For Everyone’s Benefit, Men Are Removing The Glass Ceiling
 
 
“Men are accelerating the women’s revolution,
because it’s good for their daughters and good for business.”
                        —Nancy Clark
 
 
I was asked recently what I thought was the major obstacle facing the working woman. There are a number of minor hurdles, but the major obstacle by far is Not Being Promoted As Fast As A Man.
 
What factors are causing this? It’s not education—women now earn 6 out of every 10 college diplomas. It’s not management skills—In Proof That Women Make Great Managers, I talked about studies that show women perform very well. It’s not family responsibilities—a woman returning from a leave to start her family does not dampen her aspirations to rise above middle management. What do the numbers show? How big is this problem?
 
Well, women are now half our workforce. You’d expect them to be half our upper management as well, but when you look at the occupants of Fortune 500’s top two tiers, fewer that 1 out of 5 are women. It appears men have a heck of a head start by being male.
 
Is this a deliberate slight to women? No, I don’t think it is. I think it’s been an oversight by men until recently. Companies are starting to ask how they can gain the loyalty of their female employees, because turnover is expensive. If you want time off to start a family, companies like IBM are willing to give a woman a sabbatical—because it saves money and earns loyalty. A company that overlooks the fact that men are on a promotion Fast Track—and women are not—will not gain the loyalty of its female employees. You can bet women know when they’re on the promotion Slow Track—it does not escape their notice. It will cost that company money and it will turn enthusiastic young women into disappointed employees within 5 years.
 
The fact that you’re the father of one of these enthusiastic young women shines a light on this problem. You begin to notice what’s happening at your company—perhaps for the first time. Take a lesson from Mike Cook of Deloitte and measure promotion rates and ask managers why they felt a woman “was not quite ready to be promoted.” This happens repeatedly because women don’t express their confidence as assuredly as men do. Let your managers know this is a behavioral difference and does not imply lesser talent.
 
Thirty years ago I never would have imagined that I’d be saying,
 
“Men are winning the women’s revolution for us—thank you.”  
 
 

Here’s the tip of the week.
 
Tip:
 
I’m advising you to make a difference for women at your company—using the words of men. Get a copy of a Harvard Business Review article by Douglas McCracken. It’s entitled Winning the Talent War for Women: Sometimes It Takes a Revolution. It’s related to the example of Mike Cook of Deloitte that I mentioned. Send a copy of the article along with an email to the highest ranking man at your company who you think has an interest in saving money. In the email, mention that if he’s interested you’d be willing to put together a taskforce of both men and women  to see if it’s possible to reduce female turnover at your company. Mention that Deloitte & Touche saves more than two million dollars a year with this strategy. It’s another win-win that’s good for women and good for business.
 
Further Reading:
 
Podcast (always less than 10 minutes), Working in Heels, by Nancy Clark, Are Women As Ambitious As Men? —Is Ambition Good For Men, And Bad For Women?
 
 
Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Nancy Clark, Take That Interview Or Promotion Review —How To Improve Your Interviewing Skills
 
Website, WomensMedia, by Victoria Simon and Holly Pedersen,  Communicating with Men at Work —It’s Important To Recognize The Differences

 
________________________________________________________

Tags: working, women, business, promotions, glass, ceiling

—Enjoy Some Risk-Taking—It’s Good For Business
 
 
It’s better to be boldly decisive and risk being wrong
than to agonize at length and be right too late.
—Marilyn Moats Kennedy
 
 
Much as I’d like to say the large-scale Hagberg survey shows all Good News for women in business, I can’t lie to you. I talked about the areas where women are doing well in my blog posting, Proof That Women Make Great Managers —Studies Show Areas Where Women Excel.
 
Where aren’t they doing well? Risk-taking. Some risk-taking can help a business tap new markets and surge ahead of the pack. Of course, sometimes there’s a good reason for avoiding risk. Risk aversion is an important talent if you’re herding children away from the edge of a cliff, for example. But business is a different story.
 
Are there women who take risks as well as the best of the men? Yep, and often you’ll find them at the head of companies. That tells you something.

The Hagberg study indicates that women—in a quest to be thorough—want all the data before making big decisions. This decision-making style, which may have helped a woman reach middle management, may discourage her from taking career-advancing, high-risk assignments. It may also discourage others from thinking of her as CEO material.

Taking risks and accepting the consequences is a required skill in corporate America’s top echelons. But hey, don’t despair. This is a skill that can be learned. Which brings me to my tip of the week.

Tip:  Nancy Clark’s 5 Steps of Risk-Taking
This tip is for you—unless you’re the type of woman who readily jumps on a motorcycle and has broken at least one arm and one leg doing something risky.

1.  Go with your gut.
Trust your instincts whenever you get the feeling that something could be a good business move.

2.  Give it the pro & con test.
You know, draw a vertical line on a paper and quickly list the pluses and minuses to the move. Notice the word “quickly.” This is not a time for you to try for perfection. Tell yourself that no one is 100% right all the time and tell yourself that time is a valuable factor to consider in business. 

3.  Move the bar up.
When you analyze your Pro & Con List, notice where you’d normally draw the line that causes you to say, “Nah, this is probably a No-Go.” What happens if you raise the bar 10%? 20%? If you’re normally a risk-averse person, better raise the bar 30%. All you need to do is decide what percentage is right for you.

4.  Gain buy-in from the right people.
Enlist the best people to work with you in implementing your idea.

5.  Handle the consequences professionally.
If you’re right, that’s a great business move. Handle your public relations and let others know of your success.

If you’re wrong, it’s not the end of the world. The end of the world would be if you did nothing. Formulate your statement along the lines of, “With hindsight being 20/20, I can now see that I overestimated sales to the X group.” or “I can see that the direction we should now head in is X.”

And start watching the guys! Yes, I said it. Watch when a guy lets a mistake slide off his back. At 5 pm it’s forgotten—and that’s a good model to follow.

Now get out there and learn to enjoy taking a few more risks!
 
 
Further Reading:
 
Podcast (always less than 10 minutes), Working in Heels, by Nancy Clark, 3 Steps To Gain More Authority —Take These Steps Towards Leadership & Authority
 
 
Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Nancy Clark, Holistic Thinking Is A Natural For Women —No, It’s Not New Age. It’s Business. It’s How You Come Up With New Ideas.
 
Website, WomensMedia, by Kimberly Wiefling,  How to Get Out of Your Own Way —5 Strategies for Thinking Outside the Box

 
________________________________________________________

Tags: working, women, business, risk-taking, change

Women, Change Your Body Language, Change Your Message
 
 
Do you want to improve the first impression you make? Do you want people to consider you as capable as a man working in the same field? As a woman, you have to pay more attention to the impression you’re making because you have to overcome the initial stereotype that pops up in the other person’s mind when then think, “Oh, it’s a woman.”
 
In my podcast, 3 Steps To Gain More Authority, I talk about the 3 components outside of body language that you must attend to. Pay attention to those and add to your repertoire a good knowledge of body language. It’s an important component of the amount of authority you receive. In fact, it accounts for more than half of what’s learned in a conversation. Don’t you want people to learn that you’re confident, competent, and sincere? If you answered “yes,” then keep reading and I’ll tell you how.
 
Entering a Room
If you’re walking in with others, try to walk in first. This makes a powerful impression on the people already in the room. If you’re on your own entering a room full of people, walk in the door, stand to the side and quickly survey the room to plan where you’ll go. Perhaps there’s a group of people you could walk over to and meet—in lieu of high-tailing it over to your familiar clan. Or, if you see a group of higher-ups, take this opportunity to walk over and ask them a question related to business. Ewww, is that out of your comfort zone? Here’s how to do it:  Approach the group and stand a little outside of their circle and smile, wait for a lull in the conversation, and I bet someone will say hello.
 
The Handshake
As a woman, you can’t get away with the advice given to men for a powerful handshake. That’s the one where he puts his hand out palm down and dominates the shake. My advice is for you to be the first one to put your right hand out, thumb facing up. It’s important to be the first because that’s powerful, but more importantly, because men often don’t know if you’ll be okay with a handshake. Let him know you are. Also, face him directly—not at an angle, which looks tentative and unsure. Grip his hand firmly and fully—not any of this fingertip stuff. Smile, look in his eyes, and say something.
 
Powerful Speaking
If possible, be the first person to talk. As you’re talking, try pausing now and then. It makes the impression that you’re powerful and controlling the conversation. One caveat here:  If there’s a man present who likes to interrupt women, forget the pausing and use the “just a minute” hand gesture in his direction.
 
Blinking & Nodding
Just saying those 2 words sounds powerless. Try not to blink too often—it signals nervousness. Try not to nod as often as you do with a group of women. We women like to reassure each other that we’re listening, so we nod. Curtail this body language with men. They take it to mean that we’re either in total agreement with their ideas, or we’re weak and doing the frightened doggie Don’t-Attack-Me stance.
 
Smiling
Here’s the double-edged sword:  People expect women to smile more often than men. When you don’t smile quite enough, you get saddled with the She’s Not Nice label. So go ahead with some smiling but NOT when you disagree with what someone is saying, and NOT when you’re being verbally attacked. Many women have the habit of smiling when they’re uncomfortable—and when you’re ideas are being attacked, you’re uncomfortable. On a related topic from my podcast on Gender Stereotypes Hold Women Back, I was asked if I’d advise a woman to frown when she’s on the receiving end of a put-down. My reply was that a firm, stern look goes over better than a Frowning Woman look.
 
Fidgeting
Imagine if you were videoed for a day at work. Would we see you twirling or fixing your hair, picking at your nails, rubbing your face, fiddling with paperclips, or tapping pens? There are 2 reasons for these actions:  You’re either trying to get rid of all that nervous energy, or you’re reassuring yourself that maybe you’re going to be okay—but you’re not sure. Those are 2 Powerless Messages. Stop it!
 
 
Tip:
You can add power by taking control of your body language. You may not be as tall as the men in your workplace, but you can still use positioning to your advantage. Take advantage of opportunities to stand up when others are seated. Occupy your space by putting your arms out on the chair or the table—look bigger and more powerful. When you’re sitting, don’t let your hands or feet dangle, don’t slouch back, but sit up tall and lean forward and look others in the eye. You can do that. Get to it!
 
 
Further Reading:
 
Podcast, Working In Heels, 3 Steps To Gain More Authority: Take These Steps Towards Leadership & Authority
 
Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, Double Standards For Men And Women: Is She Strong Or Just Plain Bitchy?
 
Podcast, Working In Heels, Nature vs Nurture —Men and Women: Different But Equal
 
Website, WomensMedia, by Dana Bristol-Smith, Presenting for Success: Simple Strategies to Add Confidence and Credibility to Your Next Presentation
________________________________________________________________

Tags: confidence, powerful, working, women

Money Facts You Should Know And Things You Should Do
 
 
Do women make less money? They sure do. Let’s gather our facts together here. We’re not even going to consider part-time work—that would make the gender pay gap look even bleaker! Comparing full time working women with full time working men, we find that the women are paid 80 cents for every dollar men are paid. Are you content with this? Are you going to be a good girl and say, “Thank you for the diminished returns?” Are you going to say, “But what can I do? I need this job. I want them to like me.” Or, are you going to begin making sure this no longer happens to you? I see it as my privilege to tell you two strategies that have worked for women in our WomensMedia network.
 
You Need To Ask, Ask, Ask.
First off, you aren’t asking for raises and other perks as often as men. Some studies show men ask 8 times as often for all sorts of things. Things you’d like to have—a bigger office, seminars, an assistant, an executive coach, heck, even a driver—well, maybe not all of those. I’ve talked about this in Women Need To Ask. And then on top of that, you’re not negotiating raises as often as men. When you’re given a raise, that’s the starting point for negotiations—that’s not “all they thought you were worth.”  Negotiating shows you have business savvy. Negotiating is a game you can learn to enjoy as much as the guys do. If you’d like a script to help you prepare to ask for a raise, see my post How To Ask For A Raise Even Though It’s Not The Perfect Time (It never is!).
 
Not Quite Ready For A Promotion
Next, you need to make sure your boss doesn’t decide “She’s not quite ready to be promoted.”  This is happening to women in huge numbers. It doesn’t matter if your boss is a man or a woman, if you don’t sound confident in your review, you’re Not Quite Ready. I know you’re probably thinking during your review that you should be 100% honest about how you feel. That kind of honesty is doing you a disservice! The problem is men don’t think this way and you’re probably being compared against the male standard or compared with a male colleague. A guy is thinking, “I’ve got to sound 100% confident—no vulnerability here—I’ll find out how to do the job later.”  I’ve been advising women:  If you’re 80% confident, act as if you’re 100% confident, because you know you can ask questions and figure things out later.
 
I cover the other reasons for the gender pay gap:  The Pink Ghetto Thing, Working Mommies, and the Profit Thing in my post, 80 Cents For Each Dollar A Man Makes Is Not OK!
 
Good News—Follow California’s Lead!
There is promising news out of California that women’s wages are increasing and the gender pay gap is narrowing in that state. This gain is attributed to: 
 

• More women are moving into the financial services field which had been male-dominated,
  
• Many women are working in the healthcare industry which is seeing growth,
  
• And many women are beginning to speak up for what they know they’re worth.
  

My goal is to show you the facts, give you solutions, and let you change the business climate for yourself and other women.  Are you willing to work on this problem? If so, begin using the following two tips and mention them to other women. You can be part of the solution!
 
Tip #1:  Ask for a raise and then negotiate it up. While you’re at it, ask your boss to throw in something extra like, oh, let’s say that conference next month in a sunny location.
 
Tip #2:  Don’t allow yourself to look Not Quite Ready for a promotion. Act as if you’re 100% confident. You can use my quote as a mantra:
 
            Act confident and the world will take you at your estimation.
 
 
Further Reading:
 
Listen to this Podcast, Working in Heels, by Nancy Clark, Women Still Make Less Money
 
WomensMedia, by Hilary M. Lips, The Gender Wage Gag: Debunking the Rationalizations
 
Women’s Lunch Talk, 80 Cents For Each Dollar A Man Makes Is Not OK!
 
Women’s Lunch Talk,  How To Ask For A Raise Even Though It’s Not The Perfect Time (It never is!).
_________________________________________________________________

Tags: money, women, gender, pay, gap, salary

Please see updated article.

Tags: business, women, power, leadership, female

Please see updated article.
  
_________________________________________________________________