Johan

Are Certain Types of Businesses Harder for Women to Break Into?

One of the most popular slogans of the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s was, “You’ve come a long way, baby.” Fast forward to the present day and that might hold true in some businesses, but there are some which seem to maintain a closed-door policy and a glass ceiling that women are still battering themselves against more than 40 years later.

Technology

The most obvious types of businesses that are harder for women to break into are tech-related. Tech seems more of a boy’s club than an industry in which women can achieve equality. While a recent report from Pew Research has shown that the majority of Americans think women are just as capable in terms of leadership as men, very few women hold positions as CEOs in general (only 26 out of the Fortune 500 companies), and women as leaders in tech companies is even more rare.

The skewing seems to start at a young age, with schools encouraging boys in math and science and girls in softer subjects like liberal arts. This bias continues in high school and the trend is maintained at college level as well, with very few women majoring in computer science or technology. An “old boy network” shuts them out still further.

Financial Corporations

In financial institutions, women seem to have to do more to prove themselves than men, and to have to keep on doing it over and over again. They often work harder, for one-third lower wages, and are held to a higher standard than men. Even if they try to make a real difference, this can often be held against them.

In a recent opinion piece published in the New York Times, studied showed that if a male executive expressed their ideas freely, they got a 10% better competence rating in their annual review. By contrast, if a woman did the same, they received a 14% lower rating. If a man and woman both express the same idea, the man gets a higher performance rating, while the woman’s stays the same.

Other Big Businesses

Studies have also shown a “motherhood penalty” and a “fatherhood bonus.” Women with children are seen as less committed to their job than men. If a man is a father, however, he is actually seen as more committed. Factors such as the majority of childcare burden resting on the mother’s shoulders is never taken into account. Fathers are actually sent on more management training courses than single men, who in turn are sent far more often than women.

Start-Ups

Start-ups also tend to be “old boy networks” that shut out women except for the more subordinate tasks, even though studies have shown that start-ups led by women are more likely to succeed and innovative firms with women at the head are more profitable.

New companies with more gender diversity have more revenue, customers, market share and profits. This demonstrates that while there is still a glass ceiling in some businesses, there is also room for women to bring their skills and talents to play. In this way, they can build stronger companies by daring to be entrepreneurial, and to support each other with an “old girl network” that can open more doors for women.

The Benefits and Challenges of Working for the Same Sex

As a woman entrepreneur, you might be delighted at the prospect of working with women rather than men, only to discover that is not all you imagined it was going to be. This is because the kind of energy that drives one person to be a leader and another person to be a colleague working under them tends to be a very masculine, driving sort of energy – one that even women possess.

Male versus Female Energy

Men and women possess both masculine and feminine energy. It changes in terms of balance depending on the situation. For example, in the planning stages of a new project, feminine energy might be at the forefront, as people allow a flow of ideas to go back and forth as to how best to tackle the assignment. However, that flow would be of less value as the deadline approached. Things need to be tightened up, buttoned down, and pushed through in order to meet the deadline.

Some women have more masculine energy, others more feminine. Some women “fake it ’til they make it”, thinking they have to be tougher than any man they work with. This can lead to bullying behavior. Some women are even harder on their female colleagues than the men, for a couple of reasons.

One reason is that they are trying to toughen them up; they didn’t have any breaks to get where they were, so why should any other woman. In other cases, it might be due to them having climbed the ladder and wanting to pull it up after themselves, discouraging any woman they work with from aspiring to become a leader too.

One final point which no one can really help is biology and hormones. Let’s face it. Women change at certain times of the month each month until they reach menopause, and even the most reasonable of bosses can become a nightmare at times. But then, so can we all. It’s important to try not to let personal issues get in the way of professional ones, no matter which side of the desk we are sitting on.

The Pros of Working with Women

The benefits of two women working together is that it tends to be much more team-oriented, with a free flowing of ideas. The best bosses are those who are willing to mentor others. They are happy to pass along their skills and don’t feel competitive if another woman joins the team.

Rather, they are supportive and welcoming. They share a common vision of a better company, a better world. They understand the challenges of being a woman in the business world and don’t try to make it harder for you than things have to be – due to a lack of awareness or unreasonable demands on your time when you are desperate to get home to the kids.

An empowered woman does not take her power by robbing it from others, but rather, by cultivating it in herself – often with the help of strong role models of both genders. And that empowerment can lead to success in any career.