Latin American female business executives: an interesting surprise

Abstract

Purpose -Because women's status in Latin American countries appears comparable to their status in organizations of more economically advanced nations, this paper probes the mystery of how and why these women fare relatively well in their careers, given that socioeconomic and cultural factors could limit their possibilities of achieving higher management positions. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach -Exploratory study of 162 Latin American women who demonstrated exceptional success by attaining first and second level positions in private organizations. They responded to a semi-structured interview of 49 closed-ended questions about career challenges and barriers, leadership style, ambition, personal goals and work-life balance, plus two open-ended questions about men and women's leadership differences and how they understand their success. Findings -Interviewees disagreed on issues of discrimination, recognized few serious professional career barriers and regarded work-life balance as their main challenge. They understood their success in terms of individual factors such as personality characteristics, performance and results, and their own leadership traits. Most admitted that machismo limits women's access to upper level positions. They recognized their ambition to attain power positions mainly for personal satisfaction, and their main goal was personal development and fulfilment. Research limitations/implications -Given the sample size per country, future research could include a more representative and large sample or concentrate on one country per region to establish relationships between women's personal characteristics and organizations' sector, or challenges faced and leadership style. Also family-owned companies as well as women entrepreneurs could contribute knowledge about women's leadership in these countries. Studying only national companies, a more neatly description of local culture and gender awareness in its organizational practices that hinder or promote women's leadership and participation in decision-making positions may be obtained. Transcultural studies that compare women's rise and upper management performance in countries where support from domestic help and extended family as well as cultural values are very different, could permit to understand more fully what it takes to reach top management positions and the weight that these particular cultural conditions have. Originality/value -This study is unique in shedding light on a multinational sample of Latin American female executives and their perceptions of their success, leadership style and barriers and challenges faced.

The Proportionality of Women Graduated from the Professional Career of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at UNTELS: Analysis of their Academic Performance and Labor Field of Action

“…Regarding the percentage of women who graduate in relation to the percentage of men, by academic semester of the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering degree of the National Technological University of South Lima, which is equal to 8.1%; This result is similar to the research carried out at the Universidad de los Andes, points out that the world percentage of women graduated from the engineering area represents 7%; This is because currently still the inequality and stereotypes that still prevails in these areas, this discourages women in the decision to pursue engineering careers. [16] Likewise, in Peru, only 25% of students in Engineering careers are women, according to SUNEDU, and of this percentage, less than 5% opt for specialties called "hard", such as Mechanical Engineering, Electronics, Civil or Mining. The gender gap in science, technology and innovation careers, which is a worldwide trend, is the result of discrimination against women in these areas of study.…”

Estilos de liderazgo de hombres y mujeres en las pymes

“…Para la investigación se utilizó el concepto de género en relación con el sexo del gerente. Estudios como los de Cárdenas et al (2014), Eagly y Carli (2003), Eagly y Johannesen-Schmidt (2001), Gartzia y Van Engen (2012), Martin (2015) y Vinkenburg et al (2011) trabajan con el sexo del gerente al referirse a la variable género. La variable género es, entonces, una de tipo dicotómico que adopta valores de 0 o 1 correspondientes a 0 para hombre y 1 para mujer.…”

“…quien señala que las mujeres suelen promover algunas características del liderazgo transformacional, tal como lo muestra la tabla 3. En relación con la investigación desarrollada por Cárdenas et al (2014), estos resultados muestran que el estilo de liderazgo de las mujeres no es tan diferente al de los hombres y mucho menos mejor que el de los hombres. Los hallazgos aplicados al contexto de las pymes colombianas comprueban en cierta medida lo planteado por Koenig, Eagly, Mitchell y Ristikari (2011), que mostraron que el papel masculino del liderazgo está presente en estudios más antiguos, mientras que en estudios más recientes se rompe con ese paradigma.…”

Feminilidade Na Gestão: Sensibilidade E Sensualidade Na Percepção De Mulheres Gerentes Em Uma Instituição Financeira

“…A literatura sobre a inserção das mulheres no mercado de trabalho demonstra que elas já percorreram uma boa distância do que se percebia há algumas décadas até os tempos atuais, o que confirma que a condição de subordinação da mulher tem se alterado tanto no âmbito social quanto no econômico, político, cultural e também com relação ao mercado de trabalho (DINIZ; SILVA; MENDES, 2011;SALES et al, 2013;CARDENAS et al;2014). No entanto, esta realidade não descarta o fato de que as desigualdades permanecem: em muitos casos os salários pagos às mulheres ainda são menores do que aos homens em mesma função; a responsabilidade pelas tarefas domésticas e cuidados com os filhos cabe, em boa parte, às mulheres; situações de preconceito e violência ocorrem no ambiente profissional e familiar (BRUSCHINI; PUPPIN, 2004;CARVALHO NETO;ANDRADE;SILVA;MENDES;; e as chances de ascensão na carreira profissional são menores para as mulheres, que continuam executando trabalhos menos qualificados que os homens (MOTTA, 2000;NATIVIDADE;2009;CARDENAS et al;2014).…”

“…No entanto, esta realidade não descarta o fato de que as desigualdades permanecem: em muitos casos os salários pagos às mulheres ainda são menores do que aos homens em mesma função; a responsabilidade pelas tarefas domésticas e cuidados com os filhos cabe, em boa parte, às mulheres; situações de preconceito e violência ocorrem no ambiente profissional e familiar (BRUSCHINI; PUPPIN, 2004;CARVALHO NETO;ANDRADE;SILVA;MENDES;; e as chances de ascensão na carreira profissional são menores para as mulheres, que continuam executando trabalhos menos qualificados que os homens (MOTTA, 2000;NATIVIDADE;2009;CARDENAS et al;2014). pressupostos transformam os indivíduos, homens e mulheres, em seres mais masculinos para protegerem a si mesmos e aos seus propósitos.…”