Cross- cultural Communication This page intentionally left blank

 Cross- cultural implications of leadership
The balance of power in organizations between individuals and the team 
varies between different cultures in the following main areas:
Is authority vested in the leader or the group?
Is the leader a facilitator or a supremo?
Is the leader a coach?
Is there an emphasis on hierarchy?
Are age and seniority important or is status based on qualifications?
What is the position of women in terms of opportunities and acceptance?
Leadership development for women
In Western Europe in particular, there has been much pressure on multina-
tional companies, NGOs and both the public and private sectors to increase the 
opportunities for women to compete successfully for senior positions. This has 
been in addition to legislation in individual countries, such as the Equal Pay 
Act and the Sex Discrimination Act in the UK, as well as EU- wide legislation. 
Substantial progress has already been made in North European countries, 
such as in Norway, where 41 per cent of members of large company boards 
are now women; this figure is 27 per cent in Sweden. The French government 
has passed a law that sets minimum quotas for listed companies with the 
largest required to have a target of 40 per cent female board members by 
2016. Spain, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands already have quotas.
In the UK, the Female FTSE 100 Board Report of 2010 showed that the 
percentage of women on the boards of FTSE 100 companies had increased 
only from 9.4 per cent in 2004 to 15 per cent by 2010, and 13 large compa-
nies still had no female board members. The legal imposition of quotas for 
women is controversial and is opposed by many women themselves, as well 
as by companies and politicians. It has been criticized as a token gesture and 
companies argue that they have a duty of care first and foremost to their 
shareholders to appoint the best candidates, regardless of their sex.
There are a number of social and cultural factors that still inhibit 
women from wishing to pursue careers in senior positions and therefore 
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134 Cross-Cultural Communication
break through the ‘glass ceiling’. These include the cost of childcare when 
adequate state assistance is lacking, as well as the reluctance of many women 
to resume a
full- time career while bringing up a family and afterwards. 
In addition, there are dual career problems in a family where the male partner 
is posted abroad and the female partner is unable to pursue her career if she 
accompanies him. Another factor is that some companies demand that all 
candidates from non- executive directorships must have first held executive 
positions in other companies in order to acquire suitable experience.
Despite these inhibitors, there are now more women at universities than 
men in many countries and more women are encouraged to apply for 
MBA and similar courses than in the past. However, this is not the case in 
some cultures, such as Japan, South Korea, many Muslim countries and in 
Latin cultures, where both social and cultural pressures mean that young 
women do not have the same opportunities as men or the encouragement 
to embark on professional careers.
In 2010, the Accenture International Women’s Day Survey asked sen-
ior executives of
medium- sized and large companies from 20 countries 
worldwide whether they were currently preparing more women for senior 
management roles than in 2009. A total of 60 per cent replied they were not, 
as opposed to 40 per cent that were. The Women’s Matters Global Survey 
carried out by McKinsey in 2010 polled some 1,500 executives worldwide, 
enquiring what were considered the main barriers to increasing gender 
diversity within their top management structures. The most significant 
replies were the problems of balancing work and family responsibilities, the 
availability of childcare and its associated high cost. In addition, the Survey 
highlighted the problems of often being unable to respond to the need 
to move quickly, particularly abroad, the absence of sufficient female role 
models and, in many cases, the tendency not to promote themselves suf-
ficiently when faced with competition from men.
In addition to the above inhibiting factors, those women who do reach 
executive positions may find it difficult to be accepted abroad, particularly 
in Japan, the Middle East and some Latin cultures. In China, where women 
make up 46 per cent of the workforce, it is still difficult to overcome the 
highly conservative attitude towards women in senior appointments. As a 
result, Chinese female high- flyers often find it easier to work for a multina-
tional company (The Economist, 26 November 2011).
Cultural and social factors are slow to change despite equal opportunity 
legislation, but much can be done by career planning and training as well 
as integrating women’s career development as a key function of human 
resource management. Other positive approaches include the provision of 
role models, mentoring and promoting the networking of women. Careers 
advice from school and universities can also play a part.
Considerable progress has also been made in promoting the development 
of leadership training and experience for women by such bodies as the 
Women’s Global Leadership Forum, which has been instrumental in raising 

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Leadership Across Cultures 135
the awareness of the potential for women to hold senior management 
positions. The Women in Diplomatic Service Group has been set up to 
encourage women to achieve positions in the diplomatic service by opening 
up opportunities and providing training development.
It has been contended that women in senior management positions have 
a beneficial effect on the boards of companies as they are considered to 
have a calmer approach, tend not to make rash decisions and, in a crisis, are 
risk averse. In addition, they are usually less driven by power and ambition, 
and are keener to work towards compromise in many situations. There are, 
of course, strong examples of highly successful women in senior appoint-
ments in certain sectors, for example, retail, fashion and health care.