Table of ContentsIntroductionGenderManagementConclusionIntroductionManagement is typically gender biased in many ways (Broadbridge & Hearn, 2008). In recent history, there have been many criticisms and voices raised regarding gender aspects all over the world, including in Sri Lanka. Women face innumerable challenges when entering the leadership and management sector. This was a problem of burden in the past rather than today (Christiansen, LoneLin et al., 2016). Asia, European region and other regions facing gender issues. There are millions of women engaged in the workforce all over the world. among these millions, only a few women advance to senior management positions (Christiansen, LoneLin et al., 2016). Gender diversity improves the level of the company regarding the financial situation. Researchers around the world have observed gender diversity in leadership positions, generating innovative ideas and different strategies to lead the business from different perspectives (Christiansen, LoneLin et al., 2016). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Across the world, most companies are reluctant to recruit women into top management positions. There is a negative perception towards women's employment and their ability to work. Most people believe that managerial characteristics are strongly associated with men rather than women (Balgiu, 2013). As a result, most women lose their job opportunities in management sectors due to people's tradition of thinking. At worst, people tend to judge women without examination and make decisions according to the traditional mindset. Whether employed or not, both men and women have negative attitudes toward women as managers (Balgiu, 2013). There are many women with great potential and abilities. Some studies have shown that over the past two decades, the proportion of women in entry-level and middle management positions has increased around the world. Women at the highest levels of business are still rare. Largely resulting from the activities of the women's movement, the policies of the political system and corporate initiatives on equal opportunities (Bombuwela & De Alwis, 2013). This type of situations can be observed in the Sri Lankan context. Over time, access to education for men and women has become equal. As a result, both male and female populations are well educated and competition between the sexes for job opportunities has also increased. In the previous society, most job opportunities were oriented towards men. The reason behind this was that ancient people defined the roles of different sexes. In this case, they believed that men were the workers of society and women should play a motherly role in society. Women are the factor that unites the family in the social context. Over time, different political eras have changed Sri Lankan society. In particular, the development of the education sector has created a boom for society. Education, until then limited to a single sector, then opened up to the whole of society. As a result, the perception towards women's work has changed social norms. With the social changes that the traditional framework has destroyed, women play important roles in society, including social responsibilities,cultural and economic. For this reason, over time, a large labor market is created for women's jobs. Millions of working women around the world (McGinn & Oh, 2017). With this, society was reorganized according to women's responsibilities. According to data from the International Labor Organization, this is changing around the world (McGinn & Oh, 2017). Even though women's engagement in the workforce is high in society, there is inequality when it comes to job recruitment. Still there, there is a disparity between women and men who reach the highest management positions. In Sri Lanka also, most private companies hire male workers for their positions. But what is interesting is that, according to statistical data from the Ministry of Higher Education and the University Grants Commission, more than half of the students in public universities are girls. There should therefore be reasons to explain the disparities between different positions. This mainly concerns senior management positions in most companies. It is therefore necessary to study the various causes of this problem and the effect of gender on the management sector in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this article will provide the effect of gender on the management sector in Sri Lanka and the causal factors. Gender “Either sex (man or woman), especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological differences. The term is also used more broadly to refer to a range of identities that do not fit established ideas about men and women. (Oxford Definition) According to this definition, gender is a social and cultural concept rather than a biological concept. Gender represents the sexual roles in a particular society. Depending on the sociocultural context, sex roles are different for men and women. Management “Management is the organization and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in order to achieve defined objectives. Manager is a person responsible for controlling and admiring a group of people and resources in a particular institute. Managers have five key functions. It involves planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. Managers must plan or refine goals from their broadest form to their most complex. Managers must have the ability to organize and create structure for long-term tasks, short-term tasks and communication. According to this, management can do this to anyone who has the capacity. Management definitions reflect any gender in a management position if they possess appropriate management qualities. But the problem still lies in the fact that there is a gender effect in the management sector. Women make up more than half of the population in Sri Lanka. But the labor market participation rate is lower than that of men (Bombuwela & De Alwis, 2013). Data from the latest Annual Report of the Sri Lanka Labor Force Survey (2016) reflects the statistics on this subject. Most surveys reveal that most women have barriers to entering the labor market due to housework. Even though women represent a significant proportion in the country, the activity rate is decreasing due to the country's traditions and socio-cultural situation. These constraints apply to top management positions as well as labor market participation. Another labor force survey shows the employed population linked to the profession. In this case, it clearly appears that a smaller proportion of the female population occupieshigher leadership positions in Sri Lanka. The above data reflects Sri Lanka's current situation regarding the employability of women in top management positions. The hotel management sector is another gender bias industry in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka. Most men occupy senior management positions in the management of the hospitality industry in Sri Lanka. According to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council, women occupy less than 40% of all management positions, less than 20% of general management positions, and between 5 and 8% of board positions (Silva, 2017 ). Research reveals constraints that pose barriers to women's entry into the hospitality industry. These are old boy networks, male prejudices and stereotypes, insecurity, family and work conflicts, an unhelpful boss and insufficient career planning. There are different models and theories such as human capital theory (Becker, 1975 cited by Zhong, 2006) and new domestic economics theory (Becker, 1981, 1985 cited by Zhong, 2006) that explain economic development.disparity linked to different social factors. The results they have show that there is a negative relationship between constraints and the career development of women in the hotel industry. Harassment and sexist perceptions are considered huge barriers to accessing management positions in the hospitality industry in Sri Lanka. Rather than these major factors, different other factors influence this type of special industries. Such as lack of opportunities, lack of training programs, financial barriers, etc. (Acid, 2014). This reveals that different industries and professional cultures have effects on the gender basis in the management sector. Different research studies have found different reasons and concepts for this gender effect and used different concepts. One of the concepts used in studies is the glass ceiling concept. The concept of the glass ceiling was introduced by the United States Federal Glass Ceiling Commission. They define the concept of the glass ceiling as “the invisible, yet unbreakable, barrier that prevents minorities and women from climbing the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements.” (Federal definition). There are different ideas regarding the concept of the glass ceiling. Some say that there is no glass ceiling in the world and it will not affect the career advancement of women (Bombuwela & De Alwis, 2013). In a study conducted in Sri Lanka on the private sector, they found that only about 25% affected the concept of glass ceiling on the career development of women in management and leadership positions. The remaining 75% is determined by other external factors. Further research reveals that career guidance, family support and attitudes towards the organization are the other factors that affect commitment to higher management positions in their career path (Bombuwela and De Alwis , 2013). Different research studies reveal different causal factors of gender impact. in the management sector. Studies reveal that working hours affect women's engagement in leadership positions. This means that with reduced working hours, more women are stepping up to the highest management positions. (Christiansen, LoneLin et al., 2016). In the Sri Lankan context, this may explain the low engagement of women at the highest levels. The fact is that most top management positions have more thanresponsibilities than other employees. Managers should therefore have devoted more working hours than others. Even though the situation is characterized by a greater number of qualified women, they might be reluctant to take on top positions with limited time. The choice of their career path can therefore constitute an internal strength for them. It depends on the social role that women play in society. According to World Bank reports, a greater proportion of boys worldwide receive primary and secondary education than girls, but girls are more educated at the tertiary level. But in some countries, women's participation in the labor market is lower (World Bank). According to these facts, researchers have identified three personal characteristics that are involved in occupying and reaching higher management positions. It's about the double burden, trust and gender bias and stereotypes. Double burden is a situation that reflects the responsibility of work and household. This situation is called double burden syndrome. Most women in the Africa and Asia region suffer from this syndrome. Which reflects responsibility for work and household. Confidence is another factor that motivates women to reach top management positions. Women have less self-confidence than men in society. As an example from a survey of MBA students in India and an MBA survey reveals, female MBAs view themselves as co-capable with other women, but men view themselves as more capable than others men. This clearly shows that most women have less self-confidence. Women face gender bias. Most people sometimes face bias when evaluating promotion performance. Women should work hard to be just as competent as men. (Patel, 2011) Two other factors are heuristics and biases. These describe the impact of decision-making in senior management positions. Heuristic explanation by Prospect theories. Heuristics allow decisions to be made without information. These may be risk averse or risk takers. This ability may vary by gender. In most senior management positions, managers must make decisions with or without clear information. Thus, a large proportion of women are reluctant to take risks. Therefore, gender will impact the decision-making process at certain levels. As a result, this impacts the selection criteria for senior management positions. Sensitivity is another factor that researchers say makes gender differences. Women are more sensitive than men in most situations. Women therefore have greater social sensitivity and men tend to react with action. The result of greater social sensitivity would be to create biased decisions regarding different issues. This can therefore have a negative impact on the role of managers. (Patel, 2011). Therefore, the gender factor will affect both men and women on their career success. This can be due to internal forces and external forces. Without any influence from society, gender can also influence women to achieve their higher management goals due to their personal character. Research studies reveal that, depending on different industries and professional cultures, this has effects on the gender base of the management sector and this has a negative impact on women to develop their careers towards senior management positions (Acid , 2014). Below is the model created.