GenderSmart Solutions » Communication Style Differences

Challenges for Women in Leadership

Jsanders — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:23:17 +0000

Tina Vasquez for The Glass Hammer writes about the “Double Bind” for women…they are viewed by male leaders as either not tough enough, or, if they adopt masculine the characteristic of aggressiveness, then they are inappropriate. A study Tina discusses confirms my position in my article of several years ago..The Double-Edged Sword.”

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Assertiveness and Paychecks

Jsanders — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:55:19 +0000

The Glass Hammer has yet another great article, reviewing and commenting on a study comparing men’s and women’s “agreeableness” and how that affects their pay levels. Agreeableness in this context really means negotiating skills. Definitely worth reading!

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Leadership – What Men Can Learn From Women

Jsanders — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:30:26 +0000

The Washington Post discusses studies from several universities that clearly indicate women more naturally foster collaboration, openness, inclusiveness and respect. These qualities have been identified as necessary for leadership success in the 21st century. As Carol Kinsey Goman writes, “Any leader can do that.Female leaders just already do it more naturally.”

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Eye-Opening Study on Women’s Leadership Obstacles

Jsanders — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:56:16 +0000

The Glass Hammer reports: A new study by McKinsey has shattered the notion that women aren’t rising to the top in significant numbers because they don’t want to be leaders.

In fact, the report showed, women in middle management very much want to reach senior executive levels – even moreso than women in entry level corporate jobs. The study, “Unlocking the full potential of Women in the US Economy” showed that while 79% of women in entry level roles agreed or strongly agreed that they “desire[d] to move to the next level,” 83% of women in the middle management said the same.

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Why Women Make Good Leaders

Jsanders — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:54:22 +0000

Research conducted by McKinsey found that women apply several positive leadership behaviors more often than their male counterparts. Developing people is consistent with helping others achieve their full potential in life. It’s part of nurturing.

Women – A Huge Business Opportunity

Jsanders — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:06:05 +0000

companies and governments can ill-afford to ignore a woman’s needs when it comes to balancing her work and home life. With 60% of the university graduates in the United States and European Union being women (with many other parts of the world following suit), women are an important resource. In order to tap into their potential, governments and companies have to think of ways to facilitate having a family and working at the same time.

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Women More Trustworthy?

Jsanders — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:54:08 +0000

Let’s be honest: everybody lies. The question is whether people believe what you say. And a new study shows that your trustworthiness depends not just on the words you use, but on who you are and how you say them.

In this month’s Journal of Language and Social Psychology, Marilyn Boltz and colleagues delve into the intersection of gender, speech patterns and deception. “We found that people perceive women to lie less than men and that they perceive men and women to tell different kinds of lies,” says Boltz, a professor of psychology at Haverford College. “And we found some effects of response timing.”

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Women Execs Twice As Likely to Leave Jobs

Jsanders — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 14:11:53 +0000

Oregon State research shows that there is no one reason why women executives are twice as likely to leave their jobs just before reaching the top, but we do know for certain that a woman’s traditional role as primary caretaker still plays a major part.

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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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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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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

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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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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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.