Given the success of other countries in advancing women in executive leadership, why haven’t we seen similar success here?
July 10, 2007
Given the success of other countries in advancing women in executive leadership, why haven't we seen similar success here?
Posted by twhpadmin under Uncategorized[7] Comments
July 10, 2007 at 3:07 pm
I think because we are still a white male dominated society and still perceive men as stronger, if girls had to serve in the military like they do in Israel, I think the whole perception and reality would be different.
I also believe until men are finally invested in parenting and child care we will not have equality. How can we still be paid less than men, why isn’t someone banging that drum every day until it’s accomplished.
I think the White House Project should sponsor a series of women’s leadership forums in high schools and colleges around the country broken down by subject–leaders in business, leaders in science, leaders in the military, leaders in health care, you get the drift–And then those kids would be able to relate.
The other piece is, and this makes me nuts, why aren’t more women on the talk show circuit, besides Gwen Ifill who is Fab, why can’t Tim Russert bring himself to have 6 straight shows with women experts
And the culture of celebrity doesn’t help–we are not seeing women executives as full human beings, why so many feature stories on male execs and not female in print and the net–
when women become the Rupert Murdochs, and the Warren Buffets, and the Dolans–maybe things will change–OPRAH can work her magic, and she casts a long beautiful shadow, but we need more OPRAH’s
Maybe OPRAH and the WHite House Project can hook up–and I would be glad to help plan it.
Lastly, the last time I looked the history that my children study in school doesn’t really include women leaders too well–maybe the Dept. of Education needs to look at what they are imparting to our children as well.
Diana Hess
July 10, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Because American women believe that American men are emotionally weak, insecure, and vulnerable and that their egos would crumble in the face of confident, self-possessed women leaders.
July 10, 2007 at 6:32 pm
America needs to re-evaluate our attitude about what qualities are considered leadership qualities.
Media constantly reafirms ideals of leadership and they are almost always males with male qualities such as assertiveness and agression.
When we start seeing women in the media who are portraying female leaders with female characteristics such as nuturing and understanding then American society will start to accept the notion that women posess equally important qualities.
And it wouldn’t hurt to see female leaders who own both female and male qualities. Too often we are dooped by media to believe that women are either ultra feminine or oober masculine, and both of these traits are portayed in a negative light.It would be refreshing to see these kind of women as well as womaen who sit somewhere in the middle of these two extremes cast in a positive light
Males are given the freedom from media to see themselves in any role they could imagine. This leads to a greater confidence among the male population and results in the majority of leadership positions being filled by them rather than their female counterparts.
Women, on the other hand are limited strictly to the roles that are presented as “acceptable” for them. When the media does show a strong women she often has a fatal flaw that is undoubtedly a female flaw. Since women on T.V are shown as outcasts simply for being non-traditional then women who might otherwise make wonderful leaders are shunned into the shadows.
We need to see an equal representation in the media of strong female to male leaders. Both genders should be cast in a respectable manner, and they should illustrate the positive outcomes of female leadership.
July 10, 2007 at 11:51 pm
I believe that as women we truly without a doubt have to know and believe that we are capable. I also believe that there has to be other women that are cheering on, mentoring, and supporting these women.
My personal experience of leadership consisted of a older woman pointing the finger at me and telling me that I had what it takes to lead the non-profit she founded. Did I think she was crazy? Of course. But, I stepped out on faith because I believed that I could do it and I wanted her to see that I could do it. When passion is behind the pursuit you have an added push. When I’m tired of the fight…..my passion is what helps me accomplish the task.
Women have to be strategically placed to help other women gain access to networks, money, etc….. The obstacles that I encountered should not exist for the sister that’s coming behind me. I must be willing to teach, share, and point the finger at another young giril or woman and tell her that she has what it takes. We have to change the way we think. A teacher is always over joyed to see their students achieve greatness. As women, we have to be humble enough to know when our season is up and when to coach and cheer on the next sister.
July 12, 2007 at 3:45 pm
As women we really have the greatest opportunity to promote and vote for women in leadership. I think we sometimes forget that we are not a minority as a group. In sheer numbers there may be more women in the US than men. There are a lot of men too who support women leaders. I have also found that women are tougher on other women in power than men in the same positions. If a women does one thing that other women don’t like they withdraw their support, while supporting men for whom they only agree with one thing out of the list of things he stands for. I have watched a good friend rise to the level of state assembly. We wholeheartedly disagree on some very important issues, but we are in agreement for many issues and I also know that she is putting her all into her work as a politician. A state senator shared with me that women get elected to office and see that as the public hiring them to do a job so they get right down to working hard, while many men interpret being elected to office as telling them that they are electable, so they get hard at work planning what office to run for next. So many times I have heard women say that they won’t vote for a woman just because she is a woman, but they regularly vote for men just because they are men. I have also heard more women than men say that they hate to work for a woman boss.
July 23, 2007 at 3:06 pm
After reading the question at hand and the comments posted, I feel like most issues which deal with the lack of women in executive leadership in the US have been touched upon: such as media issues, societal stereotypes, female-female encouragement etc.
As a female attending an all woman’s College: Barnard College, I have to say these sorts of questions are discussed frequently among peers. Of all comments posted, however, I feel the observation that most resonates with me is the image society puts forth of an ‘incomplete woman,’ in that women working high powered jobs are simply unable to have a complete life. By working, they are either depriving their family or depriving themselves of a family, while male execs are hardly ever seen or portrayed that way, they are simply fulfilling their ‘role’ in society. This is most definitely a discouraging atmosphere our society emits. I feel something extremely interesting to understand and investigate are the connotations that society pairs with gender and gender-related terms. A majority of us automatically think of one thing when someone mentions a female executive versus a male executive, or even a lesbian versus a gay man. Why is it that a set pair of adjectives, (often negative) whether or not one agrees with them, come to mind when certain terms are mentioned? Its simple: society and the media. As a student at Barnard College, I often get asked, “oh the lesbian school?” or, “oh, watch out, here comes an extremely passionate and opinionated woman,” (another example of set beliefs about people, organization, and in this case, women’s colleges) but when did being an opinionated woman become something to be fearful of? This can, as mentioned above, discourage women from completely expressing thoughts and reaching their full potential, the fear of intimidating and scaring off others, fear of not having everything society deems necessary for a complete life, or fear of not fitting into the paint-by-numbers picture we are assigned to – and can be, put simply, crippling.
September 24, 2007 at 12:40 am
Heather Kozar…
I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read….