Metaphors of women as leaders

Metaphorical language underlies much of our everyday language, and helps to organize thoughts and experiences. While there are several metaphors used to illustrate the challenges faced by women advancing in the workplace, there are only a few which relate specifically to women in leadership and career progression. Women as leaders have made great strides over the past decade but still face many challenges – they still do not have equality with men. The current metaphors available: “sticky floor and glass ceiling” do not fully represent the conditions of women as leaders. The term “labyrinth” best illustrates the challenges and opportunities of women.

Metaphors

Metaphors help to make sense of social phenomena, to understand abstract concepts, and can change our attitudes toward things; they can be very useful for providing a more visual representation of a word or thought. They often link an abstract concept to a concrete one to provide imagery which helps with understanding. For example, the phrase “fell in love” links the abstract concept of “love” to something involuntary and outside of our control; the more concrete concept of “falling”. They can also help to form judgments about concepts, for example words conveying “up” are viewed more positively than those conveying “down”. Similarly, in an organizational chart, those toward the top are seen as having more status and power than those lower down in the structure.

Metaphors for women’s leadership

The glass ceiling metaphor suggests that women can advance to high positions within...