Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 31 to 35.
The days when only men would hold management positions are over. More and more women are moving into top jobs in the USA. Despite a slowing economy, the number of women in management has risen to 16% since 1995, when it used to be less than 9%. This means that out of every 14,000 managers, 2,000 are women. One result of the increasing number of female managers is that women are now more accepted in these roles, and it has also been found that women in management ease tension and gender conflict in the workplace.
Whereas women who wanted promotion used to imitate men in their behaviour, the findings now suggest that men might benefit from being more like women. A comprehensive nation-wide study of executive performance accidentally found that women scored higher in almost all areas of performance evaluation, while compiling a large- scale analysis of 425 high-level managers. When the results were further analysed, it was found that women out-performed men in 42 of the 52 skills rated in the study. Areas where women are particularly effective are in supporting their staff, and sharing information. They tend to work harder behind the scenes, while men prefer the glamorous, more aggressive side of management. The masculine approach is more suited to the traditional style of business, where the boss would work alone and simply dictate orders to his staff. Now, in the global information age, teamwork and partnering are increasingly important, and these are exactly the areas where women excel.
It is also surprising to learn that the greatest prejudice against female bosses comes from women themselves. In a recent Gallup poll, 70% of men said that they would be prepared to accept a female boss, compared to 66% of women. Although this gap is narrowing, women continue to be more prejudiced against their own sex than the men. One possible reason for this is that of tradition. Since nearly all bosses used to be male, women feel more comfortable being supervised by a man than by another woman. Some
women also feel that a male boss is less demanding, and feels more relaxed about being in a position of authority. Since women have to work harder to get to the top, they expect more of their staff when they get there.
(Adapted from Achieve IELTS by Louis Harrison, Caroline Cushen and Susan Hutchison)
