GenderSmart Solutions » Behavorial Differences

Women in Financial Services – A Must!

Jsanders — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:25:56 +0000

“Danica Patrick did it. Hilary Clinton did it. And now droves of females in the financial services industry are doing it – succeeding in what was once a man’s world. As this male-dominated industry continues to change, so do those who represent it.”

A post on Colonial Life’s blog addresses the recruiting and retention of women – reasons and benefits – and quotes my client Heidi Spilotros of Mass Mutual, one of the industry leaders in this area.

Bottom line, to reach the huge and growing women’s market, the most effective strategy is to recruit women as talent. The more women you have, the more you will get. As I teach my clients and audiences, women have different motivators and communication styles than men, and those differences must be addressed effectively in order to be successful attracting female talent and customers. It’s not rocket science! Just awareness and easily learned communication and management skills.

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Career Expectations of Millennial Women

Jsanders — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:14:18 +0000

Great article on Marketing Profs about the career expectation of Gen Y women. Lot s of statistics from a survey conducted by Accenture. Basically, millennial women expect to be able to have balance with work and personal life. They want to meaningful work, work they WANT to do.

An excerpt: ”

Drivers of Success

Asked to identify what is most helpful in driving professional success, just 16% of millennial women cite “women in company leadership” while 18% cite “having female role models at my company.”

More than one-half (59%) cite “a good work atmosphere” and 52% cite “open and honest communications with supervisors.”"

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Women and the Global Economy

Jsanders — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:01:13 +0000

Rick Goings writes a powerful message on Huffington Post, here’s an excerpt:”Studies have shown time and again that opening opportunities for women in the workforce can have a massive impact on a nation’s economy. A report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Countries found that restricting job opportunities for women is costing the region between US $42 and US $46 billion a year. Even in our country, women still only make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.”

And that’s just the beginning. Goings’ philosophy and position on women in the workplace is so similar to mine and what I teach that it’s as if he read my articles and then wrote the post. No wonder I found this post inspiring!

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Impact! Cleavage on Your Career

Jsanders — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:29:29 +0000

I am SO happy to see this post! It’s an excerpt from “The Male Factor: The Unwritten Rules, Misperceptions, and Secret Beliefs of Men in the Workplace” by Shaunti Feldhahn, and explains in no uncertain terms the negative impact that cleavage and tight clothes have on women’s careers.

I have always said dressing this way at work is a mistake. Do you want men thinking about business or boobs? To maximize credibility, respect, and upward mobility, dress professionally without calling attention to your body parts! Save that for social situations, not business.

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Good Book for Career Women

Jsanders — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:41:01 +0000

The Glass Hammer reviews a new book, “The Go-Getter Girls’ Guide”. Sounds like an important and interesting read for any woman interested in advancement and success at work. “Although the book is primarily geared toward women just starting out, Shigley’s advice holds true for women at any stage in their career – especially women who want to be more polished, more professional, and move ahead. Go-Getter Girl (GGG) is code for Type A personality, and The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide (GGGG) is filled with stories of highly-educated, highly-motivated, and high-achieving women.”

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Objectification Silences Women

Jsanders — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:48:53 +0000

“For something intangible, a glance can be a powerful thing. It can carry the weight of culture and history, it can cause psychological harm, and it can act as a muzzle. Consider the relatively simple act of a man staring at a woman’s body. This is such a common part of modern society that most of us rarely stop to think of its consequences, much less investigate it with a scientific lens.”
Continue reading the Not Exactly Rocket Science post

The Myths of Women’s Equality

Jsanders — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:59:38 +0000

Excellent post on The Glass Hammer today, well-researched and thorough article about how, despite some reports, women are far from achieving equality. I like this article for many reasons, one being it reinforces my work and perspective, and what I teach my corporate and association audiences: We have a long way to go; it’s not men’s fault; we need to fix the system, not men; until women can be women (vs. pretend-men) and still be successful, they cannot enjoy equality; and more.

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Why Men Don’t Promote Women

Jsanders — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:28:47 +0000

A great post on Fistful of Talent by Tim Sackett! REad this excerpt:

“Shaun, I hate to say it, but you are probably sexist, and it’s not “mostly womens fault” that you didn’t promote them. While I’m sure you would argue you are very in-touch with diversity issues, because of your heritage, I would also assume that same background has given you a skewed view of gender issues and the historical battles they have faced in climbing leadership ladders. The fact that you write that some might be surprised that most men have nothing against working for a female boss, shows you yourself were somewhat surprised by the data. Most men don’t have issues working for women, only sexist men have problems working for women.”

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Importance of Work/Life Balance

Jsanders — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:46:27 +0000

The Glass Hammer posted an impressive article about work/life balance and the importance employers should give it.

“A recent study found that four out of five employees feel that work-life balance considerations play a major role in deciding whether or not they will leave their current employer.”

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Books for working women

Jsanders — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:07:58 +0000

WSJ reviews three books written for working women and pulls out the common threads relevant to flexibility, advancement, “having it all”, and balance. A good solid article…

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Menopause = Assertiveness and Leadership

Jsanders — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:43:38 +0000

The Dallas Morning News writes (by Debbie Fetterman) that menopause brings out and enhances women’s assertiveness and leadership skills. Well it most certainly can impact women’s lives that way, due to lower estrogen which then allows testosterone to have more influence over behavior and attitude. Interesting!

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Survey Results – Gender Styles At Work

Jsanders — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:17:31 +0000

CNNMoney.com has posted results of a workplace survey exploring gender style differences in the workplace. No big surprises to me, a gender issues expert, but still interesting. Bottom line, duh, differences exist in motivational and performance drivers…the more companies respect and address these differences, the more financially successful they will become.

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Jsanders — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:04:21 +0000

Katherine Kersten at StarTribune.com writes about a Wharton study that indicates women are less happy now that they have more equality, and discusses educated guesses as to the reasons why.

I am a gender issues expert, one who fervently believes in equality. I also believe some of the old stereotypes. No, not the ones that go too far and make unfair assumptions and judgments, but the ones that simply stem from general truths. I believe Ms. Kersten is correct in her estimations, and i believe that for survival reasons women have been biologically and socially wired, for thousands of years, to prioritize and covet family and relationships.

Significant detour from these “happiness” motivators cause deep stress, as does the dual role of career and primary household/family manager. There goes happiness and peace of mind. Many women can handle this. Many women have figured out how to have both high-powered career AND family. But, however unconsciously, the further many women get from the roles they have been wired for, the less peace of mind and contentment they will have. Yes this is a general statement, and there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rule.

I don’t have time to explain all my rationale (thoroughly researched, by the way), but suffice it to say I was not surprised at all by the results of this study. Women are most definitely capable of strong careers. The world needs women in the workplace as baby boomers retire and the number of available men dwindles. So if a woman gets fulfillment and pleasure and can avoid heavy stress, more power to her. But she should not be judged negatively if she chooses to focus solely on the most important job of all…raising healthy, happy, highly functioning children who will be responsible for the future of the world. And the second most important job? Keeping herself happy and healthy, otherwise she cannot be a consistently positive influence on anyone.

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Women’s Testosterone Affects Career Choice

Jsanders — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:19:30 +0000

US News & World Report reveals results of a study to determine if higher testosterone in women impacts their career choices and financial decisions. Big surprise…it does! Read article

Gender Laughter Differences

Jsanders — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:36:18 +0000

Jackie Papandrew writes in her Woman Around Town blog that some men don’t believe women can be funny. Well she and I disagree with that…we just do funny differently. Our brains process funny in different ways. Read her take on this laughing matter.