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Leadership Challenges Women Face in New York City Local Government

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Date Issued:
2022
Abstract/Description:
This dissertation examines some of the challenges women face in the public sector in New York City. Workplace communal and agentic attributes and transactional and transformational leadership provided the theoretical frameworks through which women are viewed when they ascend to executive or managerial positions in city agencies. Communal and agentic attributes delve into feminine and masculine roles, the leadership challenge and biases toward women, and the preference in leadership style for women and men. Scholars organize these attributes to help us understand gender stereotypes whereby men are described as independent, assertive, and initiating, while women are described as caring, emotionally expressive, and responsive to others. Because leadership has been associated with men for centuries, women leaders’ evaluations create incongruencies. Perceived social norms are activated in people’s minds about women not conforming to their gender role and communal attributes and the expectations of what a leader should be. Therefore, the perceived dissimilarity creates a dilemma and potential for prejudice against women leaders. Some policies, non-discriminatory laws, and different administrations changed some of those perceptions and enabled women to lead numerous city agencies in New York City. Nevertheless, challenges remain.
Title: Leadership Challenges Women Face in New York City Local Government.
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Name(s): Manzano, Carlos, author
Sapat, Alka K. , Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
School of Public Administration
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2022
Date Issued: 2022
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 314 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: This dissertation examines some of the challenges women face in the public sector in New York City. Workplace communal and agentic attributes and transactional and transformational leadership provided the theoretical frameworks through which women are viewed when they ascend to executive or managerial positions in city agencies. Communal and agentic attributes delve into feminine and masculine roles, the leadership challenge and biases toward women, and the preference in leadership style for women and men. Scholars organize these attributes to help us understand gender stereotypes whereby men are described as independent, assertive, and initiating, while women are described as caring, emotionally expressive, and responsive to others. Because leadership has been associated with men for centuries, women leaders’ evaluations create incongruencies. Perceived social norms are activated in people’s minds about women not conforming to their gender role and communal attributes and the expectations of what a leader should be. Therefore, the perceived dissimilarity creates a dilemma and potential for prejudice against women leaders. Some policies, non-discriminatory laws, and different administrations changed some of those perceptions and enabled women to lead numerous city agencies in New York City. Nevertheless, challenges remain.
Identifier: FA00013884 (IID)
Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2022.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Leadership in women
Transformational leadership
New York (N.Y.)
Local government
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013884
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
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Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.