Can Women Lead?

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Troy Chavez
October 4, 2024

*Disclaimer* this article is not an endorsement of any political candidate, nor a post about politics. It solely pertains to women in leadership and how it impacts organizations/nations.

The conversation I had with someone recently sparked that question in my head, which felt to be archaic — medieval even….

But without providing context, and to whom I was speaking to, I was asked who I was voting for in front of a small group: “Trump?”

“No,” I replied.

The conversation eventually became just him and I. I asked, “Why? Why Trump?”

“He’s the guy. The only guy that can get it done. The only person who can fix this mess. Other than God.” He continued: “He’s a businessman; he knows about an economy. We need that.”

I then asked a question: “What if I told you, he inherited most of that money and had four bankruptcies, and outside of his Real Estate businesses, his other ventures have been economically unsuccessful?”

I saw him seriously ponder that question. He said, “Well he’s doing something right.”

And then came immigration.

Long story short, we pretty much agreed that the system was broken and needed to be fixed and streamlined so people can get to work and pay taxes. Albeit I asked him another question: “What if I told you that there was a bill in Congress that was going to fix a lot of these problems, but Trump didn’t want Biden to have a win, so he told his Republican buddies to squash it. What would you think of that?”

He seriously pondered it again. “Well,” he said, “he does what he’s gotta do to win; you gotta like that.”

I told him there was a bill to fix the problem, and he squashed it. Wouldn’t he want the problem fixed, like we just talked about?

He agreed the problem needed fixing, but retorted again, “You gotta do what you gotta do to win.”

Nearing the end, we found the real reason. The reason I felt the need to question if women can lead.

“To be honest,” he said, “I don’t think a woman can be president.”

It wasn’t immigration policy nor the truth, it was about sex, as it always is.

Women have been leaders for centuries alongside global shifts and changes creating the world we inhabit today. But there is something society still finds queasy about women in leadership. Honestly, this article feels silly because I have no qualms with women in leadership. The agency I work for is ripe with women in leadership roles. Three of my direct supervisors are women, and I respect and cherish their authority. Nevertheless, the U.S. has failed to elect a woman as president and corporate leadership continues to be male dominated.

Most Americans (54%) believe men can do a better job running a professional sports team, while only (8%) say this for women, according to a Pew Research Center poll, “Women and Leadership.” However, the poll also sites that Americans, overall, believe both women and men carry the same key leadership traits. “As a result, the public is divided about whether, even in the face of the major advances women have made in the workplace, the imbalance in corporate America will change in the foreseeable future.”

In Hilary Clinton’s book, “Hard Choices,” published in 2014, she believed sexism was subsiding and had become a lost relic of society’s worst ills. “But I also think I may have underestimated the staying power of sexism,” she would later say in an interview with USA Today. Hilary Clinton may have broken the glass ceiling, but society picked up those shards and halts anyone from reaching the sky—sitting tantalizingly close…. 

I may have spoken about politics but that was not my intended topic. It was sparked by his ultimate answer. Women in leadership, generally, seems to be a far-fetched reality for some. “Add to this the limiting and/or erroneous beliefs that women themselves have about being a leader, which can further limit women’s access to and active participation in leadership roles,” wrote Palena Neale, PhD, in an article for Forbes, “Women’s Leadership Myths.”

Generally, the author writes, “women suffer a likeability penalty, where women who demonstrate authoritative behavior risk being disliked, which complicates their leadership journey.” Meaning, women must navigate an already webby environment while falling into a likeability trap, whereby they believe “likeability is associated with acting in a certain way (e.g., agreeable, passive, invisible) and/or not doing certain things out of worry for being perceived as ‘too’ something (e.g., bossy, controlling, visible or attention grabbing).”

Society has a difficult time evolving away from toxic beliefs. But for the betterment of our nation and world, we must break down these barriers. Leadership is not black and white. It must adapt to our ever-changing world by not obfuscating women’s potential as leaders and organizational shepherds.

I will not attempt to “mansplain,” so, here are parting words from Ms. Neale, PhD, “Don’t just fall into your default position and habitual behaviors. They can limit you. Challenge yourself. Be bold, stretch your skills and take action.”   

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 Author: Troy Chavez, M.P.A. is a PhD candidate at Liberty University with a masters in public administration and works in government doing community relations. He can be reached at [email protected].

 

 

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