Getting to Gender Balance: Let’s Drop the Resentment and Fear

by | Dec 14, 2018 | Balance of masculine feminine, benefits of diversity, bias, comfort principal, diversity and inclusion, fear of difference, gender bias, gender bias, gender diversity in leadership, gender parity, images of leadership, implicit bias, Men and women at work, progress of women, unconscious bias, unconscious bias, unconscous mind-sets | 0 comments

Send to KindleThis is the season of love, joy and peace. I’m looking at how we achieve real diversity and inclusion in the workplace in that spirit – of peace on earth and good will to men and women. As we celebrate progress in the area of gender balance in the...

A Woman Presidential Candidate: A Score for Gender Equity?

by | Jun 14, 2016 | Gender Balance, gender equality, gendered definitions of leadership, images of leadership, progress of women, women aggressive communication, Women in management, Women on boards | 0 comments

I got weepy when Hillary Clinton locked up the nomination for president, not for political reasons but because it is historical. I celebrate what it says about the progress of women and what it does to our images of leadership.

The Slow Pace of Gender Equality: What Is the Root Cause?

by | Jan 26, 2016 | benefits of diversity, bottom line value of gender diversity, gender balance, gender inclusive, gendered definitions of leadership, images of leadership, invisible mind-sets, invisible mind-sets, Masculine Feminine Difference, obstacles for women in business, Organizational culture, progress of women, unconscious bias, unconscious images, unconscous mind-sets, understanding difference, value of difference | 0 comments

Yes, there is progress in seeing more women at leadership levels in business; but the pace remains glacial. We need to understand the reasons at the deepest level – so we can pick up the pace and capture the known benefits. I was invited to post a blog on the London School of Economics Business Review. I used the opportunity to express my thoughts on the root cause. I hope you’ll read it!

Women in Corporate Leadership

by | Oct 7, 2015 | Power, progress of women, women and power, Women in management | 0 comments

Women in the corporate workplace have had lots of press lately. First, the September issue of Fortune magazine with its list of the 50 most powerful women. Then came the report by Lean In and McKinsey & Company, Women in the Workplace 2015, and Sheryl Sandberg’s summary of the report in the Wall Street Journal. It’s a mixed bag of positive and negative. Let’s take the “glass half full” view and celebrate 50 incredibly powerful women.

Working in a Male-Dominated Environment: A Stressor?

by | Sep 9, 2015 | double bind, double bind, gendered definitions of leadership, masculine communication style, masculine workplace, obstacles for women in business, progress of women, Strengths of women's leadership, unconscious images, unconscous mind-sets, Women in management | 0 comments

New research confirms what we know. Being one of very few women in a “male-dominated” organization or field can be stressful. Researchers found high levels of the stress hormone cortisol (“linked with later negative health outcomes”) in women in this situation. Even in industries where women are well represented, men dominate upper levels of management. It is stressful to walk the tightrope of the “double bind” and work to be heard and seen as competent. So my guess is that this research is applicable to many many women in business.