The Female Advantage
I read a very interesting article recently in The Boston Globe called, “The Female Advantage. A New Reason for Businesses to Promote Women: It’s More Profitable”.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/05/03/the_female_advantage/
The premise of the article is that companies with more female leadership in place at the Board and executive level are more profitable. From the article,
Measured as a percent of revenues, profits at Fortune 500 firms that most aggressively promoted women were 34 percent higher by industry means, a 2001 Pepperdine University study showed.
The call for women’s advancement in business has been primarily focused thus far on gender diversity and fairness. Equal representation. Equal pay. Now there is a new perspective to consider. There is a sound business reason to promote women. It is a proven advantage that companies with more female leadership have greater profits.
Why does the correlation exist between higher profits and female leadership representation? There are several theories presented in the article.
- women have a better understanding of the consumer market
- gender diversity leads to more vigorous discussions
- women have a different leadership style
- women are more risk adverse
Though I believe that all of the above factors contribute to the success of high performing companies, I also think that organizations that are sensitive to gender issues and actively support female managers in the pipeline are more likely to be high performing companies (true meritocracies) to begin with.
As the author states about these companies,
They’re picking the best and the brightest and letting them bloom.
What are your thoughts on this topic?
Why do you think that companies with more female leadership are more profitable?
Please send me your comments.
Create Visibility to Market Your Personal Brand
Visibility is the key component to any successful marketing campaign. There is no limit to the ways that you can market yourself. Visibility is contagious and once you get started it takes off. The biggest challenge is to get started.
Be aware that everything you do and everything you don’t do or choose not to do is all part of your personal brand. It all communicates your value and character. The way you answer your phone is part of your brand message. Your voice message, the way you respond to emails are all part of your brand so it’s important to be conscious of the way you are communicating to people.
Here are some tips on how to create visibility for yourself to enhance your profile at work:
- Sign up for a special project or committee that has visibility within your company which will introduce you to new colleagues and showcase your skills or teach you new skills.
- Become a SME (subject matter expert). Teach at a community college or an adult education course.
- Start a blog on the subject. Create buzz about you and your brand.
- Write a contributing article/column for your local newspaper or alumni magazine. You will have a track record of your work.
- Sign up to speak at a conference. Volunteer for a panel discussion.
- Be strategic about social media networking sites. Choose the sites that best suit your needs to promote your brand and carefully craft your promotional message and profile online.
- Nurture your network. The best way to market your brand is word of mouth marketing. Find conscious ways to communicate your message to your contacts. What they say about your contributes to the value of your brand.
Marketing your brand requires you to act selfishly to promote yourself and to grow yourself. This is a win-win situation for you and your company. Everything you do to promote your personal brand and grow professionally is gravy for them. When you are learning, growing, building relationships,and delivering great results, it’s good for you and good for the company where you work.
How Many Hats Can a Woman Wear in One Day?
No, this isn’t a riddle! We wear so many hats during the course of one day that it’s quite remarkable. How do we do it so effortlessly? Have you ever thought about all the different roles you play? There are probably way too many to mention in one blog post, however, since my intention is to give all women a much needed pat on the back and recognition for all they accomplish, I am going to give this a try.
Early Morning
- Housekeeper
- Caterer/short order cook
- Drill Sargent
- Chauffeur
- Event Planner
- Commuter
- Athlete (did you get your gym time in?)
Work
- Correspondent
- Visionary
- Leader
- Manager
- Customer Service Representative
- Computer whiz
- Team Player
- Mentor/coach
- Task Master
- Negotiator
- Marketing Director
- Salesperson
- Bookkeeper
- HR Director
- Peacekeeper
- Researcher
- Worker Bee
- Cheerleader
- Speaker/Presenter
- Humorist
- Nurse
- Therapist
Evening
- All of early morning activities again
- Disciplinarian
- Personal Shopper
- Laundress
- Librarian
- Sports Fan
- Teacher
- Activist/Community member
- Story teller
- Babysitter
- Entertainer
- Companion, lover, partner, mother, sister, daughter, friend
WHEW! It really is quite remarkable how many different hats we can wear during the course of one day and how we can switch those hats so effortlessly. We are FABULOUS!
I know this isn’t everything. What did I miss? I would love to hear your feedback and be able to add to the list!
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Accepting Praise
There are many things in life that in theory appear to be so simple yet can be incredibly difficult to actually invoke. At the top of my list of seemingly simple things to do is accepting praise graciously and saying, “Thank you.”
Why do we feel the need to deflect the praise, apologize for our success, and even offer self-deprecating remarks about ourselves in response to a compliment? Obviously, the recognition makes us very uncomfortable. Why is that? Do we feel we are not worth it?
When someone notices our good work we need to stand up and take the credit. How often do we slip into the habit of giving the credit to others and not wholeheartedly accepting a compliment?
Why should it be embarrassing or uncomfortable to be recognized for our hard work and effort? Our upbringing taught us to be humble and to wait to be noticed, yet taking the back seat has never gotten anyone to the C-suite. Taking the back seat has rarely helped anyone get promoted.
Women are definitely more troubled with accepting praise. We need to get better at stepping into the spotlight at work and increase both our visibility and credibility in order to advance our careers.
It sounds so simple. Just look someone in the eye and say, “Thank you. I appreciate the fact that you noticed how hard I worked on that project. It was a challenge and it ended up being very successful.”
Step up to the plate and welcome the applause. Step into the spotlight graciously and it will have a very positive effect on your career. Know that you are worthy of all the recognition that is bestowed on you for your accomplishments.
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