FEMALE MANAGERS’ PERCEPTION ON THEIR CAREER DIFFICULTIES COMPARING TO MALE COUNTERPARTS (Case study at Vietnam National University and National Taiwan University)

Abstract

The absence of women in senior roles and their disadvantages in management field is not a new
problem. Research has consistently shown that men still disproportionately outnumber women in
senior management positions, discrimination against women manifests itself in various forms
and barriers to women in management exist worldwide. Within the academic environment, the
situation seems not to be different, in spite of the raising number of female educational
employees in universities, the over-representation of men in leadership there is still visible and
recognized in the scholarly literature. Although many explanations and even suggestions for
overcoming the gender stereotype have been made, difficulties and obstacles of women in
managerial positions are not fully mentioned, especially in comparison to men and in academe.
Through an online survey and some semi-structured interviews with female managers from
National Taiwan University and Vietnam National University, this study is supposed to address
this research gap and contribute to enlarging knowledge in the field of women and management
which is not sufficient enough for the base of women empowering worldwide, especially within
the academe. The result showed that women encounter more difficulties in their leadership than
men and difficulties that female managers/leaders have to face more than male are abundant and
diversified, all of which are related to gender bias, gender stereotypes.