It's Easy to Outrank Half the World

Response to "Why Women Aren’t C.E.O.s, According to Women Who Almost Were," https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/sunday-review/women-ceos-glass-ceiling.html

I never want to be selected because I was graced with a pair of X chromosomes. But I'm no apologist, either, and I also don't want to be excluded from a prime opportunity because maybe "my" MBA doesn't stack up to the exact same MBA my male classmates earned at the exact same top-40 business school--or for any other regressive idea(l).

This article suggests that not only is it still a man's world at the top of the world, women are not so subtly excluded from its highest reaches. I can't say for sure--I'm not in their shoes or in the shoes of the people doing the hiring.

What feels right to interpret, however, is the stunning humility of my male senior-level executive clients. I am always amazed at how often these senior executives are willing to give the credit to a subordinate when something amazing happened on their watch. I wonder if I have to now qualify that and determine whether those subordinates were male or female. Who exactly is getting the credit for great strategy and execution?

I would love to say that it doesn't matter what your gender is with respect to credit, success, title advancement, and all of their associated benefits. This article suggests otherwise, that gender is a huge issue for all of these things, unfortunately following every kind of conventional wisdom.

As I write this, I wonder if one answer, not particularly addressed in the article that piqued my interest today, is for young women to seek out male mentors. Female mentors might have walked a mile in their shoes, but male mentors might be better able to give insight if not access to the upper ranks and help young people grow into a level of comfort in that world.

The Bell curve suggests that it's easy to be better than 50% of the world on any given measure. Any rising star should strive to be better than everyone--no matter what their spin or stripe. So I leave you with this: Is the fact that women can reach the #2 slot some kind of win?

Amy L. Adler

https://fivestrengths.com