Expectations, relationships and competency requirements for career advancement of women into leadership positions

Abstract

Women are underrepresented in leadership positions, especially in the engineering and manufacturing sectors; despite measures being put in place by organisations to improve the numbers. The aim of the study is to understand expectations, competencies and relationship requirements for women to attain leadership positions in an organisation. The researcher began by reviewing the literature around advancement of women, leader-member-exchange, leadership competencies and expectations and perceptions a subordinate had on their manager. A quantitative method is adopted to collect and analyses data for this study. A male dominated industry was sampled; respondents rated their own competencies, they rated the expectation perceptions they had about their managers as well as the relationships they had with their managers. The data was tested for correlation. The findings of the research indicate that females rate themselves on competencies; lower than males, there are differences in quality of relationships between the subordinates and their managers, the quality of relationships between subordinates and managers is influenced by the gender of the manager. There is a correlation between the perceptions of the subordinate and the gender of their manager. The model for advancement of women was suggested.