A511.8.3.RB_MalvoisinLeon

As stated by professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter in the YouTube video, Women, Ambition and (still) the Pay Gap, Harvard Business Review (2010), I think it has taken a long time to get many women at the top…Its just getting up to the very peak, it has still been an issue and I’m thinking there are many reasons for that…one, is that the jobs at the very top of any organization are really different from those below, they require a kind of dedication and commitment, 24/7 being always on…one of the many hidden sources of discrimination that still goes on many companies is sort of informal and behind the scene. When there is a discussion in a private conversation about who are the people we should put in those positions…well, she isn’t really quite as dedicated.  We love the fact that she’s family friendly, and we’re very family friendly. We don’t really want to take her away from her family….and so they don’t even give the woman a choice.

 

Furthermore, according to Yukl (2013), gender egalitarianism is the point to which men and women receive equal treatment, and both masculine and feminine attributes are considered significant and pleasing. In cultures with high gender egalitarianism, there is less differentiation of sex roles, and most jobs are not separated by gender. Women have more equal opportunity to be chosen for important leadership positions, although access is still greater for public sector positions than in business corporations.

Reflecting on what Rosabeth Moss Kanter says in her video interview, and how that does coincide with what Yukl says about gender-based discrimination from his book; I do believe there is an overlap. Professor Kanter talks about how women have been striving to get to the top positions in the workplace that has many type of gender discrimination going on.  She mentioned there has been some progress in the past 10 years, but until today most women are still in the low level positions in the workplace due to their gender and some non work related responsibilities, like being family oriented.  In other words, the position that the professor would like to see most women at in the workplace is at a position where they’re being treated equally as men and get just as much pay as men. Just like Yukl described in the book about gender egalitarianism, which is a concept of workplace or society that do not see women as less important than men, where women will have equal opportunity as a men do.  What professor Kanter is striving for in the workplace is the implementation of the definition of gender egalitarianism as defined by Yukl.

As stated by professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter in the YouTube video, Women, Ambition and (still) the Pay Gap, Harvard Business Review (2010), Women don’t always have the same statue as thought leaders, or authorities that men do and as soon as we consider women voices to be extremely wise. I think that will also show young women that they have the responsibility and the talent to use their degrees in the most productive way they can.

Hence, I do agree there is gender discrimination going on in the workplace. I have witnessed it in my career as a professional employee, and I believe as a society in this modern age we as people can and should do better.  Not, looking at one another and pre-judge someone due to their gender. I believe everyone should be given an equal opportunity until he or she has proven that he or she can’t actually do the tasks at hand. The world would be a much better place, if we stop discrimination and treat one another the way he or she would like to be treated. 

 

Reference

Harvard Business Review. (2010). Women, Ambition and (still) the Pay Gap. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhquUOlBuOY&feature=youtu.be&t=5s 

Yukl, G. (2013). Cross-cultural Leadership and Diversity. In Leadership in organizations. (8th ed). (pp.366,). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

A511.7.3.RB_MalvoisinLeon

         I’m originally from Haiti; a small island located in the Caribbean Sea that shares borders with Dominican Republic. The native languages are French and Creole in Haiti.  In search of better opportunities, my parents and I travelled to the United States when I was 15 years old.  There I had to learn a whole new language, English, which I had a great time learning through school and trying to understand different accents at a younger age.  However, learning English didn’t come too easy for me because it’s my third language; hence, until now I still have an accent when I speak in English. 
            About a decade later after I graduated from Florida Atlantic University, I landed a job in the aerospace industry, with one of the world's largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems.  I was hired as a manufacture engineer in an entry level position.  I was the only foreigner in the office, and the only person with an accent.  I could tell that some of my colleague unfortunately had some difficulties understanding my accent, but I took no offense or frustration to it, I just learned to speak slower and contributed to the team as much as possible.  Few years later, my organization decided to do business with the European companies for certain sections of the airplane.  The European companies are Messier-Dowty, Rolls-Royce, and Latecoere.  Knowing those are French companies and suppliers, and I speak both French and English and have great work ethics, my manager promoted me to a lead position to coordinate and lead the negotiations with the French suppliers and my company.  Now, I have been a leader of a team of six employees coordinating with the French suppliers and creating contracts for my company.
            Hence, that’s the differences that distinguish me and help me in living and acting on the basis of my core values.  Being able to use my weakness, language, and turn it and to a positive skill to my advantage and make myself a much more valuable asset to the company.  As identify by Goffee and Jones (2006) “Effective leaders keep working at this art. They develop a close understanding of their differences. In particular they become aware of what is different about them that makes them attractive to others. They learn to use these differences to their advantage in a leadership role “(p.32).  Looking at myself, I would say I’m more of a servant leader.  I always check on the team to make certain they have everything they need to get the job done right, and not only that, I always encourage and train each person to be the next leader and be able to move up in the company.  As identified by Yukl (2013), “A servant leader must attend to the needs of followers and help them become healthier, wiser, and more willing to accept their responsibilities. Service includes nurturing, defending, and empowering followers” (P.349).  Certainly this is my style of leadership, and my colleagues appreciate it daily.

 References

Goffee, R., and Jones, G., (2006),"Getting personal on the topic of leadership", Human Resource Management International Digest. 14( 4), 32 – 34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09670730610666382

Yukl, G. (2013). Ethical, Servant, Spiritual, and Authentic Leadership. In Leadership in organizations. (8th ed). (pp. 349). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall