Just how can a woman launch herself past the glass ceiling?
By Bernard Chanliau, Saturday 08 July, 2006
How emotional intelligence buys women the better deal
Why is the age-old glass ceiling still rarely smashed as women watch their male colleagues take the elevator to the top floor? Perhaps because women have more sense ….
Suppose you could eliminate the factors often blamed for the shortage of women in high-paying jobs. Suppose that promotions and raises did not depend on pleasing sexist male bosses or putting in long nights and weekends away from home and family. Would women make as much as men?
In an experiment in Pittsburgh, USA, economists tried to find out by paying men and women to add up five numbers in their heads, working first individually and then in four person tournaments with the winners financially rewarded. On average, the women made as much as the men under either system, but when they were offered a choice for the next round – to take the piece rate or compete in a tournament, most women declined to compete, even the ones who had done the best in the earlier rounds. Most men chose the tournament, even those who had done the worst.
The men’s eagerness partly stemmed from overconfidence, because on average men rated their ability more highly than the women rated theirs. But interviews and further experiments convinced the researchers that the gender gap wasn’t due mainly to women’s insecurities about their abilities. It was due to different appetites for competition. Whatever the cause, it helps explain why men set up the traditional corporate ladder as one continual winner-take-all competition – and why that structure no longer makes sense.
The result is not good for the bottom line, as demonstrated by a study from the Catalyst research organisation showing that large companies yield better returns to stockholders if they have more women in senior management. Companies run by women are much more likely to survive. According to one venture capitalist, “The typical guy who starts a company is competitive, charismatic leader – he’s always the firm’s top salesman – but if he leaves he takes his loyal followers with him and the company goes downhill. Women CEO know how to hire good sales people and create a healthy culture within the company. Plus they don’t spend 20% of their time in strip clubs”.
Women’s tendency towards emotional intelligence also gives them a head start, perhaps explaining why they are able to create a more human, communicative – and therefore trusting and stable – culture. The same emotional sensitivity, too, that steers them away from outright competition. (Though some would argue that women can be very competitive too!).
Still for all the executive talents that women have, for all the changes that are happening in the corporate world, there will always be some jobs that women, on average, will not want as badly as men do. Some of the best paying jobs require crazed competition and the willingness to risk big losses – going broke, never seeing your family and friends, dying young. What kind of a life is that? Women realise, better than men that in life there is a lot more at stake than money.
So if you are a woman staring at a glass ceiling, ask yourself what lies at the other side? Do you really want it? If so, how can you do it smarter than going headlong into a male wrestling match? It is not about being as good as or the same as your male counterparts; it is about using your emotional intelligence and female creativity to find new routes to reach the destination in a smarter way.
(Adapted from article in New York Times, 24 May 2005)
XenerGie offers 1-1 coaching for female executives in leadership – or aspiring leadership – positions. We help you find the confidence, headspace and the smarter ways to outperform – and have a life of your own - without needing to resort to naked competitiveness.
XenerGie works with both Irish multi-nationals and SME, providing our clients access to the rich tools and resources from the Lore Institute.