Female leadership: perceptions, reflections, and challenges in public administration/Lideranca feminina: percepcoes, reflexoes e desafios na administracao publica/Liderazgo femenino: percepciones, reflexiones y desafios en la administracion publica

Discrimination against women in strategic positions is a recurring issue in the labor market, particularly in Brazil. Even though women generally have higher qualifications than men, this is not reflected in their salaries or positions. The causes of such limitations have historical, social, and psychological roots. This article aims to understand better the challenges faced by women in the public administration of the Brazilian executive branch. The study is based on the barriers to reaching leadership positions, such as "Glass Ceiling," "Leadership Labyrinths," and "Queen Bee," commonly described in the international and national literature on the theme. The study is organized in two stages. In the first, a qualitative approach was adopted, involving semi-structured and in- depth interviews with leaders--Under Secretaries--working in the government of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The second stage adopted a quantitative approach, with a questionnaire applied to female managers working at the State Secretariat of Finance and Planning of Rio de Janeiro. As a result, it appears that women still suffer from prejudices and barriers associated with male codes of professional advancement. However, most women indicate no direct prejudice, claiming that they have grown and reached strategic positions on their own merits. Keywords: Female leadership. Women's career. Public administration. Equal opportunity. A discriminacao sofrida pelas mulheres em posicoes estrategicas e fato recorrente no mercado de trabalho, em particular no Brasil. Mesmo que, geralmente, elas possuam maior qualificacao que os homens, isto nao se reflete nos seus salarios e nos cargos por elas ocupados. As causas de tais limitacoes possuem raizes historicas, sociais e psicologicas. Neste artigo objetiva-se melhor compreender desafios enfrentados na ocupacao de posicoes de lideranca por mulheres na administracao publica do executivo brasileiro, tendo por base barreiras comumente descritas na literatura internacional e nacional sobre o tema do alcance de postos de lideranca--"teto de vidro", "labirintos de lideranca", "abelha rainha". Metodologicamente, o estudo compreende duas etapas. A primeira, de abordagem qualitativa, compreende entrevistas semiestruturadas e em profundidade com liderancas--Subsecretarias--da Administracao Publica do Rio de Janeiro. Na segunda fase, quantitativa, fez-se uso de survey, aplicado a gestoras da Secretaria de Estado de Fazenda e Planejamento Fluminense. Nos result