Sunday, March 18, 2007

Women overlooked In the Sales Industry

In an article titled Corporate Initiatives for Advancing Women, author Mary Mattis discusses the different barriers that women encounter in various industries. Research has found that many women shy away from sales jobs because they believe companies are less likely to hire female candidates. Can women’s perceptions about the sales industry be true? Unfortunately, their perceptions are very true. Studies have found that men are more likely to obtain a sales position than women. Often times, sales managers tend to hire candidates that they connect with and who are similar to them. Since most sales managers tend to be white males, these individuals tend to recruit white males. Women are not only overlooked as potential sales managers because of their race and gender, but also because of misconceptions that are associated with them. Data indicates that recruiting managers believe women cannot handle a job in sales because they are not knowledgeable in products found in the automotive, sports and machinery industry. These managers also avoid hiring women because they feel that a job in sales is “too demanding” for them, and customers tend to feel uneasy when working with females sales representatives. The findings in this article definitely strengthen the notion of the glass ceiling. Women are not able to excel in certain industries because they are not even given a chance. They are unjustly overlooked as candidates because of old fashion prejudices, and until these prejudices are destroyed, women will continue to be pushed into lower level job positions.

No comments: