It’s hard to get acknowledgement for women who make a difference as I have been finding out this week.  I have been trying to get local papers and the veterans association to recognize a woman who thirty years ago made history during the Nicaraguan conflict.

I have newspaper articles from 30 years ago as well as documentation. She’s accomplished in  the FAA not to mention a cancer survivor.

Washington DC even made a point of listing the event.  We should be chasing her for this story instead I’m begging for a small amount of acknowledgement.

Thank you Bobbie

I am often brought in to speak to Women’s Groups and Iniatitives within large corporations to  address a huge concern/obstacle for women considering reaching for executive ranks:  time management and balance.

Women are simply afraid that the kind of balance they are accustomed to and desire is simply not possible at those ranks.  Their primary role models in those leadership roles are men—who still classically sacrifice tremendous amounts of time with their families in the service of their jobs.  They travel extensively, work very long hours, and relegate the running of the house and planning of childrearing/social organizing/leisure planning to their wives/partners.

Women are (by and large) not willing to make that sacrifice. Aside from the obligation of "traditional roles", women tend to thrive more on a balance between work and family…and cannot imagine how to maintain that balance in high executive roles. 

It can be done, if Women change the game….and there are time management strategies galore to boost your productivity at work so you feel better drawing the line at the end of the day. But iif the company culture has been set without balance, women are afraid to take the risk.

The good news is that I’ve notived a trend among male executives over the past few years—a pushing back on boundary-less work hours, and increasing value placed on time off for personal pursuits and family. 

As the male leaders of organizations shift their value system, it makes it easier for women coming up into the executive ranks to picture this as a safe territory—and, the game will be changed for all.  It becomes less of a gender issue, and more of an issue of a new coproate culture everyone benefits from.

obviously men are still the primary decision makers when it comes to choosing who takes those positions. and like it or not… men (especially in that age group) do NOT see women as being as capable of running things as they think men are. it’s pretty simple really. My best friend is a very close childhood friend of a fortune 500 CEO. When it came time to replace one of his top people he interviewed as finalists 3 men and a woman. if i remember right his board was also somehow involved. my friend said the comments he made about the men after thier interviews were all job related. but his main comment about the woman was that she was unattractive. something to that affect. I also sit and listen to my husband and his friends talk about women in the military, women pilots, etc.. i listened to how they talked during the campaign when hillary was a contender. the language they use is language that puts women a rung down. they don’t even know it. but they do it. and they don’t even see their own bias. it’s the age old story…. women won’t be well represented in those positons until more women are making the decisions as to WHO goes in those positions. kind of a crummy cycle.

I think there are a number of good points made in this discussion.

We do have a legacy of male privilege and stereotypes about men and women to contend with.  

I highly recommend the book "The Gender Knot" by Allan Johnson for a clear-headed analysis of how this situation arises.

The best way to get more women in corporate America is to support them in ways that will allow them to continue in their roles as good wife and mother.  My eldest daughter says that she and her women friends feel that they can’t do it all.  Her friends complain that husbands sulk when they’re asked to pitch in and do "women’s work."  That they don’t understand that when she’s worked until eleven the night before and was in the office at 6:30 the next morning, she doesn’t want to go out for dinner and a movie when she gets home.  She wants to stay home, order in, and get cozy.

Young women in corporate America feel that they have to work harder than men because they are being scrutinized more closely.  The old boy network is still just about the boys. 

There is still a double standard.  The wife is still expected to take care of the house and arrange the social life, even while working a twelve hour day.  These young women need support from their parents, their husband’s parents, and from their bosses, because husband’s still don’t get it.  Until husbands take over more of the household responsibilities along with other roles, such as that of social secretary, women will continue to burn out and in the end opt out to stay home and not go back to work after giving birth.

I am not saying that these young women should not be judged by the same standards as young men, I am merely saying that they need to be cut some slack so that they don’t feel that they are being judged more harshly than the men their age doing the same job. 

Book List

"THUNDERBOLT THINKING,  Electrifying Ideas for Building an Innovative Workplace" Product Development, Sales & Marketing Strategies, Process Breakthroughs, Customer Service and Team Performance. Grace McGartland

"Talking Dollars And Making Sense", Brooke M. Stephens, " Wealth Happens One Day At A Time" Brooke M. Stephens

"The Personal Touch", Terrie Williams

"The 9 Steps To Financial Freedom", Suze Orman  "Women & Money Owning The Power To Control Your Destiny", Suze Orman

"Steppin’ Out with Attitude", Anita Bunkley

"Pushing The Envelope All The Way To The Top", Harvey Mackay

" Staying Street Smart In The Internet Age", Mark H. McCormack

"Finish Big Fifteen Key Lessons to Start- and Run- Your Own Successful Business", Fred Deluca

"EMPOWER THE PEOPLE Overthrow the Conspiracy That is Stealing Your Money and Freedom", Tony Brown

"How to Succeed in Business Without Being White Straight Talk On Making It In America", Earl Graves Publisher & CEO Black Enterprise Magazine

"Networking The Great New Way for Women to Get Ahead" Mary Scott Welch

* I’ve found invaluable information in these books.