Introduction

While many biases and hurdles related to gender have decreased over time, gender stereotypes still hinder the advancement of women's jobs. Gender stereotypes, which influence management behaviour and vocational outlooks in the workplace with patriarchal expectations, continue to have a negative impact on the prospects for women to advance their careers. Only 29% of top management positions worldwide are held by women. According to the World Economic Forum, there is a 32.0 percent gender disparity on average in four domains: “Economic Participation and Opportunity,” “Educational Attainment,” “Health and Survivability,” and “Political Empowerment.” This represents an increase over the prior years' average gender gap of 31.7%. Gender discrimination based on gender stereotypes persists despite numerous efforts to advance gender equality in recent decades. This essay contends that the management ideas from Women in Management, Women and Management, and Gender and Management have undergone progressive and drastic changes. Theoretically, gender stereotyping in society has not changed as a result of the shift from Women in Management to Women and Management. Gender stereotypes are thought to be a serious problem impeding the professional advancement of women in management. The foundation of this research is the continued underrepresentation and under participation of women in positions of top management (Agars, 2004).

After carefully examining the available literature, it became clear that, despite the fact that many studies have been conducted on sex-role stereotyping, its reasons are still not well understood. The phenomenon will persist unless the causes are identified. Therefore, it is crucial to thoroughly review management literature in order to pinpoint the main causes of gender stereotyping in connection to women's career advancements. In many circumstances, stereotyping develops to fulfil the demands of those contexts. Stereotyped thinking, which reflects a variety of cognitive and motivational processes, serves a number of objectives. The emergence of stereotyping can be explained as a way of reducing the demands placed on the perceiver, allowing the perceiver to respond to a variety of environmental factors, such as various social roles, group conflicts, and power imbalances, by relying on previously stored knowledge rather than incoming information. Stereotypes can also develop in response to social identity or as a way of defending the existing quo. Furthermore, it's important to keep in mind that discriminating viewpoints aren't always chosen on purpose (Al-Manasra, 2013).

Despite the fact that workplaces offer equal chances, gender stereotypes still exist. Though there has been progress with more women holding various managerial positions at work, Schein's “Think Manager-Think Male” mentality is still very much present among men. When women use an interpersonally focused leadership style in male-dominated industries, it has been discovered that they face significant levels of mental ill-health and continue to work under high amounts of pressure. Women in the workplace are demotivated and demoralised by gender-specific behaviour. Negative perceptions of women's performance or effectiveness in the workplace may hinder their aspirations for career advancement. If they feel they lack the skills to carry out demanding or leadership responsibilities, women may decide not to apply (Ball & Brewis, 2008).

Family Issues

Stereotypes are a result of how people are raised. It could be challenging to alter stereotypical thinking that has been ingrained since childhood. According to Fagot, Leinbach, and O'Boyle, social contacts and associations have a significant role in the identification of genders and gender stereotyping is learned at a very young age. According to Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, and Sanford, a child's personality development mostly takes place in the familial environment but is also strongly influenced by social circumstances. The way that parents treat their children shapes their personalities, and society has a significant influence on how parents behave.

Children learn about gender stereotyping at a young age and replicate it in their own behaviours because parents who implicitly create gender-stereotypical associations are more likely to treat girls and boys differently. According to the developmental intergroup theory, kids can identify the target groups of stereotyping through this process. Most often, economic issues, but also social, racial, and religious ones, have an impact on how parents treat their kids. Consequently, significant changes in social structures and situations have an impact on the types of personalities that emerge in a society (Bartsch & Judd, 1993).

Socio-Cultural Factors

The system justification theory is used by Stapel and Noordewier to explain how individuals typically stereotype. People find it simpler to gender stereotype in order to uphold their sense of an equitable world, defend the patriarchal social structure, and uphold the male-dominated status quo. People tend to stereotype because stereotypes are useful tools that allow them to accuse the poor of being merely lazy and to praise the wealthy of working hard. The existence of preconceptions that differentiate between men and women sheds light on how stereotyping affects women. Stereotypes help people comprehend social behaviour and give it meaning. Additionally, attribution procedures support the upkeep of stereotypes.

Organizational Factors

Organizational culture

Organizations have a significant impact on preconceptions. Stereotypes are sensitive to human intention; therefore they can be restrained by internal motivation and organizationally established social norms. Although prejudices are first created throughout childhood and school, companies can still have an impact on how stereotypes evolve through a variety of behaviours like hiring, promoting, and organisational culture. According to social identity theory, social groups have a sense of belonging and value their shared culture as a source of pride and self-worth. According to Schmitt and Wirth, the gender-based labour division in the workplace encourages stereotypes. This shows that stereotypes are influenced by the gendered division of labour in order to support that division. By arguing that stereotypes typically originate from outside sources rather than being the result of personal experiences, Grobler highlights a significant aspect of the factors that contribute to stereotypes. According to the authors, stereotypes demand that inflated beliefs about a group be supported by evidence from the social context. For instance, repeating stories about exaggerated perceptions of how women perform in the workplace can lead to or maintain stereotypical attitudes, which have the effect of limiting people's potential and undermining their individuality (Tabassum & Nayak, 2021).

Women's status in the workplace

In the workplace, women are frequently seen as making emotional, irrational, and intuitive decisions. According to Gilbert, Burnett, Phau, and Haar, professional male and female career preferences vary by country.

Gender specific behaviour in the workplace

Stereotypes' root causes include perceptions of men and women having different employment preferences as well as reasons for women's behaviour. Stereotypes can arise from advantages given to women, such as the assignment of less dangerous projects or the provision of nearby parking places. For instance, a company's strategy to encourage women's career advancement can contribute to stereotyping, which may actually force women to avoid the paths that lead to professional success. People often believe that part-time work is intended for mothers, which means that those who take on these positions have fewer chances for success.

Conclusion

This essay offers a thorough conceptual explanation of the causes, effects, and theoretical development of gender stereotyping. Our understanding would be improved by additional empirical study conducted in a variety of diverse cultural and organisational contexts. The study identified conceptual changes in the literature and advances in our comprehension of certain aspects of gender stereotypes. Progressive theoretical changes in management literature did not alter gender-biased management practises. According to a critical evaluation of the literature, stereotyped thinking is shaped by individual, family, sociocultural, and organisational variables in humans, which sustains gender discrimination and prevents women from advancing professionally in organisations. Therefore, in order to comprehend the patriarchal social, economic, cultural, political, and religious contexts in which gender stereotypes are anchored, theories of management need to connect with critical social theories of gender. Gender stereotypes did not change despite an increase in the number of women in management and leadership roles throughout time. Gender stereotypes continue to be used in society, despite changes in management literature's theories. In the workplace, gender stereotypes still exist and prevent women from advancing professionally.

References

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Received: 28-Oct-2022, Manuscript No. AELJ-22-12856; Editor assigned: 31-Oct-2022, PreQC No. AELJ-22-12856 (PQ); Reviewed: 12-Nov-2022, QC No. AELJ-22-12856; Revised: 17-Nov-2022, Manuscript No. AELJ-22-12856; Published: 24-Nov-2022