Ever worked for a woman? How'd it work for you?

Posted by Kelly May

I've always said I would never work for a woman...ever! I have been quite adamant in this assertion for a very long time. Why is it that high powered women and women in positions of authority tend to treat women that work for them differently? What a silly notion that propping someone else up could be at one’s expense.

As women, we are born nurturers. For the most part we have this instinct to take care of and help others but when it comes to the world of business, it seems we abandon this natural instinct and leave other women behind.

Every female I know in the corporate world has a similar story of a crazy female boss who took credit for their work or sabotaged them somehow. As if combating the "good ole boys club" and glass ceiling weren’t enough!

Imagine a business landscape filled with more women; women who empower other women, women who harness all that makes us great as women. We should be fostering an environment where we enable women to excel and not hinder their progress. Hey gals, let's pull up our boot straps (or should I say Manolo Blahnik ankle straps) and share our successes.

By the way, I caved and I work for a woman now. I proudly work for a woman who thinks outside of the box and empowers fellow women to rise to the top. She motivates and mentors! She is an enabler...the good kind.

Women at the expense of men?

David Menzies wrote an interesting article in this month's Marketing Magazine titled "Excuse My Gender" where he laments about men and their negative portrayal in recent ad campaigns by Rona, Rogers and Royal Bank to name a few. I can certainly relate to the sentiment of the article. Perhaps the pendulum has swung to far for marketers trying to wave the flag for the female gender. As an agency who specializes in marketing with women I can sympathize and agree that good quality marketing and communication strategies do not have to come at the expense of men.

That said, is the message getting through at the retail level? With all of the mega bucks being invested by North America's big brands in search of winning the female favour, is this translated at all customer touchpoints of the sales experience? Sadly, I say no. Just walk into a retailer selling consumer electronics, try signing up for a new small business phone system or even purchasing a car, home or a vacation membership package and as a woman you will still have to sustain some good old fashioned gender discrimination.

So, perhaps these ad budgets should be allocated to gender specific sales training and operationalization of communication strategies across all customer touch points. Just a thought.

Are women moving up in the workplace?

Are we making progress? Are there more women in senior decision making positions at Corporations across Canada? Well, perhaps we are seeing marginal differences in the percentages at the top two teirs but is that really the issue? Perhaps it is that we need more female role models and leaders at all levels of the organization. Do you have to be senior to lead or make an impact? As employment models are changing and flattening, there has never been a better time for leadership to be present at all corners of a company.

As employers are starting to re-think performance-based measurement, employee engagement practices and grappling over how they are going to attract top talent and fill the female pipeline, it is also a great time to be acknowledging leadership potential in different areas of the business and rethinking the leadership definition.

Having a flexible organizational mindset and flexible employment practices will improve your access to top female talent. Make it easier for women to engage with you, to stay with you, and perhaps.... to move up with you. But don't make that the only measure of success.

Women in the Workplace

In a recent Swing Salon, "Women in the Workplace" emerged as a significant issue. Workopolis.com offers an archive of useful material on this topic.

Canada in 2020

On 13 Sept, we held a Swing Salon on "Women and Diversity". 9 exceptional women - of various ethnic backgrounds and life experiences - and 2 hours later, we were more enlightened than ever. We unearthed and visited many issues that will impact what Canada will be as a nation.

To help create this crystal ball, I strongly recommend a visit to Canada in 2020, an online space to debate issues, events and trends that could transform Canada by the year 2020. It a joint project by the Star, LaPresse, the CBC and the Dominion Institute aimed at highlighting what Canadians think will be the single most important issue facing Canada in the year 2020.

There are many ways to learn and participate:
- Check out the latest essays
- Contribute to the wiki
- Follow the blog
- Download a podcast
- Write comments, submit essays, leave online vmails
- Subscribe to the newsletters
- Attend a debate
....and more.

Work Life Balance, again

Work life balance for women/career moms - old news? Looks like this is just the beginning in the Game industry.