The Taboo of Women in ManagementGender inequality in the workplace has been a hot issue in many countries around theworld. In the last decade, women have entered the workplace in vast numbers, however, genderinequality persists with a lack of women in leadership positions. According to the InternationalLabor Organization, the number of women in management positions globally accounted for 30-40 percent in 2015. Overall, the United States is in 15thplace with 42.7 percent of women inmanagement positions. China and Japan are on the opposite end with 16 and 11 percentrespectively (ILO, 2015).The international firm Burns & McCallister has a reputation as an equal opportunityemployer. In fact, the firm has been recognized as one of the top firms for women because nearly50% of its partners are women and they have excellent benefits.The firm has expanded businessto other nations where cultures don’t support women in the negotiation process, which has ledwomen to work in clerical jobs. For this reason, Burns & McCallister implemented a policyprohibiting women partners from engaging in potential negotiations. As a result, the NationalOrganization of Women (NOW) is asking the firm to not accept the norms of those cultures andinstead apply their policies universally. The case suggests that Burns & McCallister arenegotiating with Asian countries such as China and Japan which have historically been countrieswith very traditional gender expectations. Let’s take the example of Japan where thesubordination of women is built into their traditions, influencing the family, economy and
