Empowering Women in The Workplace: What Are The Keys?
A lot of women are frustrated at the lack of job opportunities in upper management for them. Ms. Clinton’s recent unsuccessful run for the U.S. presidency in 2017 only increased this anger. Particularly because her male opponent had some quite inappropriate language to express about females holding power. Even today, in our enlightened era, only 4.2% of Chief Operating Officers are female at the 500 largest companies. Examples like Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth aside, it is clear that females do not hold a lot of the reigns of power. Empowerment activities require understanding the reasons why women continue to lag men in the major corporate and government hierarchies. There are several keys to help women in the workplace become the empowered individuals that they want to be.
1. Understand Brain Psychology
Although we do not like to admit it, men and women often have different ways of seeing the world. This is because men have a higher quantity of the chemical hormone testosterone in their bodily system. The average woman has much lower testosterone than the average man. Testosterone influences male behaviours such as having controlling and domineering temperaments. Women, in general, will be less inclined to pursue careers that are controlling and domineering because they do not naturally have lots of testosterone acting in their body. There are several personality types that disproportionately like to seek high positions of power. They are usually extroverted rational brains like the ESTJ, ENTP, ENTJ, and ESTP. Women who have these types of brains usually have higher than normal testosterone levels, and they do better in high positions of authority because of their male like preferences.
2. Practice Community Service
If you want to become well known and likely to be promoted, it is necessary that you engage in an active outside social life. Working in community services is an ideal way to get this done. Do not let the disapproval of those around you discourage your ambitions. It just requires prioritising what is really important for your career growth. Trying to do all things at once is bad. Knowing what you should be doing is good.
3. Work With Men
The fact of the matter is, most powerful jobs are held by men. In order to dominate these fields, a woman has to master the trades that they do. Men often do not respect women who try to be like them. That is necessarily the challenge of being empowered women. Finding helpful support groups like the YWCA can encourage a woman who is struggling to get ahead in her career. Some men are naturally passive with more feminine characteristics. They are often a good relational match for a dominant career oriented woman. Having the right partner can give you an advantage when it comes to managing household duties. The importance of empowering women is it gives them the freedom to change the corrupt organisational biases that often plague male dominated systems like pride, selfishness, and cruelty.
4. Move To A Country That Encourages Gender Equality
Some countries are extremely male dominated. Trying to become empowered women in these countries is like trying to surf a white water rapid without a motor. Examples of countries like this include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Indonesia. Expect a promotion to be difficult if you are based in a country like this. The best countries for gender equality include Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Ireland. The United States scores moderately high on the gender equality list, but it still is several index points below the top scoring countries. If you want to see more opportunity, moving to the Northern part of Europe might be a good bet.
5. Outlast Your Male Peers
Female executives have something in common. They stay in their company for the long haul. Data indicates that the average female executive took over 50% longer to become the top leader in their organization. Being willing to start at the bottom and just hang on is a good way to get to the maximum positions of responsibility. Male risk-taking and quickness of execution have a blind spot. Men often do not have the focus or concern for their employees that make them suited for long-term leaders. Women who focus and are determined for a long time can rise to the top by having a better work ethic than their male coworkers.
Conclusion
Becoming an empowered woman is not easy. Women do have it harder to reach the top ranks of power. However, our day and age have made it much easier. There are many countries where gender equality is close to fair. If you have the focus and discipline to outlast incompetent male colleagues, you can join the great female leaders like Meg Whitman who have made it to the top positions of power.
