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By Alissa Sofia Maria Bocance and Olimpia Mariarita Grig
Keywords: leadership, stereotypes, misogyny, gender diversity, business, myths, leadership attitudes, medical industry, sexism, gender bias
Chapter 1: Gender Diversity in Romanian Leadership (Alissa Sofia Maria Bocance)
R. Hogan once said that leadership is "the ability to form and maintain a high-performing team." A common myth is that it solely depends on authority. However, it requires a certain level of voluntary support from group members. Leaders lead through persuasion, motivation, and empowerment, creating an appropriate organizational context. This is undoubtedly essential as management systems have evolved to play an increasingly important role in corporate structures. Initially, management systems were used to control objectives and focus on minimizing product defects and generally on the control of non-compliant products. Gender diversity in the business environment, particularly within leadership teams, has become an increasingly addressed topic in research and a social phenomenon, especially in Western countries.
Throughout history, women, as mothers, wives, and lovers, have always been discriminated against in comparison to men. In the not-so-distant past, they were viewed merely as beings ensuring the perpetuation of the human species and satisfying men's pleasures, having only obligations and no rights. Today, things have changed somewhat, although discrimination has not disappeared entirely and even takes modern forms. Despite women representing 51% of the total population and 46.5% of the active population, only 11% of managerial boards include women, and only 4% of the world's richest people are women. Questions regarding the differences between men and women in terms of leadership receive two opposing types of responses: one that supports the existence of fundamental differences (the most popular position) and one that promotes the similarity of leadership styles. Both viewpoints are based on arguments, but the first option by far receives the strongest support from specialists.
As a benchmark: there were more male CEOs named John or David than all women combined, according to a study conducted by Lauren Harris, a student at Stanford University. (2015) Fortunately, by April 2023, this number had increased, with all women combined being more numerous than men named John. Although compared to the previously presented statistics this seems good, we need to frame the issue differently. How many CEOs are male and how many are female? Well, the following image reveals that there are slightly more than three times as many male CEOs as female CEOs.
We have all heard myths such as "women do not want to become managers," "women do not have the same managerial skills as men," "women do not have the proper training," "women do not have enough experience," and "top management positions are irreconcilable with being a mother." However, these are erroneous and can be easily disproved.
A Harvard study suggests that during the pandemic, women performed the best, managing to outperform men in 13 out of 19 measured competencies. This study shows that women are better leaders in times of crisis, contrary to the myth that women are emotional and let hormones influence important decisions, as stated by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman. Currently, the most suitable leadership style is transformational, which involves the leader moving away from the command-and-control model and adopting a teacher-coach position – this is the variant that most increases organizational performance. A 2003 meta-analysis cited by the American Psychological Association shows that women adopt this style more than men. Transformational leadership, which is also a subject of my research, correlates with increased staff retention, a better work climate, and many other factors. Another thing that demonstrates that women can be leaders just as much as men is that they seek support and turn to specialists in psychology or coaching more often than men. This means they recognize the potential for improvement much more quickly (the most important factor for change and performance), make realistic plans, and take concrete actions.
Let us keep in mind a phrase that encompasses thousands of studies (perhaps more) – A leader is "good" in a certain context and not in all contexts. However, we each have our qualities, deserving equal rights and working best together. This is confirmed by studies showing that top management teams with a balanced proportion of men and women generate superior financial results and a much better level of engagement.
Chapter 2: Gender bias in Health Care (Grig Mariarita Olimpia)
The specific medical needs of women are largely overlooked in traditional medicine research and development. Additionally, women are often underrepresented among those leading research in this field. We are working to change this harmful and persistent status quo.
Despite the fact that women make up half of the world's population, they are underserved and unheard in the development of medications. For example, women are excluded from clinical studies and scientific research, and they are not given credit for discoveries and research conducted. In many cultures and historical periods, they have been disadvantaged in the medical field.
The image below shows the number of medical staff in Romania, broken down by gender (2021).
Gaslighting in women’s health care
If you are also a woman and have consulted someone about abdominal pain, you have probably heard at least amonce that there is nothing wrong with you, just that "You have an uterus" and that this is the explanation for your pain. Online, I have come across girls who went to the doctor with abdominal pain, to be told not to worry because it was just menstrual cramps, afterwards only to be diagnosed with other conditions after serious investigations, including IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Even though chronic illnesses affect a larger proportion of girls and women than men worldwide, women are less likely to receive treatment. Studies also show that women, in general, experience more severe and prolonged pain than men. A study published by Academic Emergency Medicine shows that women who present to the ER (Emergency Room) with severe stomach issues wait almost 33% longer than men with the same symptoms.
Dr. Mieres: Unfortunately, there are still big gender biases in health care. In 2011, my colleagues and I published data from a trial that highlighted some of the sex and gender differences in cardiovascular disease testing. But while we’ve raised this awareness, gaps remain in diagnosing the full spectrum of coronary heart disease in women. On the positive side, we are slowly expanding the educational curriculum at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell to include sex and gender, highlighting the fact that the one-size-fits-all approach to medicine negatively impacts women’s health.
(Source: Northwell Health)
For centuries, it was believed that the uterus was the cause of a woman's "hysterical" symptoms. In the medical community and beyond, whenever a woman complained about her health, it was often attributed either to her hormones or dismissed as being all in her mind.
References
https://www.hartconsulting.eu/assets/Rezultate_studiu_diversitate-prezentare_event.pdf
https://www.viata-medicala.ro/exista-discriminare-de-gen-in-medicina-romaneasca-17523
https://hilio.com/ro/blog/coaching/leadership-feminin-femei-cu-functii-de-conducere
https://www.northwell.edu/katz-institute-for-womens-health/articles/gaslighting-in-womens-health
https://www.utgjiu.ro/ecostudent/ecostudent/pdf/2014-03/8_Cristina%20Madalina%20Vasile.pdf
Studiu condus de Women to the Top (W2T) - Proiect finanțat de Comisia Europeană în cadrul programului UE, legat de Strategia Comunitară asupra Egalității de Gen (2001-2005)
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