By Patricia A. Schaeffer, Vice President-Regulatory Affairs
A new study announced by Catalyst reports that gender stereotyping, one of the key barriers to women’s advancement in corporate leadership, leaves women with limited, conflicting, and often unfavorable options no matter how they choose to lead.
The study, The Double-Bind Dilemma for Women in Leadership: Damned if You Do, Doomed if You Don’t, was released July 17 by Catalyst, the non-profit organization working to advance opportunities for women and business. Catalyst reports the findings strongly suggest that gender stereotypes lead organizations to routinely underestimate and underutilize women’s leadership talent.
According to Catalyst President Ilene H. Lang, “When companies fail to acknowledge and address the impact of gender stereotypic bias, they lose out on top female talent. Ultimately, it’s not women’s leadership styles that need to change. Only when organizations take action to address the impact of gender stereotyping will they be able to capitalize on the ‘full deck’ of talent.”