At first glance it looked as if Female Factor – The Codes That Need to Be Broken was yet another article in the continuing litany about women not speaking up for themselves nor asking for promotions and raises nearly as frequently as men do. But this article was not business-as-usual; rather it has a delightful surprise ending.
CH2M Hill – an example of trends to come
CH2M Hill is a global engineering, construction and operations company. Because of top management’s keen awareness of the shifting demographics of university graduates - increasing numbers of women obtaining degrees in science, engineering, architecture and construction management – they decided to evaluate their own culture related to the norms for men and women.
photo by Doreen Carvajal. Published 2/28/2011 NYT-Female Factor
Not surprisingly, they learned that in general women don’t self-promote, rather they expect their work to speak for itself. Men, on the other hand, typically work the system aggressively to obtain promotions and mentors.
The company also learned that the valuable tool of feedback was not being used effectively. For example, men were reluctant to give women feedback because the men saw it as being impolite.
Armed with this knowledge regarding:
- their internal culture and gender norms
- the talent pool changing to be more women
- their client base diversifying to include more women,
top management knew that they needed to make changes. They started a women’s network and annual meetings designed to promote the idea that women had to take control of their careers by freely asking for more responsibility and training.
Women were also offered training in negotiating techniques, mentoring seminars and lectures from academic experts on gender issues. As the gatherings evolved, invitations also went out to male employees. [Gotta like this company's approach]
The initiatives have helped to increase women in top positions; women now make up almost 30 percent of the company and a third of the board.
What This Means For All Women
1. Women [everyone] can learn to speak up for themselves.
2. There is not a female gene that makes women not speak up for themselves.
3. Smart companies, like CH2M Hill, are making internal changes based on shifting gender demographics and, just plain good business.
4. Not-so-smart companies will eventually have to get on-board to keep up with changing times.
5. Women can take control of their careers by freely asking for more responsibility and training.
Sisters, this is your chance. If you have difficulty asking for what you want then:
~Take negotiating classes at your local community college.
~Take public speaking classes. Go to Dale Carnegie, join Toastmasters.
~Accept that you have a responsibility to speak up for yourself; that your speaking up helps both you and the business you’re part of.
~This is also true if you volunteer and/or sit on a board of a non-profit or service organization.
The world needs to hear your voice. It is unique to you. It also offers perspectives that men don’t have simply because they’re male not female. As the number of women in business, government, NGO’s and politics increase, your voice will be listened to more and the pressure of your opinion representing the entire female gender diminishes.
Go for it! I would like to hear your voice in the comment section with your take on this post. And, what suggestions do you have for ways women can be more comfortable with speaking up?
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Hi Cherry – Another great informative post with a different slant about how women are enculturated differently than men. I believe these social skills can be taught, I just hope we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. Such as cultivating some of the cooperative traits that women do possess, and using this is in the corporate world as well. I have mixed feelings when I post about the corporate world, as I did not enjoy my stint there very much. I’ve commented about this before, about the heavy male camaraderie I encountered in the 80s in my position in management, and how painfully difficult it was to be only woman among my peers. I didn’t like it at all, and the off-business topics were not topics I was interested in, like football, and the choice of lunch venue such as local strip clubs were not my thing. Hopefully, things are different.
Cherry,
This is great, for one because I love to see companies embrace the need for diversity even if it is driven by profits instead of the other benefits. So be it. But here’s where I struggle. I don’t think the only cause of lack of women in leadership is women’s ability to speak up for themselves. Some do, surely, and the same could be said of men. But in my mind, the larger problem is whether the atmosphere in leadership positions suits a woman’s preferences and taste.
I used to work at a lab that at the highest leadership levels valued diversity (of all kinds I might add, not just race and gender). They made it one of their top priorities. One of the things I thought was interesting was that they said it wasn’t just a matter of trying to hire more people of diverse backgrounds, but creating an environment where people of diverse backgrounds felt comfortable. The Director said, “Look, if you’re an African American or Indian or whatever, and everyone else around you, both at work and in your community is white, how comfortable are you going to be? What’s the incentive for them to come work for us?”
And I wonder the same thing about enticing women into leadership. What’s being done to make the environment at the top more palatable? Because I don’t think the answer is to make women more like men! (Doesn’t that kind of ruin the whole point of diversity anyway?)
As always, your articles are well written and make me think more deeply. Keep ‘em coming.
Thanks for the well thought out comment Jen.
First, I agree completely that speaking up is only one variable for why there is a low representation of women in leadership positions. In terms of making the leadership arena more palatable to women, the primary way I think that’s going to happen is by having more women in those positions. Rather a catch-22 I know. Granted, as you noted in your example from work, any one who’s different (in terms of gender or race or country or sexual orientation etc.) than the present core group will feel uncomfortable and GOOD seminars on diversity will help the incumbents learn how to make the milieu more comfortable. But, and let’s just stick with gender for simplicity’s sake, women will feel less different when there are more women in the leadership circle. We need our pioneers. I’m also basing my response on “a 2006 study by the Wellesley Centers for Women that found three to be the magic number when it came to the impact of women on corporate boards: after the third woman is seated, boards reach a tipping point at which the group as a whole begins to function differently. According to Sumru Erkut, one of the authors of that study, the small group as a whole becomes more collaborative, and more open to different perspectives. In no small part, she writes, that’s because once a critical mass of three women is achieved on a board, it’s more likely that all the women will be heard. In other words, it’s not that they bring any kind of unitary women’s perspective to the board—there’s precious little evidence that women think differently from men about business or law—but that if you seat enough women, the question of whether women deserve the seat finally goes away. Women speak openly when they don’t feel their own voice is meant to reflect all women.” Newsweek. Cherry
Cherry–
I love your line about women not possessing a gene that renders them incapable of speaking their mind. Awesome!
Regarding women’s ability to speak up, I would suggest starting with a conversation in your head about why you don’t speak up. Not to bring Freud here, but we don’t perform or withhold a behavior unless there is some internal/external gain. For example, let’s say Polite Paula stays quiet so she can remain in a non-confrontational environment, or when she doesn’t assert herself, she elicits an angry response from a coworker. Polite Paula assures herself a conflict-free day, and the internal rush of seeing someone else blow their gasket.
Of course, this is only problematic if Polite Paula has a problem with non-assertion. But let’s pretend she does, b/c we want women to self-promote, right?
Love Jen’s point about creating a more diverse culture not only in terms of people, but environment. If I’m the only Greek woman in a sea of Latino males, how am I going to fit in on the 9-5?
Linda,
I think there’s a wealth of historical and cultural reasons why Polite Paula and others like her don’t speak up. As you note, there is a “pay-off.” I believe that the courses CH2M Hill offered were to help the Polite Paulas of the world recognize and change their internal belief systems about speaking up. I’m assuming also that the courses offered practice in doing so and in dealing with confrontational or reactive responses. THanks so much for bringing up this point, Cherry
Cherry,
You raise an important issue about women speaking up. I have been a faculty member in Psychology Programs for many years and so had much opportunity to observe how men and women react when a woman gives an opinion. My opinion is that it differed based on age, tone of voice/appearance, the topic, seniority and whether they regarded the woman as an expert in a particular area. Younger women with softer voices were often interrupted or less likely to be responded to when they did make a comment. However, when an older man made a similar comment later in the discussion, he would be listened to enthusiastically. Women who were older, more senior and wit long tenure, having a history of being an administrator, or having a unique expertise (well-respected researcher, stats professor) were taken more seriously and listened to more. However, without that something special, one had to be very persistent to be heard. And this was a relatively benign environment with a commitment to diversity in hiring. Therefore, it is important for women to learn to speak up, but also to persist, develop a thicker skin, and develop strategies. Some strategies I used were: humor, responding to another person’s comment and using that to lead in to what I really wanted to say, talking to people individually outside of the meeting, being warm and sociable, and doing research to back up my comments. Some women might want to comment on and challenge the culture. Some potential traps are: being labeled as strident or overemotional, being seen as a lightweight, and making people defensive. When first hired, I looked for other women who were being listened to and tried to learn from them.
Melanie,
I think that women are labeled and their opinions dismissed much more frequently than it happens to men. It gets tiresome.
I was consulting for a company a couple of years ago where in a certain meeting with one particular man, what I said was ignored. No response to it at all, as if I hadn’t even spoken. Bizarre, especially since he was part of the team that had hired me. It happened often enough that I knew I wasn’t imagining things. Would this have happened if I were a man ? I don’t know since I was the only woman in the room. But that was at least part of the issue. Fortunately, I’m not afraid to repeat myself or talk about what was happening. Since I’m also a facilitator I could bring it up as a lesson in facilitation vs. a personal issue. Everyone could “hear” that better.
Thanks for your insights and examples. Cherry
Great post and comments,
We all have responsibility to speak up; at work, in marriage, with friends, in the community, in the world…
So what do we speak up about? What is most important, and how do with get the message across?
If I am angry, I have to be careful that the message is not lost in “how” I am communicating my message. “She is a bitch and I don’t listen” – message get lost.
If I am afraid, I don’t get the message out. “She is a sweetheart, but she never rocks the boat.” – message is never delivered.
The question becomes? How do I speak up so the message get across?
Thanks for another important post about how women can stand up and speak for themselves. My comment is just a little corner of a big issue. Keep on writing about this Cherry!
Irene,
You said it so well – how do we speak to get the message across. So much of the content of the message can be lost if we’re conveying it by shouting or crying. I want to be clear that I’m not belittling or denying the feelings that the sender of the message has but too often the receiver here’s the emotion and not the content.
Thanks so much for pointing that out, Cherry
Cherry, this is awesome! Finally some progressive inquiry and action by a company. I’ve seen so many evaluations like this turn into a lot of lip service and phoney initiatives to “advance” women and other groups. This work is inspiring.
Women don’t make enough “noise” in business because they don’t know how in many cases. It’s often not about what they say but about the leverage they have (or haven’t) developed through relationships with others, often enlightened men, who see what women bring to the party. We need to be more political, using our talents for relationship building, influencing, and engaging others. It’s ultimately about our following and the volume they add to our voices. Great post again! ~Dawn
Excellent piece, Cherry. Thanks for the analysis of research and the so needed “surprise ending.” Too often research is dispersed by mainstream media as if it tells the story of how certain “groups” are, in this case, men and especially women. So loved your statement (proclamation!) that there is NO gene that makes women not speak for themselves — just a culture that limits women to meet their h-u-m-a-n strivings for love and connection, value and esteem, by teaching them to associate their self-worth with proof that they only think of others and not themselves (lest they be called that most feared work “selfish” which makes the other label of “bitch” pale in comparison. Thanks and press on, Cherry!
Athena,
Your comment made my heart sing. Thank you so much for the support of important issues for women. Cherry
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