Original Disclaimer: Let me start off my saying I would never consider myself an activist on behalf of women’s rights. In fact, I generally consider myself in fairly conservative camp.
Updated Disclaimer: This is obviously one of those posts where I did a TERRIBLE JOB of communicating what I wanted to get across: that the articles referenced had me thinking about women in the workforce and what I could do to help empower other women to lead. Guess I won’t try to write any more posts before work? I would erase it but I have a feeling an interesting conversation will come out of it. Everyone, please play nice….
Yesterday I stumbled upon this post by Chris Brogan about “Women in the Workplace.” And something about it ruffled my feathers.
New data from the Center for Work-Life Policy demonstrate that while 47% of college-educated entry-level corporate professionals are female, women comprise a mere 21% of senior executives, 17% of Congress and 15% of board directors.
After citing the above statistics, Brogan made the point that, “maybe they [the numbers] point to the fact that it’s not always the position some women seek to attain.” That not “all women want to lead.” Which I’d have to wholeheartedly agree with, but think it is important to point out that surely not all men want to lead either. So I’m not sure if that explains some of the discrepancy in the statistics.
It seems obvious that the real question is how can we equip the women who do want to lead to succeed.
This morning I dug a little deeper and read the two must-read Harvard Business Journal articles that Brogan cited “What the U.S. Can Learn From Europe About Gender Equality in the Workplace” and “Can She Lead?” (I wish I could have recorded the argument that these thoughts ignited inside my head. Fascinating. I’m still trying to figure out which side won.)
As I stew on on all this, I’m left wondering:
If the solution lies more in creating a safe space for women to discuss issues and struggles, hopes and dreams, and champion one another THAN in quotas, targets, and legislation?
What I can do to empower the next generation of women to be more effective leaders so that they naturally rise to the top?
Curious, what do you think about all this?
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.