Gender does not matter concerning good leaders. Men and women have equal abilities to become good leaders. The social perception of leadership tends to bar women to ascend to top management positions, but this does not give men or women a differentiating character in becoming outstanding managers and directors. Fundamentally, different people can be good depending on the situations and context, and this removes the aspect of gender (Bailey).
Rwanda is the leading country with women leaders who are elected to represent the people. According to Dudman, out of eighty parliamentarians in Rwanda, fifty-one are female. It follows that Rwandese perceive women as better leaders than men, and consequently elect them. Women took up the role of reconciliation after the Rwandese genocide, and the gender roles changed significantly giving the women an opportunity to advance in leadership. As a result, a majority of the people accepted women leadership not necessarily as superior to that of men but equal. The second country is Bolivia. Due to the involvement of women in civil strive, Bolivian changed their perceptions towards women leadership and consequently elected a considerable number to the parliament.
The social perspective towards women has not changed significantly. Women need to work more to prove themselves capable to lead as opposed to men (Pew Research Centre, 2015). Moreover, women do not participate in politics as much as women and also are less likely to seek top managerial positions in companies.
Social services are among industry with high numbers of female managers followed by education, health care and hospitality (McCarthy). Many people perceive these occupations as soft and not demanding a lot of physical energy and, hence attract a significant number of women.
References
Bailey, Sebastian. “Who makes a better leader: A man or a woman?” The Forbes. The Forbes July 23, 2014. Web. Accessed from <http://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastianbailey/2014/07/23/who-makes-a-better-leader-a- man-or-a-woman/#7b8a29019676>
Dudman, Jane. “The 10 best and worst countries for female public leaders – in charts.” The Guardian. The Guardian March 6, 2016. Web. January 24, 2017. Accessed from <https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/mar/06/best-worst- countries-female-public-leaders>
McCarthy, Niall. The industries with most female mangers. March 10, 2016. Web. January 24, 2017. Available at <https://www.statista.com/chart/4482/the-industries-with-the-most- female-managers/>
Pew Research Centre. “Chapter 3: Obstacles to female leadership.” January 14, 2015. Web. January 24, 2017. <http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/01/14/chapter-3-obstacles-to- female-leadership/>
