The Workforce Conundrum Part 10: The Gender Question

The article is thought-provoking as is the infographic. Unfortunately, the generalizations here are quite dangerous and too often untrue. I have worked for both male and female leaders. One of the worst was a woman--someone who pitted staff against each other, who cheated people out of benefits and had 100% turnover every 18mos. She made all the hiring decisions at her SBA 8a company. The last straw for a couple of us was that she posted the HR position as being open in a trade publication while the current HR Manager was working in his role and had no intention of leaving. When she asked questions it was to gain information that too often would later be "spun" to use against you. It was NUTS.? Conversely, one of the most inspiring, effective leaders I ever had was male, with both the internal culture (subjective) and the KPIs (objective) being superior.? Saying that women bring all these mentioned qualities are value judgments that seem to imply men are inferior at most of these abilities. This is as sexist as can be. I think the takeaway from this "research" is that an interplay between gender perspectives can provide great dynamism to company teams. But, every person on that team should work to his or her individual strengths.?

Women Advantages at Workplace: Though women nowadays are great at work, there are few disadvantages of women in the workplace. But the main thing is that the advantages that women bring in the workplace is higher is much mightier than its few disadvantages. 1. Flexibility at workplace: Increased number of women at workplace not only has brought several positive changes but it also has made organizations look more closely at the problems of employees. These positive changes enable employers to address unique issues like helping workers balance professional and family life etc. With more and more women coming to workplace, the attitude and mindset of employers have been changed. With the coming of women to workforce, the management has to bring several new programs and changes that benefit both male and females. Facilities like child care, ATM machine at work, work from home, elder care, oil change etc were not offered by the management before women started to enter workforce. 2. Healthy work life balance: When it comes to create and maintain healthy balance between work and life, women outshine men. From taking care of kids and family to giving excellent performance in office, women master the art of balancing job and family pretty well. Whether single or married, women understand the value of participating in non work related activities. They understand work is not everything, to be productive and happy at workplace some non work related activities should be introduced or organized. Flexible work schedules, work from home facility etc make it possible for women to maintain a good work-life balance. 3. Effective communication for collaborative work effort: According to experts, women are great communicator as they respond more effectively to visual, verbal, and emotional factors than men. Women are endowed with strong communication and networking skills using which they can encourage any collaborative or group work efforts. Usually who feels discomfort handling emotions prefer to give directives and share competitive stories with team members. On the contrary, women listen to team members carefully, share ideas, and give advice to encourage team work, while maintaining professionalism. 4. Well rounded work force: When it comes to sensitivity and intuition, women outrun men. Their sensitivity, intuition and emotional intelligence help to create a well-rounded workforce. While men lack in understanding one’s unspoken words or emotion, women decode verbal cues and body language easily and this quality makes them a very effective problem solver. Even few decades back, women were perceived as irrational, sensitive and emotional creature who are totally unfit for working outside home. But now women are doing better as team leader than men due to their sensitive nature, which helps them to understand unspoken words or emotions. With this quality women are able to address and resolve any workplace problems or tension before they crop up. 5. Diversity and multidimensional interest at workplace: Women introduce multidimensional and diverse interests at workplace. While for men after work, socialization only means playing pool or smoking cigar with friends. Women prefer to do diverse things from painting, watching sports, playing instruments, cooking to playing pool and smoking cigars they do everything with same enthusiasm. Because of their multidimensional interests, women bring new topic to discuss in office, enabling others to share their views on that. Apart from influencing her employer’s approach towards the benefit of employees, women bring several skills to the office that makes interaction between people easier. 6. Strong team spirit and feeling of togetherness: Women value relationships and analyze problem better. If these mind-blowing characteristics of them are brought into workplace it can result in great team building or group effort that will work for the benefit of the organization. Women use their relationship building and communication skill to manage a team efficiently. She can make every employee of her team feel that their effort and contribution have been valued. No man will lend an ear to listen to others personal problems while women have the patience to hear out and understand your emotions. The compassion she shows with her staff helps to boost their levels of productivity. Women don’t usually have command-and-control approach like men, allowing the employees feel good and an important part of team. Woman can also use this skill to get information and understand others point of view. 7. Deal with tough situation with a smile on face: Women are calm and tolerant than men, making them to be composed when dealing with a tough situation or radical changes. Modern work environment is full of tension and complexities. Women, who tend to have quiet and less aggressive nature, can handle this tensions and complexities better than men. Using these qualities they understand any concern better than men and formulate a solution quickly. Women are mentally powerful than man so handling any tough situation is comparatively easy for them. They can tackle problems efficiently without giving tensions to her colleagues or team members. When confronted with an adverse situation, women look for the opportunity within. They are optimistic and face aan dverse situation with their full power. 8. Motivate others to excel: Women are givers. When it comes to encouraging other team members around them or allow others to flourish as a more efficient employee, women are the best. Women are great to inspire and motivate employees at workplace. They understand others emotion better and can appeal their unique needs more effectively, enabling them to perform better. They behave in a generous and friendly way at workplace to ensure everyone is okay. They try to build an open and friendly environment at work place for people so that everyone gives their maximum effort towards the benefit of the company. 9. Stronger ethics: Be it morality, transparency or following ethics at workplace, women prefer to do every job with fairness. They believe in fair playing following ethical codes. While most of the men focus on running the business well, women acknowledge the rights and contribution of others in pursuit of fairness. If more women are involved in workforce the chances of unethical business will reduce considerably. Using these traits woman can have a well-rounded view of a problem which helps them to take appropriate decisions. 10. More profit for company: Women are great communicator, negotiator and analyzer. When it comes to tactfully communicate and to bring more business, no one can beat women. They get into details of any matter, analyze it and come with an idea promptly. As such they become instrumental in bringing in more profits for the company by making sensible and profitable decisions and deals. Unlike men they also allow employees to share their perspective or point of view before taking any decision. Improved communication with employees and others also increases the loyalty factor in business relationships. 11. Superb management: Women are born with a mind-blowing managing skill. From handling board meetings, teaching kids, taking care of family to cooking they can do every task with much aplomb. They know how much time and skill to allocate where. With their collaborative style of management, compassion and intuitiveness they can easily inspire employees to give their best. While most of the men believe in ‘cross–the-bridge-when-it-comes’ theory, women prefer to do everything with a to-do list. 12. Positivity and optimism: Women are full of optimism and positivity. For them the glass is always half-full rather than half-empty. Women can sense opportunity everywhere. They are focused, strategic and keep their eye on the prize. They are blessed with the power of sensing any sign of danger before it invades. Women effortlessly manage crisis and always try to learn something from it. (By Krishna Reddy)