwood from Australia noted that, as a result of government policy, women
make up 35 per cent of senior executive positions in the public service and hold 34.3 per
cent of all seats on government-controlled boards and bodies.

Leontina dos Muchangos from Mozambique observed the increasing visibility of women in
the public sector, and their importance as role models for other women, particularly in the
rural areas. She noted, Gradually, Mozambique is having more women in senior
leadership positions. At the beginning it was more at the national level but [now
increasingly at other levels] there was a significant number of new [appointees in]
district administration. Public enterprises are also witnessing appointments of women as
board members of important companies.

26. Public sector institutions are important, both because of the large numbers of people they
employ and because their actions influence equality of employment opportunities. Bahar
Salimova of the International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics highlighted the
important role that the public sector can have by leading through example. She stated, It is

important that the public sector becomes a role- model in ensuring equality of employment
opportunities in public offices, i.e., the judiciary, public administration, law-enforcement, etc.
It is critical to explain to the heads of public agencies the benefits of gender parity in the
workforce and the importance of promoting women to decision-making positions. Once the
public sector is committed to hiring women and promoting them to decision- making and
leadership positions, the private sector will have to follow the example to preserve
competitiveness.

Constraints identified in the public sector

27. Participants from several countries identified constraints in the public sector, including:

Aspiring women may not have the level of education necessary for entry-level leadership
positions in the public sector. Where women have been able to access positions of
leadership, participants felt that women leaders needed to be supported with skills and
capacity-building to perform effectively as policy- makers. On this point, Museme Munira
Issa from southern Sudan stated, "In the government, two ministriesthe Ministry of
Public Service and the Ministry of Gender and Social Welfareare headed by women.
Three commissionsthe Commission of Human Rights, the Anti Corruption Commission
and the Employees Justice Chambersare chaired by women, and the other commissions
are highly representative of women in high level positions. However, the biggest challenge
is that not all the women are highly educated and have their capacity well built. This thus
brings in the question that given the leadership roles held, will the women holding these
positions be influential enough to change policies that will be beneficial to all and have a
relevant voice?"

Another constraint raised included the problem of corruption within the public sector. For
example, Tosin Olumayowa Onabanjo from Nigeria noted that the level of corruption in
the country is another constraint as people lobby their way into leadership positions. These
positions are male-dominated, making it difficult for women to thrive or access . Shola
Oshodi-John from Nigeria noted that the last ten years have witnessed the rise of more
women leaders in different areas, especially in the private sector, media, civil society,
among others. These women leaders have not only been able to hold their own among the
male folks but have superseded their achievements in a number of areas. Unfortunately,

there has not been a commensurate increase in womens participation at the leadership level
in the political and public sector, owing to patriarchy and male dominance.

Ferdous Ara Begum of Bangladesh, a Member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of

Discrimination against Women, observed that although two women were elected Prime
Ministers and were in power for more than a decade, the country has not yet been able to
achieve even 10 per cent of women's leadership positions in the public sector. She added,
There is a glass ceiling of cultural and social realization that bars women to achieve
gender equality.

Strategies and good practices in the public sector

28. The discussion did not generate input on good practices for promoting women leaders in the
public sector. However, research from the European Union and New Zealand, shared by the
moderator during the discussion, provided good practices, which may be emulated by other
countries:

The European Union maintains a database of the highest ranking women and men civil
servants in their Member States. This database provides easily accessible information on
the status of women in leadership positions and tracks progress towards improved
representation. Databases as this one would also be useful in identifying potential women
candidates

for

other

leadership

positions.

(See:

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/women_men_stats/out/measures_out55_en.htm)

Another good practice is New Zealands establishment of a database and nomination

service. The government of New Zealands target for 2010 is to have equal representation
of women and men in the members of government statutory bodies. To achieve this, the
Ministry of Womens Affairs has established the Nominations Service, a unit with three

staff and a budget, which focuses on identifying women with appropriate experience and
ensuring these women are known to decision- makers. A stock-taking in 2004 showed that
significant progress had been made: 41 per cent of the directors and committee members
were women (of 397 statutory bodies with a total of 2,605 members), compared to about 25
per cent in 1993. However, there continued to be differences among sectors, with higher
representation of women in social development, health and related fields, and lower
numbers in sectors, such as agriculture, economic development and transport. The
government has developed "a rigorous recruitment agency competency matching
approach," providing the links between the names of women with relevant skills and
experience and the available positions in the public sector. (For further information see:
www.mwa.go vt.nz/women-on-boards).

3.2.Representation of women in the judiciary

29. Representation of women in the judiciary is critical for promoting greater equality, improving
the status of women and ensuring a more gender-sensitive administration of justice. The forum
did not receive specific data on the numbers of women in the judiciary but anecdotal responses
indicated that the number of women judges may have increased over the years. In a positive
example, Mallica Vajrathon from Thailand observed that the country is making good use of
more than 30 per cent of women as judges to further gender-specific interests. She noted
There is no doubt in my mind of the effectiveness of these female judges in bringing justice to
children, women and men in the community. The positive results may be due to the fact that
there is a critical mass of women judges who can effect change within the legal system.

Constraints identified in the judiciary

30. A few constraints participants articulated were:

Museme Munira Issa from Sudan reported, The judiciary gives appointments according to
the year of bar school completion. Yet many women affected by historical factors and the
conflict in Sudan, completed their studies at later stages. This means that women occupy
the lower posts rather than the senior ones.

In India, female lawyers face many barriers in establishing their practices and are often not
taken seriously by the legal establishment, the public and the government. Hengasara

Hakkina Sangha from India, explains that some of the barriers lie within institutions
themselves, in their spirit, structure and functioning. There is so much bias in the system
against [women lawyers] that it makes it much harder for them to establish practice when
compared to their male counterparts. Senior advocates don't entrust [junior advocates in
their learning stages] with challenging cases like criminal cases. They feel that women can't
handle such cases which involve working with police and other investigating officers,
meeting clients over a drink in the evening, etc. They are always involved in drafting and
filing petitions, taking dates for the next hearing. Even after 10 to 15 years of practice many
women advocates would not have conducted even a single argument or mediation.

Financial and time resources were also cited as major constraints. Hengasara Hakkina
Sangha noted that Holding offices in bar associations is a difficult task as winning these
elections requires significant money and time and that even with phenomenal leadership
qualities women who do not have these resources cannot participate to the fullest extent.

Strategies and good practices in the judiciary

31. During the discussion, participants did not provide examples of specific strategies for
increasing women in senior positions in the judiciary. The experience of Canada, shared by the
moderator during the discussion, offers a good practice to increase representation of women
judges. Canada currently uses a system in which individuals interested in an appointment are
required to submit an application. The application is reviewed by committees composed of
judges, lawyers and citizens. The committees determine whether the candidates are qualified
before the names enter a pool for possible appointments. In this way, many women who might
otherwise

have

gone

unnoticed

are

brought

into

the

system.

(Source:

www.iawj.org/what/sydney.asp)

3.3. Representation of women in the private sector

32. Across the world, very few women lead large companies or corporations, including
multinational and transnational corporations and banks. In the United States, research shows
that despite years of progress by women in the workforce (they now occupy more than 40 per
cent of all managerial positions in the United States), within the [group of chief executives]
they remain as rare as hens teeth. Consider the most highly paid executives of Fortune 500

companiesthose with titles such as chairman, president, chief executive officer and chief
operating officer. Of this group, only 6 per cent are women. Most notably, only two per cent of
the CEOs are women, and only 15 per cent of the seats on the boards of directors are held by
women. The situation is not much different in other industrialized countries. In the 50 largest
publicly traded corporations in each nation of the European Union, women make up, on
average, 11 per cent of the top executives and 4 per cent of the CEOs and heads of boards. Just
5

seven companies or one per cent of Fortune magazines Global 500 have female CEOs.

33. The online discussion did not generate many concrete statistics--again, perhaps a reflection of
the dearth of data available in many countries on women executives. However, participants did
note anecdotally that in some countries, women were increasing in the ranks of management
positions particularly in the financial sector in countries in Asia. For instance, Mallica
Vajrathon from Thailand noted, In the Asia and Pacific region, there are more and more
women in leadership positions in the public and private sectors. There are large numbers of
women heading important divisions in Commercial Banks and Central Banks in China,
Singapore, and Thailand. The head of the Central Bank of Thailand at the moment is a
competent woman widely accepted by the people in the country for having good judgment and
years of experience in the financial world. Similarly, Mercia Selva Malar from India noted
that women executives are increasingly found in the private sector. Corporations performing
excellently also are beneficiaries of effective women at the helm of affairs. India's ICICI
Bank is the best example for women power as decision- makers. Indian business women and
women entrepreneurs speak of the capability of women as effective decision- makers.

34. The discussion around the private sector triggered dialogue around womens self employment
and the increasing number of self-employed women entrepreneurs. Victoria Kenney from
Argentina commented, Even when trade unions and other sectors do not show signs of women
leaders, women are moving into the private sector at a rapid pace, especially towards their own
initiatives. I believe that a glass ceiling, [non-enforcement of] anti-discrimination regulations
and lack of flexibility in the workforce are encouraging women [to move] into
entrepreneurship.
35. Highlighting the growing trend of women-owned businesses, Ninette Trifiletti from Australia
noted that 30 per cent of the countrys small businesses are owned or operated by women.
Participants underscored the importance of supporting women to gain more knowledge of
markets and improve the performance of their businesses. Creating business-enabling
environments for women entrepreneurs was also seen as an important strategy for improving
womens opportunity for economic growth and employment. Others saw womens
entrepreneurship at the helm of their own businesses as an avenue for honing management
skills that could be parlayed into leadership positions in the private sector.
36. Supporting womens private sector participation was also seen as an important strategy for
women affected by conflict. Dr. Nada Hakki, Director of HME AID+ Hope Medical
Enterprises of Iraq, advocated support for small factories that were principally dependent on
women skills as a way to achieve sustainable economic power for women in Iraq where
women are 55 per cent of the population, to promote womens leadership and achieve gender
equality and true womens empowerment.

Constraints identified in the private sector

37. Stressing the importance of access to financial resources, Nite Tanzarn from Uganda noted, In
order to have clout in the [private] sector, you need to be engaged in an enterprise with a
substantial capital outlay.
38. Constraints identified by participants included:

Lack of financial and managerial skills necessary for top-tier management positions in

private sector;

The existence of a glass-ceiling which prevents women from accessing higher echelon
positions; and

Lack of access to credit.

Strategies and good practices in the private sector

39. The discussion did not generate any example of good practices from the private sector.
However, research shared by the moderator during the discussion shows a forward- looking
example from Norway. In a sweeping move, Norway passed legislation in February 2002 that
requires state-owned companies to have at least 40 per cent representation of each sex on their
boards by March 2003. The private sector was put on notice that it was expected to meet
similar targets, and was given two years to demonstrate compliance. By July 2005, only 68 of
519 companies had fulfilled the requirements; while the percentage of women on boards had
increased to 16 per cent, this was still far from the 40 per cent target. New legislation targeting
40. This weeks discussion sought to assess womens access to decision-making in civil society,
trade unions, professional associations, academia and the media. The discussion also sought to
identify constraints and facilitating factors for women in leadership positions in these sectors,
including what countries and institutions are doing to attract and retain women in leadership
positions.

Summary of discussion
41. The moderator began the week with a series of questions on womens leadership in civil
society, trade unions, professional associations, academia and the media. The discussion
provided a global overview of the domains being explored, as follows:

Civil society: There is a broad recognition of the important roles women play in NGOs,
particularly in NGOs that focus on women-related issues.

Trade unions : These bodies continue to be male dominated; however, women are slowly
making inroads as leaders of trade unionsprimarily in industrialized countries.

Academia: In countries where the share of women in tertiary education is high or even
higher than men's, women are still largely underrepresented in full tenure and decisionmaking positions.

Media: The growing number of women in the media/communications sector has not been
reflected in their access to decision- making positions.

4.1.Representation of women in civil society / NGOs

42. Womens leadership in womens organizations is already well recognized both at the national
and local level. Typically, women face fewer restrictions in access to leadership positions in
NGOs dealing with women, children and family issues. These civil society organizations play a
fundamental role in increasing awareness of womens legal rights, and other issues that affect
women, such as conflict, globalization, information technology, the environment, education
and health care. Stressing the importance of women leaders in NGOs, Naba Hamid from Iraq
noted The role of government is very weak in advancement of women. To a large extent the
presence of women in leadership positions in NGOs is visible whe re they serve as role models
for other women. These women leaders advocate for their rights and encourage women not to
be passive, but to take actions and stand for their rights.
43. Abiodun Baiyewu from Nigeria observed that although women tend to be involved in NGOs
with womens concerns, it does not mean they are in decision- making positions. She remarked,
Because [women] are more inclined to social advocacy, they may be found in civil society
organizations, which affect their needs, such as human rights, HIV and micro-finance. She
further noted that in spite of playing an active role in these organizations, they rarely take up
leadership positions.
44. Participants responses did not indicate the extent to which women leaders were found in large
numbers in NGOs that do not specifically deal with womens issues. This may indicate that
women in some countries are still segregated to certain occupations in this sector.

Constraints identified in civil society / NGOs

45. Margaret Mburu, commenting from the Engendering Peace Process Initiative, Kenya, noted
that gender role stereotyping and violence continue to be issues that prevent women from
embracing leadership positions in the NGO sector. She stated, The society still views women
in leadership positions as those whose role in the family has failed. Election violence and
rejection by the community members regarding women holding positions either in the NGO
sector or in political affairs contributes to a great extent to slowed development.

Strategies and good practices in civil society/NGOs

46. Nurgul Djanaeva of Kyrgyzstan shared the example of the Forum of Womens NGOs of
Kyrgyzstan in capacity building for womens leadership. Women's NGOs in Central Asia face
specific barriers partly due to the tense relationship between the government and the nongovernmental sector. Capacity building is essential in order to help the many nascent women's
NGOs grow into mature and competent organizations capable of entering into dialogue and
partnership with the government and the private sector. An important aspect is to build
partnerships and information sharing among women's NGOs so that they can more effectively
perform the functions of lobbying and advocacy groups. Recognizing such limitations, the
Forum of Women's NGOs of Kyrgyzstan was established in 1995 to act as an umbrella
organization to consolidate and strengthen women's NGOs in order to further gender equality,
women's empowerment, and women's participation in public life. The forum works toward
these goals through activities designed to build the organizational capacity of women's NGOs
and to enhance their levels of active networking and information sharing. (Source:
http://www.adb.org/gender/working/kgz002.asp).

4.2.Representation of women in trade unions

47. Trade unions wield considerable power as they determine the terms of labour conditions with
employers. With women increasingly participating in the formal labour force, incorporation of
womens perspectives in trade unions is important to ensure that their interests are represented
48. in labour markets. Participants responses indicated that for the most part, women are
invisible as leaders in trade unions. Abiodun Baiyewu from Nigeria noted that while
progress has been made in womens representation in several areas of public life, in
particular, their participation in trade unions still leaves much to be desired.

Constraints identified in trade unions

49. Participants responses indicated that trade unions continue to be viewed as bastions of male
dominance. In some countries, such as Nigeria, this is exacerbated by the fact that unions are
associated with conflict and violent actions. These factors probably make trade union
leadership unattractive as a career option for women.

Strategies and good practices in trade unions

50. Kizitos Okisai from Kenya noted that trade unions have done a great job at advocating for
gender parity but more needs be done and women should be in the lead together with other
interest groups to realize more equitable representation of women in the various walks of life,
including universities.
4.3.Representation of women in academia
51. Participants responses indicated that women were making inroads as faculty members and
within the administration in academia, in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Their
numbers are lower, however, in the higher ranking decision-making roles such as chancellors,
presidents, deans, and heads of departments at colleges and universities. For example, Kizitos
Okisai from Kenya stated, It is incredible that Kenya is one of the few countries in Africa with
a female Vice Chancellor in one of its public universities.
52. Hortense Atta Diallo of the Universit Abobo-Adjame in Cte d'Ivoirecurrently Counselor to
the President of the Universityremarked, The situation in Cte d'Ivoire is not much
different from that of most countries. The number of women who have reached full
professorship can be counted with great ease. There is none in my institution at the moment
there are no women vice-dean or above. Neeti Mahanti, from India, however noted that
women are increasingly visible in the ranks of decision- makers in institutions of higher
learning in her country.

Constraints identified in academia

53. Constraints identified by participants included:

Noha Bhairy from Sudan raised the issue of forces that keep women at the bottom of the
hierarchy in the academia. She stated, "Although a lot of women have high qualifications
[the institutions] prefer to select men in higher positions, so you can hardly find a woman
becoming a dean for any faculty, and if she [did become dean] they would not let her work
in peace." This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the sticky floor syndrome, does
not allow women to move upwards in their careers.

Echoing this, Hortense Atta Diallo from Cte dIvoire noted, Women in academia do not
climb up the ladder as fast as our male colleagues. Most of the time we do not climb at all.
She enumerated several constraints which prevent women from rising in their academic
careers: Our male colleagues can take all the opportunities they get to get promoted and
we, on the other hand, have to make choices: My family or my career? We cannot leave
the country, go to conferences as much as we would like to because of family obligations.
The same goes for some fellowship opportunities and professional meetings; there is no
child care in our institutions. Therefore we have to go home early. We all know that it takes
time and concentration to write a paper if we assume that you had the time and the means
to conduct your research. These are just a few examples.

Strategies and good practices in academia

54. Hortense Atta Diallo from Cte dIvoire proposed a strategy to promote womens upward
mobility in academia by creating a conducive environment for women to enable them to get to
the top. This could be done through capacity building, adequate scholarships, and installing
quota systems, mentoring, networking, setting up child care systems and creating information
systems for job opportunities.
4.4.Representation of women in the media
55. Several participants mentioned the importance of the media in counteracting gender
stereotypes and creating more positive female role models. Even though the numbers of
women in the industry are increasing, participants comments from several countries indicated
the difficulties women have in breaking into the top-tier positions in media outlets. Dr. Mercia
from India noted, Media is seeing a lot of women leaders in India. Among the [most] highly
paid CEOs of India are two women media CEOs. There are women directors and CEOs in the
media sector in India. Some of the [most] powerful women of India are in the media sector.

Strategies for good practices in media

56. Strategies for good practices in the media identified by participants, included:

Assitan Coulibaly from Mali indicated that some magazines are written by women and
[there are] radio stations with women directors but it remains less than what it should be.
Of course this low representation cannot bring a leadership position. There is however a
good practice in place to improve gender equality in the industry. She noted, Every year
magazines and radio speakers who did well on gender equity are given a prize to encourage
them to continue. This is a practice that can be readily adopted by other countries.

Sharon Bhagwan Rolls from Fiji provided an excellent case study of FemLink Pacific, a
regional grassroots organization improving womens representation and leadership in the
media. In a recent initiative to take stock of women in management positions, the

organization found on one hand while it is heartening to find out that the number of
women are increasing in newsrooms, there continues to be a need to secure gender policies
that will support women's advancement into management positions. To address this, the
organization has developed an action plan that includes: strengthening networks across the
region; publication of a Pacific Women Experts Directory, including profiles from civil
society, academia, the private sector and government; provision of training on media and
advocacy; development of strategic partnerships with media networks; raising community
awareness on gender issues in the media; and establishment of media monitoring working
groups to undertake ongoing and consistent media monitoring at national level.

4.5.Cross-cutting constraints and barriers to womens leadership

57. Participants from various countries, including Cameroon, Guinea, India, Kenya, Nigeria,
Pakistan, and Syria, identified a wide range of cross-cutting constraints and barriers to
womens leadership. Much of the input underscored the fact that issues of womens leadership
could not be addressed without tackling broader-based systemic social and economic
constraints that continue to affect women, partic ularly in developing countries. Some of the
challenges identified were inequalities in education, health and employment; discriminatory
practices; the feminization of poverty; as well as the effects of armed conflict, and HIV/AIDS
all of which affect women disproportionately. The constraints participants identified at the
level of: a) the country/society; b) the institution; and c) the individual, are presented below.

Country/societal level constraints and barriers

58. Participants highlighted the following country/society level constraints and barriers:

Education. Women still constitute the large majority of the worlds illiterate population. In
several developing countries, gender gaps in education and literacy persist. Without equitable
access to quality education, women do not have the means to build their knowledge, capacity
and skills to access well-paid, formal sector jobs and attain positions of leadership. Unless
gender gaps in literacy and education are addressed, the next generation of girls will be
similarly marginalized from leadership roles. Other issues raised in relation to womens access
to education were rural- urban disparities in levels and quality of education. Gender role
stereotyping was also raised as a concern to be addressed, as it is often reinforced by school

curricula and hinders women from taking on leadership roles.

Poverty. Women constitute two thirds of the worlds poor. Several participants pointed out
that womens deeply entrenched povertynow often exacerbated by globalizationmeans
that in countries such as Bangladesh, Guinea and Pakistan, access to leadership positions
remain limited.

Gender role stereotypes and other socio-cultural constraints. Several participants noted
that gender stereotypes and traditional conservative beliefs that a womans place is at home
raising a family, and that women are followers, not leaders, prevent women from
participating in public life.

Dual work -family roles. Participants from a number of countries (such as Senegal,
Switzerland, Syria, and Uganda) noted that in the absence of institutional arrangements and
facilities to support the combination of work-family responsibilities, women often select
certain types or sectors of work and lower levels of responsibility because it allows them to
balance their work and family lives.

Womens legal rights. Participants from a number of countries (such as Nigeria, Pakistan,
Rwanda and Syria) noted womens unequal treatment under the law. This includes the
enjoyment of their rights to inheritance, land, and business ownership. Even where the law
accords equal rights, tradition and practices may deny womens access to equal rights. Legal
interpretation that de facto treats women as second-class citizens fundamentally undermines
the possibilities for women to play active roles as leaders in society. For example, Edouard
Munyamaliza from the Rwanda Men's Resource Centre noted that the application of the new
law on matrimonial regimes, succession and liberalities proved difficult due to cultural beliefs
on the roles of women and men: Instead of taking advantage of this positive change to
advance socio-economic development, once again women are victims of violence and abuse of
rights.

Women affected by armed conflict. Womens social vulnerability in conflicts and other crises
was highlighted as a major hurdle to women assuming leadership positions. In conflict
environments, even with the existence of quotas for womens leadership and a pool of women
skilled to take on leadership positions, women opt not to take on such positions because of

security concerns.

Violence against women. Participants from Austria, Cambodia, Iraq, Pakistan and Rwanda
noted that violence against women, including trafficking of women, threatens womens
security and greatly impedes their willingness to take on public roles.

Women's health. Participants from Syria and Pakistan noted womens lack of access to health
care is an impediment to women assuming leadership roles, while others pointed to
the issue of maternal mortality. For example, Rottna Leang from Cambodia, pointed out that
() a notable health concern for women and a lagging indicator amongst the Cambodian
millennium development goals is the maternal mortality ratio. Improvements in preventive and
curative health care have benefited women.

Tokenism and lack of commitment to gender equality. Several participants raised the issue
of tokenism when women are being appointed to leadership positions to fulfill affirmative
action requirements rather than on the basis of merit. Shola Oshodi-John of the Gender
Initiative for Transformation, Nigeria, noted that As democracy gets entrenched in countries
within [the West African] sub-region, it is imperative that a paradigm shift is made from
appointing women into leadership position as a favour [to] a question of womens right to
adequate representation and participation in the affairs of their nation, as citizens with equal
rights with men and not as a lesser citizen based on their sex. Although, most [West African]
countries have signed various regional and international instruments to integrate women into
governance, it has been more rhetoric to please their international friends and partners. So
womens role in leadership is more an add-on rather than an integral part of public policy and
development. Muyunda Chlwesa of the Zambia Alliance
of Women noted the lip service rendered to gender equality. She stated that Gender

representation in all business, public and political party spheres is far below the 30 per cent
stipulated in the National Gender Policy [despite the fact] that Zambia is a party to a Southern
African Development Community (SADC) gender equality protocol signed by SADC heads,
which adopted 50 per cent (equal) representation in all decision- making positions.

Institutional level
59. Participants highlighted the following institutional constraints and barriers:

Lack of affirmative action (temporary special measures). Discrimination, lack of

institutional quotas, policies and programmes for attracting women leaders were considered
systematic impediments in institutions. Participants indicated that organizations did not do
enough to attract women leaders and to support them in their leadership roles. Referring to
Latin American countries, Liliana Cisneros noted that in rare cases where antidiscrimination policies may be in place, a lack of enforcement mechanisms undermines
them. Contributions of participants from Australia, Canada, Mali and Azerbaijan indicated
that, despite gender equality legislations and policies in government and the private sector,
as well as laws to combat discrimination, sexual harassment and employment inequity,
there continue to be barriers preventing women from occupying senior decision- making
positions. Participants from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States expressed
concern that despite ostensible commitment and legislation to promote gender equality, this
goal was largely unachieved in their countries.

Lack of leadership training and mentoring. A number of participants (from countries

such as India, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria and Tanzania ) highlighted a lack of specific
management training, skills training, professional development, decision- making skills and
mentorship programmes, which prevent women from being seen as effective leaders.
Mercia Selva Malar from India noted, The barriers that prevent [women] from making
effective decisions are: resistance and acceptance from the counterparts, stigma attached to
women as emotional beings and not logical thinkers, protecting them from getting exposed
to decision- making situations (male-caretakers deciding on their behalf). Decision- making
is a skill, which can be honed by practicing the skill. Women need to be encouraged and
provided the required opportunity to make decisions for themselves and others.

Sexual harassment. Within the workplace discrimination and sexual harassment were
raised as challenges. Sexual harassment was considered a major barrier to leadership
positions. Women who don't acquiesce to sexual advances from male participants typically
do not get promoted or they are frustrated out of the workforce (Kenya). Joan Oviawe
from Nigeria noted that sexual harassment was another major barrier to leadership

positions, that prevented some women from occupying leadership roles. This is a major
problem that the government is not tackling.

The role of human resources departments in facilitating womens leadership.

Participants indicated that human resources departments are largely failing to promote
gender equality in senior decision- making positions. Victoria Kenny from Argentina
argued that in Latin America, most human resources departments do not do a good job in
training employees about equal opportunity regulations and do not help women reach
senior level positions of decision- making. Most of these issues are seen as non-urgent and
maybe not as pertinent for the local idiosyncrasies. Liliana Cisneros from the United
States noted that it is important to target human resources as key areas for transformation
because human resources departments tend to reproduce old models, serving as
gatekeepers for women.

Other constraints.

The following constraints were also raised:

o

Gender-blind policies have a negative impact on promoting gender equality and

limiting opportunities for women to take decision- making and leadership
positions (as noted by Bahar Salimova in reference to the former Soviet Union).

Rules, codes of conducts, organizational cultures of public institutions, courts and

the private sector are mostly set up by men, with the assumption that men will be
the main actors and will work with other men.

Gender-based discrimination at many levels prevents women from getting senior

positions traditionally held by men. In addition, women who experience
discrimination based on race, caste and social class face even greater obstacles. For
example, Munjula Pradeep from India wrote, I am deeply concerned about the
situation of Dalit women in South Asia, mainly in India, Nepal, Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The le vel of education amongst Dalit women is very
low. They are forced to work as manual scavengers, i.e., manually handling of
human excrement, or pushed into temple prostitution in the southern part of India.

The leadership of Dalit women to some extent is coming up but they face the triple
burden of caste, class and gender.
o

In countries with large youth populations women may face discrimination based on
age and appearance. Liliana Cisneros from the United States noted that, in Latin
America, pictures are required to be included in [a job] application package. Some
employers include "good presentation" as a requisite. The problem is that good
presentation can be interpreted in many ways at the discretion of the employer.
Some women even go to expensive surgery operations to increase their chances to
be employed. Even in academia, women over 35 are less likely to find a scholarship
or to be admitted to an academic programme because of the requirements of the
institutions.

Individual level
60. Participants highlighted the following constraints at the individual level:

Lack of self-confidence. A number of participants stated that women felt limited by

internalized gender stereotypes and lacked the confidence to see themselves as leaders.
Rose Uchem, Executive Director, Ifendu For Womens Development, Nigeria, stated, The
problems and obstacles to womens exercise of leadership are complex. However, the
major part consists of gender issues, which include womens obstacle to themselves in the
form of internalized oppression. Internalized oppression is the cumulative impact of male
oppression of women on their psyche, conditioning them to act against themselves and to
take this as normal, and so try to stop any attempts to change this situation. Women who
lack confidence are likely to opt out of potential leadership positions. Similarly, Geraldene
Hodelin, President-Elect 2006-2008, International Federation of
Home Economics, expressed concern that women often do not feel entitled to be leaders.
She commented, What fascinates me is the notion that women do not often believe that
they are entitled to occupy certain positions and often express surprise that they are
selected over a man. Do we not have enough role models and mentors for us to take our
leadership potential and opportunities for granted?

Costs. Mala Bhandari from India highlighted the high costs of keeping up to date in the
modern world and having access to information and communication technologies and
networks for leadership positions.

4.6.Changing norms and challenging the status quo

61. A number of participants called for a redefinition of the male paradigm of leadership towards
one that embraces women as equal partners. For example Rose Uchem from Nigeria, noted
everyone must recognize and accept that the male headship model of society must give way to
the equal partnership model. Affirmation of womans full humanity implies that she can play
her part in the governance of her society and should not be debarred from exercising her
abilities to full capacity. It also means that where oppressive cultures and legislations have
stunted womens leadership abilities and confidence, they should be trained to increase their
capacity to assume and exercise leadership roles.
62. Some participants noted that a feminine leadership style often attributed to womenis
characterized by cooperation, participation, sharing of power and information, consensusbuilding, teamwork, and enhancing the self- worth of others. This style can be a competitive
advantage in the 21

st

century. Current leadership thinking suggests that, to be effective,

organizations and firms need to capitalize on both the so-called "masculine" and "feminine"
leadership attributes. Highlighting a fundamental tension, others felt that women needed to be
more aggressive to beand to be seen ascredible, assertive decision-makers.
63. Participants from Iran and Sierra Leone pointed out that some traditional leadership models
allow women significant authority. For instance, Kerline Joseph of Canada noted, Among the
Temne [people] located in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone for example, the cultural
barrier does not allow women to become chief. However, the Mende [people] located south of
the country agree that women as well as men can become boss or chief. Similarly, in Iran,
Nahid Motie, Director of the Women's Studies Department of the Open University, noted, I
think it is very important to understand the informal situation of women's lives rather than the
formal ones, because the latter one is full of political considerations and [cannot] show the real
status of women. In my country women have many [and] various leadership positions if the
informal setting has been considered. Institutions looking to promote women senior leaders
should identify and adapt cultural paradigms that encourage womens leadership.
64. David Kenneth Waldman, President, To Love Children Educational Foundation
International, United States, underscored the role of the media and the educational system

to change norms relating to women leaders, noting that there is a need for a systemic way
of thinking of gender [equality] as a human rights issue [requiring] consistent support of
the media as well as a gender [equality] education curriculum in all schools. Change
happens when norms change.

5. Theme Four: Wrap up and other issues

65. The final week of the discussion was devoted emerging issues, wrap-up and
recommendations for future action.

Summary of discussions
66. To counter the gender gap in senior leadership, participants provided a range of
recommendations, suggesting that governments, institutions, grassroots organizations and the
UN system should play an instrumental role in ensuring women that gain better access to
executive positions. Participants suggestions can be clustered around the following themes:

Country and society level recommendations to promote equal opportunity and facilitate
womens access to leadership positions;

Gender-sensitive educational policies and systems to eliminate gender gaps in education;

Institutional policies and temporary special measures to further gender equality and
diversity; and

Suggestions to the UN as the leading body concerned with gender equality.

Country/society level recommendations

67. Participants made the following country/society level recommendations:

Develop gender-sensitive laws, policies and programmes based on a thorough understanding of

the issues that affect womens leadership. Governments should take the lead and act as role
models by adopting gender-sensitive laws, based on solid understanding of the multifaceted

issues that affect women and by providing related guidelines for public and private sector
organizations to create a gender-balanced workforce. According to Bahar Salimova of the
International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics, Government institutions and
legislators should pay particular attention to adopting gender-sensitive laws, policies and
budgets. The negligence of government agencies in recognizing that laws and policies have a
different impact on women and men also negatively impacts gender equality. For example, new
social- welfare laws and policies in the former Soviet Union region have been negatively
affecting womens access to health care, education and professional development. These
gender-blind laws contributed to increasing illiteracy among girls and women in the region and
limiting opportunities for women to take on decision- making and leadership positions.
Therefore, government officials and legislators should commit to creating favorable regulatory
environments, adopting gender sensitive laws and policies, and ensuring their strict
implementation.

Raise awareness among national economic and business associations in the private sector
about the obstacles to, and value-added of, womens leadership so that they can provide
appropriate management training and support.

68. Raise awareness among the general population about the effects of gender equality policies
and organize voters education programmes on how gender relations influence policy
decisions and the need to appoint more women leaders.
69. Develop and widely disseminate at country-level Whos Who directories with
biographies of women in leadership.
70. Require vendors who provide goods and services to governments and international
agencies to increase the number of women in leadership positions in their organizations.
71. Establish a national prize for enterprises that have a demonstrated commitment to women
in senior leadership positions.
72. Establish a national prize for universities and colleges that include issues of womens
leadership training in their curricula.
73. Address entrenched bias and prejudice that deny women equal status through widespread
grassroots initiatives.

Recommendations for improving education

68. Participants made the following recommendations to improve wo mens educational profile for
leadership roles:

Governments should implement education programmes, skills building and leadership

training that prepare girls and women for leadership positions. Mercia Selva Malar from

India and other particip ants ensuring that girls and women mandatory education.

Management and leadership training. Participants highlighted specific areas of training

which they saw as important for womens leadership-building, including:
o

Management and knowledge of global markets;

o Technological awareness; and

o

Advocacy and decision- making.

Mentoring. Mentoring was raised by several participants as an important institutional

support mechanism for upcoming leaders. Ninette Trifiletti, Chair of BPW International
Mentoring Taskforce from Australia, noted the importance of formalizing mentoring
institutionally, with documented goals, an action plan and measurement of outcomes.

Networking. Contrary to men, women often do not have access to professional networks,
which are critical for career development. Networking was therefore highlighted as a way
for current and aspiring women leaders to build professional relations that enable them to
grow as leaders (Australia, Nigeria, and United States).
Recommendations for the United Nations and other international organizations

70. Participants made the following recommendations for the United Nations and other
international organizations :

Several recommendations were directed to the United Nations, given its leadership position
in driving the agenda for gender equality. Participants suggested that the United Nations

create opportunities for women in leadership within United Nations agencies.

o

Ensure women are in decision- making roles in all areas of the United Nations,
including peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

Host networking meetings of women in leadership roles at national, provincial and

district levels, supported by the United Nations Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM).

Create a mentorship programme based on Principle 6 of the United Nations Global

Compact, which deals with elimination of discrimination in employment and
occupation. In this programme, companies which successfully apply Principle 6 and
develop sound policies for elimination of gender discrimination, would be awarded
a prize and showcased in the media.

A few participants proposed the development of a strict international watchdog mechanism

on women in leadership to monitor governments actions on their gender equality
commitments. Another suggestion in a similar vein was to develop a gender equality
accountability mechanism within the United Nations and other international institutions.
Timothy Symonds of the United Kingdom suggested a list of shame be established,

6. Conclusion
71. The views presented in the online discussion are, for the most part, borne out by research on

the status of women leaders across the world. Over the past few decades many countries have
made progress in gender equality in senior management positions, but globally gains in gender
equality in decision-making positions outside the political arena have been slow and uneven.
To date, the most powerful and best-paid managerial positions are still out of reach for most
women.
72. Participants outlined a number of successful strategies for increasing womens participation in
the upper echelons of decision- making in the public and private sectors. In their views,
because gender-based segregation in decision- making is closely linked to the general status of
women and men in employment and society as well as the roles of women and men in relation
to family responsibilities, a holistic, comprehensive approach is required to specifically address
the causes of gender-based stereotyping. Gender equality must also be promoted in all domains
education, public administration, civil society organizations, the private sector and trade
unions.7

73. At the national level, legal frameworks and regulatory mechanisms are needed to eliminate
discrimination on the grounds of sex. Where these rules and regulations exist, they need to be
rigorously enforced. Participants from several countries (including South Africa, Australia,
Syria, Suriname and Sudan) noted that their countrys gender equality legislation have had
varying degrees of success in promoting positive trends towards gender equality beyond the
political sphere. In some countries, governments, businesses, trade unions and womens
organizations are paying more attention to systemic discrimination that prevents women from
entering and rising in leadership positions. Affirmative action and awareness-raising campaigns
can reverse cultural stereotypes and promote more positive model of women as leaders and
decision- makers.
74. At the institutional level, organizations should improve the principles of gender equality and
non-discrimination in recruitment, training and promotion. To attract aspiring women leaders,
human resources departments in the public and private sectors will need to ensure that women
have clear, formal trajectories for career development from the entry level to the senior leader
positions. They should provide ongoing opportunities for mentorship and leadership training;

provide avenues for women to take on management roles; institute equal opportunity measures
and equal pay policies; promote diversity in fields that are traditionally male-dominated; and
prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

75. Providing women with the flexibility they need to allow them to balance family life with the
demands of professional leadership was found to greatly enhance womens willingness and
ability to take on leadership positions as this was considered a major obstacle by women from
around the world. At the same time, the online discussion did not generate a great deal of
discussion on the role of men in promoting womens leadership. However, effective gender
equality strategies require mens engagement in the process at all levels. Identifying and
engaging male champions to advance women leadership, particularly at the management level,
is critical for getting high level commitment for change. Targeting measures both women and
men to support a better balance between work and family will avoid reinforcing the stereotype
of women being solely in charge of domestic and care work.
76. In conclusion, no country in the world, no matter how advanced, has achieved true gender
equality, as measured by comparable decision-making power, equal opportunities for education
and advancement, and equal participation and status in all walks of human endeavor. Gender
disparities exist, even in countries without glaring male domination.

77. Given the absence of standardized data on women leaders outside the political arena, it is
critical to further collect and analyze data on the status of women in leadership in all domains
and in all countries. Tracking progress across countries will require internationally agreed
indicators and standardized data collection methodologies on womens leadership. The data
should be widely disseminated, allowing countries and the international community to assess
progress, to adopt targets, and to develop more innovative strategies for promoting women as
decision- makers in all sectors.

SUGGESTIONS
1.

There is need to eliminate the sex disermination at naticonallevel with this women can
easily participate in the role of manager or any leodind role

2.

Women should increase their social networks to know the world closely.

3.

Managament study should be compillsary for every women in the professional area.

4.

Their should be special women training programs in which they should trained as leader s
to protect the mselirs.

Bibliography
1

Htpp// www.wikipedia.com

www.quickmba.com

www.scribd.com

www.silicon.com

http://en.wikipedia