Wacjman. Managing Like a   Man: Ch 3. It's Hard to Be Soft ."

This article speaks to the difficulties experienced by those individuals in managerial positions, specifically women who encounter a series of gender stereotypes. The author discusses the innumerable challenges that women face when encountered with gender stereotypes that may resonate from stigmatization and marginalization based on inherent societal views. The author further investigates much feminist literature on the various approaches to leadership and the ways in which language is used to dichotomize certain gender behaviors. The author asserts that the copious ways in which leadership literature is read essentially divides behaviors and psychological patterns into gender-based styles and approaches. Expressing much doubt and reluctantly to agree with such approaches, the author questions the ways in which feminist scholars have adopted new-age business approaches. Discussing the ways in which symbolic dualism and feed into essentialism, the author criticizes much of the literature t Used to promote the cause of women managers, many of these approaches are criticized as promoting fostered polarity between leadership styles of men and women, and essentially promoting unjustifiable reasons for behaviors of men and women in authoritative positions. For example, the author investigates new innovative approaches to leadership style, patterns such as "What are the emotions? to the question, 'In what situations and what ways can the emotions be considered acquired responses determined by socio-cultural and prescriptions and behavior?'(61)." Lastly, the author argues that by focusing on individual characteristics of women's managerial styles, we may overlook the bigger picture--ignoring structural boundaries that the face entirely. Ultimately, it is fruitless to revalue women's differences in order to achieve equality in any domain of the workforce. -B.M.