Since the start of my career, I have always wondered about the reasons which limited the presence of women in managerial positions. The easy and perhaps part of the answer is: Businesses are run by men for men so it is difficult for women to stand out.
For my part, I have always enjoyed having a female mentor to guide me in my work. Quickly, I think of two people: Louise Herbert and Isabelle Leblond. They are two exceptional women, attentive and always available to help others. Not for prestige, but simply because it’s the right thing to do.
It’s been several years since we last worked together, but the impact they have had on my professional life is undeniable: I am a better person and a better manager because I followed in their footsteps. Thank you ladies.
Why this need, for my part, for a female presence at work? Mainly for the complementary aspect in the vision of events. I am a Cartesian man (master’s degree in chemistry so comes with the territory) and although not all women are bags of emotions like many men believe, they are normally more receptive and attuned to emotions: those who belong to them and those of others.
They also have a different vision and perception then men in relation to situations. This allows for the ability to look at situations that arise from multiple angles to employ the best strategy to resolve the problem or improve work processes.
Do all women have what it takes to be good managers? Of course not, but the same goes for men. I have had and seen bad managers in my career, more men than women.
The impact is equally damaging in both cases, but I believe that society and corporate members are harsher on women than men.
The question remains: why are there so few women in leadership positions?
During my lunchtime discussion group (every second Tuesday at noon) where we discuss several elements of management or business life, the issue came up and we decided to devote a full meeting to it.
To help me set the table, I found a TED Talk on You Tube hosted by Sheryl Sandberg called: Why we have too few women leaders? If you are interested, click on the video below.
The important points that emerge from this video to explain this phenomenon are:
- Around 15-16% of management positions are occupied by women and this percentage does not seem to be increasing.
- The external perception, whether from men or women, is that women in power are cold and difficult to trust.
- Women take on more family responsibilities than men, which makes promotions more difficult to obtain and maintain.
- When women start thinking about getting pregnant, they stop progressing and no longer work to get the promotion, etc., but to stabilize their situation before the child comes. The problem is that getting pregnant can take a long time… so the wait to return to a conquering mentality to reach the other levels can take a long time and your organization will have forgotten you…
- Exactly the same situation, taken as an experiment, but changing the name of the person to that of a man or a woman, leads a team composed of men and women, to the conclusion that both people are equally qualified , but that the woman is not trustworthy. The same situation, CV, etc., so we are really facing a paradigm and very strong prejudices towards women.
It is therefore possible to see that there is an element of perception which probably comes from the way in which we were educated, because this reflex is present in both men and women. Also, the management of children and family life seems to continue to be mainly the responsibility of women.
Unfortunately, except for Arnold Schwarzenegger in Junior, we haven’t found a way for men to carry babies. So, if couples want to continue having families, except through adoption, the woman must become pregnant and there will be an impact on her possibility, at least temporarily, of taking a position in a company.
Back with my guests in the lunch chat, I was pampered, because the two women present with me had chosen to put their careers on hold for a while to have their children. It was really interesting to understand that it is difficult to be a mother and a professional at the same time and that both chose family well-being over their own professional progression .
In fact, taking care of children brought moments of pure joy, but also some frustrations, because the profession of mother, because yes it is quite a task to take care of children, is extremely demanding.
I stayed with my young children a few times and at the end of the day I was exhausted so I can’t imagine doing this for 6 months, 1 year or 5 years. My wife has all my admiration for spending so much time taking care of our children and I have thanked her several times.
Now, although my children are teenagers (two boys aged 17 and 15), my new reality allows me to take care of the house, but I am not fooling myself and I know that my wife has taken care of it for years.
I worked 50 hours a week with almost 8 hours in transit per week and I even did an MBA part-time for 5 years when my youngest son was between 2 and 7 years old.
Quite an order…
My wife is a full-time high school mathematics teacher, which involves a lot of work in the evenings and weekends in addition to family responsibilities.
Even during my MBA, I had the easier schedule of the two and I realize that.
But, we get caught up in the game and we take the situation for granted….
How can we help people respect this sacrifice and recognize that it is necessary for the sustainability of the human species without penalizing those who do it by preventing them from progressing professionally?
In conclusion, what should we put in place in companies currently and what should we teach the workers of tomorrow to allow women to be part of the two photos that I have included in this text: accomplished in professional life and/ or in their family life.
The merit should be the same and promoted in both cases.
So, how can we men (and women) help them in this battle?
Carl Michael Tessier
Coach in high-performance team development and tailor-made support
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