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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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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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

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.

Great Gen Y site, Small Hands Big Ideas, talks about emotions in the workplace. so, for those who think gender differences don’t apply to younger generations, think again.

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My 40″ keynote on “Get GenderSmart! Gender Communication for Recruiting & Retention” for the 2009 GAMA-LAMP conference in Atlanta – delivered live and finishing with a standing ovation from over 2000 field and home office leaders in the financial services industry.

 

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This YouTube clip explains one perspective, which I happen to agree with for the most part, about why women leave business…too much testosterone that yields inflexible attitudes. I believe both men and women would benefit by learning about the other and how to work together more effectively, but Patrick Dixon, contrary to some of the comments posted on the blog, makes some worthy points. Some people (like a few of those making comments) have such large chips on their shoulder they can’t see past them.

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Kathy Caprino wrote an excellent article i found on Article Snatch, discussing the opportunites and obstacles facing professional women both now and when the economy recovers. Women may make great strides during the comeback, but is it what they really want and need??? Some food for thought…

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Jenny Evans of Suite101.com writes a nice article about the ongoing debate addressing the source of gender differences – biology or socialization. If you’ve been following my work, you know that I believe nature is the primary motivator for gender communication and behavorial differences. And I believe socialization reinforces those differences and adds to them. Apparently Ms. Evans holds similar beliefs. Read article

Monica Lim writes about gender stereotypes on her blog, a perspective I am in partial agreement with. I agree completely with her definition of feminism, but I disagree with her downplaying of the impact of biology on gender differences. After studying gender issues and communication for 16 years, I believe most differences stem from biological or physiological sources. Yes, society’s expectations and programming adds to these differences and exaggerates them, but they had to be there in the first place! The secret is to accept our differences and not judge them as right or wrong, good or bad…and that’s where our challenges as a species lie.

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