Seize Your Leadership Day: A Woman's Place Is In The ?
by Miki Saxon“Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man.”
Last year I wrote about the global glass ceiling; today I have seven fascinating articles on corporate women. More of the same—or are things changing?
Kids don’t think so; in fact they’re more pessimistic.
“The percentage of girls who say they believe that today both men and women have an equal chance of getting a leadership position has declined from 35 percent to 24 percent between 2007 and 2008.”
And the guys still seem to have problems if women “get tough” (like them), especially in male-dominated fields.
“Speak lowly and slowly, but smile frequently…This advice…was based on my observation that women must adhere to a narrow band of behavior in order to be effective in mostly male settings.”
WSJ Online republished an article from 2005 looking at the difference between how most women relate to numbers vs. most men and its effect on earnings. Sadly, it hasn’t really changed.
“Female M.B.A.s have a bias to nurturing and team building and male M.B.A.s to a more analytically driven focus on success and independence. My advice is that both should develop more well-rounded skills.”
And then there’s ‘that vision thing’
“Studies show that in almost all measures of executive performance women are equal to or outperform men, with one exception: vision. Ibarra’s review of the 360 degree reviews of nearly 3,000 women revealed that, in general, they were seen as less visionary.”
McKinsey, however, presents a trenchant case (requires free registration) on why women are important, not in terms of political correctness, but to the bottom line.
“The gender gap isn’t just an image problem: our research suggests that it can have real implications for company performance. Some companies have taken effective steps to achieve greater parity.”
But the world turns and times change. When the ruling class screws up big time, people often embrace the opposition.
Iceland’s meltdown is leading to a revolt by the country’s women.
“Icelandic women, however, are more likely to be studying the financial news than the recipes – and more likely to be thinking about how to put right the mess their men have made of the banking system than about cooking them comfort food. … But for a generation of fortysomething women, the havoc is translating into an opportunity to step into the positions vacated by the men blamed for the crisis, and to play a leading role in creating a more balanced economy, which, they argue, should incorporate overtly feminine values.”
And the same attitude is surfacing across Europe.
“John Coates, a researcher at Cambridge University concluded that traders made the highest profits when they had the highest levels of testosterone in their spit. The downside, he said, was that elevated testosterone also led to riskier behavior, a formula for disaster as well as profit.”
What do you think? Would the bankers have played derivative Russian roulette if there had been more women in the in the halls of Wall Street power?
Your comments—priceless
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Image credit: flickr
February 28th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Well, I know I have a lot more money sense than my husband, and had to teach him how to handle it…
And now he’s in charge of multi-million dollar budgets at work, while I get to play all day. So I guess I’m smarter, too! ;^)
March 1st, 2009 at 10:58 am
Hi Donna, not only smarter, but damn lucky! You married a guy who not only could learn, but was willing to learn. Heck of a combination.
More proof of your smarts.
Thanks for stopping by and taking time to comment.