The Inherent Power of Women in Business
The Inherent Power of Women in Business
Master Life Coach and NLP Practitioner.
I recently watched the movie ‘9 to 5′, an old 80’s classic starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, and depicts Dolly Parton’s character, where she suffers constant unwanted sexual harassment from her boss (Hart), who has managed to convince everyone at Consolidated that Doralee is his mistress. In short, the trio jokingly fantasize together about how they’d like to bump off Hart! Eventually, Hart finds himself a prisoner in his own home, as the three women keep him tied up while they plan to get themselves out of this mess and get back at Hart… for good! Part of the reason it was so popular was undoubtedly due to the fact that the film focuses on women being treated appallingly in the workplace by a man and audiences who could identify with that just loved seeing them get even!
So what do these three women personify in our workplace? Dolly Parton for her body and her smarts? Jane Fonda for her soul or cleverness? Lily Tomlin for her spirit and wit? My opinion is that each actress represents what all men (represented by Hart) find extremely challenging, distracting, and why they need these women types in a subservient role.
Man’s idea of including women in business is for support mechanisms rather than talent, abilities and capabilities. Of course the women must be smart to do that!!! Men can’t in reality accept women for who they are because they themselves aren’t free from their own culturally inflicted ‘dumb-me-down’ stereotypes, conveniently separated into masculine feminine work/job/occupational roles, to support their massive egos as dominators. The reason many men are in the business of making big money is for this very purpose (metaphorically speaking), to dominate women (for pleasure) and weak men (for sport)! When women endeavour to imitate this business culture they are forcing men to perpetuate the myth.
Even though this movie has stood the test of time and is still funny to watch – it got me thinking – “What has changed in our today’s workplace in regards to how women are viewed by their peers, their co-workers and even themselves”?
In my own working experience, I found this to be more than true. Even though I have worked at very high levels on the corporate ladder, my opinions and insights were rarely taken seriously by my peers, mainly men. Being a part of the Board of Directors in one particular organisation, and being the only female at the table, I found that when I used my intuition and insight to perceive the underlying issues of the business and would then convey suitable solutions, I was ignored and basically told to ‘get me another coffee’. When a Board member suggested the same solution, he was praised for his brilliance. I’ve never believed that I need to act like a man to be heard, I then soon learnt to not share my insights.
A little background and statistics (for those of you who love this stuff)
The story of the rise of women in work over the past 25 years is the story of Australia’s economy, says Greg Jericho from the ABC Drum program and women now account for just over 45 per cent of today’s workforce. The growth in women working in “Professions” has increased to the extent that now over half of all such occupations are held by women – placing it with the three traditional women occupations of “Clerical and Administration”, “Sales” and “Community and Personal Service”
The next question to ask is, what is the greatest area of need in the business world for women and where should they be taking their place? I have worked in the corporate world for over 20 years and for some of those years, at a very high level globally, working alongside a very powerful business owner. In this time in the corporate world, I have worked with women at all levels in the organisations, from administrators to head of global regions and this is what I have noticed:
1. Women believe they have to act like men to get ahead like men! Even in this ‘enlightened’ time of business, most women still believe that they need to be men to get to the top and to earn any respect from their teams. This statement is made after many years witnessing women’s behaviour in the work place and also talking to many women about their perceived place in the world.
2. The reality is – women are different than men!
Let’s look deeper at this and a few differences between men and women
1. Women’s brains are wired differently to that of men’s brains from birth
2. Women are more intuitive and are guided by their hearts.
3. Men are more thinkers and are guided by their brains – i.e. Women feel – men think
4. Men signify the masculine yang energy in Eastern traditions while women signify the feminine yin energy.
5. Women tend to communicate more effectively than men, focusing on how to create a solution that works for the group, talking through issues, and utilizes non-verbal cues such as tone, emotion, and empathy whereas men tend to be more task-oriented, less talkative, and more isolated.
6. Men tend to have a “fight or flight” response to stress situations while women seem to approach these situations with a “tend and befriend” strategy.
This is just a few of our differences, the list is endless. I don’t want to be like a man, I was created differently, and I have different strengths, different insights, and different ways of looking at the world! I have also found that over the last decade, women have evolved faster than men – just look at what men have achieved and look at what women have achieved since the early 1900’s. It seems that women have changed more than men in many aspects of their lives.
Knowing what we know today about ‘equality in the workplace’ and ‘the glass ceiling for women’ – why is this still a topic for discussion in 2017? What is the greatest area of need in the world where women should be taking their place in business and not just following men? For change to happen there needs to be a quantum shift in our thinking!
The greatest need facing women today in business, in my opinion, is that women need to understand their inherent power and accept this power as world changers. Women need to understand who they are. Women need to connect more with their heart centre and use their intuition and uniqueness more. Changing our world will not happen by force, but will happen with women who have a heart of compassion and love for others. It’s our difference that will make the difference in our world. Accept our difference and revel in it for it is this difference that will change the face of business today.
Viva la difference!!
©Noelle Harb