SHIFT: A New Paradigm for Women in the Workplace – Stories and Strategies.
Please enjoy an excerpt from the introduction to Chapter 12, a segment which includes interviews with successful women entrepreneurs.
PICTURE A LEADER
Picture a leader and who do you see? A simple exercise adapted for a workshop for executives by Tina Kiefer, Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, provides one answer to that question. The exercise revealed that both men and women almost always draw a picture of a man.
The same question has been used worldwide by psychologists with similar results. A study conducted by the Academy of Management Journal confirms this bias by stating that mere recognition as a leader in the workplace is more difficult for women than for men. The study also attested that, “Even when a man and a woman were reading the same words off a script, only the man’s leadership potential was recognized.”
In an installment of the former Shields and Brooks segment of the PBS News Hour, Mark Shields discussed the view of women in political office. “The presumption, the prejudice, that voters have had historically toward women candidates is, A. that they’re more honest than men, and B. that they’re more compassionate,” Shields said.
But, he added, that people question a woman’s toughness in the political realm. There’s no question that in 2018, women did very well at the polls. A survey taken at that time asked both parties if the country would be better off with more women in office. According to Shields, 36% of Republicans said they believed, yes, the country would be better off, in contrast to 83% of Democrats who did.
Behind Every Good Man
We measure success in different ways. As the story goes, Clementine Hozier, Sir Winston Churchill’s wife, was talking to a street sweeper for a while as they set off on a walk across town.
“What did you talk about for so long?” Sir Winston inquired.
His wife smiled, “Many years ago he was madly in love with me.”
Churchill smiled ironically.
“So, you could have been the wife of a street sweeper today?” he asked.
′′Oh no, my love,” Clementine replied, “If I had married him, he would have been the Prime Minister today.”
. . .
This is a brief excerpt from Chapter 12 of the book SHIFT: A New Paradigm for Women in the Workplace – Stories and Strategies © 2022, Mary Corbin / Olive George Press. No reprints without permission.
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