I recently read an article in Financial Post called Key to women entering the C-suite may just be a hero. I hate the idea of needing a hero to sweep the damsel safely into the palace i.e. C-suite. That’s right up there with all every woman really wants is a good man. In fact, all we really want is to be able to eat as much as we want without getting fat (I'm kidding!). The premise of the article is that women greatly benefit from having a male sponsor as they work their way into the C-suite. The reality of this idea doesn't actually come as a surprise; if any one of us wants to gain access to an exclusive club we know it is best to go with someone who is already a member.
The article continues with research statistics: "The numbers are stark: while women make up 34% of senior management, they comprise only 3% of Fortune 500 chief executives. Meanwhile, in companies of more than 5,000 employees, 34% of senior management roles are held by women, but only 21% at the executive level." The article goes on to provide the question AND answer, "So why are women still facing an uphill battle? The answer lies in the expression, ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.’ ”
This is where I take a right turn and the article takes a left. I believe it is what you know, not who you know that is driving women from the traditional, male dominated C-suite, into what I will call the Pink-suite. I left the traditional workplace for the Pink-suite 25 years ago to start my own company. I risked everything because, for me, that was easier than complying with the unbendable culture that I would have had to live in to get ahead.
I am joined by millions of women who have also chosen the challenging path of building their own companies verses working their way through the 20th century workplace while living in a 21st century world. This is why businesses, in which women who have 50% or more ownership, represent 46% of U.S. companies.1
"If you can't beat'em, join‘em" This is a message we have all heard, but the message this entrepreneurial trend delivers is, "If you can't join'em, leave them". Notice I don't say "beat them" because in the Pink-suite, it isn't about beating, it is about succeeding, not in the multimillion dollar, board member, private jet, CEO kind of success, but the success that comes with the freedom to define it for ourselves—to not measure success with same yardstick used by C-suite occupants.
This change, this trend, this revolution reminds me of a great country that was a world power for hundreds of years and then, one day, a small group declared their independence from the oppressive rule. This group started their own country, with different beliefs, different ideas of success and before anyone knew it… A new world power was born.
The Pink-suite Blog is dedicated to sharing stories from women who have defined success for themselves by stepping away from tradition and declaring their independence. Do you have such a story to share? Please let me know and we will share it in this blog.
1 The American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses Report - A Summary of Important Trends, 1997–2011 (http://media.nucleus.naprojects.com/pdf/WomanReport_FINAL.pdf)
Dear Kathy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this with us, your observations are close to my ´truth´ on this subject. There is no glass ceiling nor uphill battle for women. It´s a sharing environment nurturing female values that women are seeking for. And so far in my career in commercial management and executive positions in multinationals, I have not found that environment. I definetely do have a story to share for the pink suite:-)
Fantastic perspective, and important for all of us. Since starting my own business 1 1/2 years ago I have discovered the world of female entrepreneurs. I think you are right about women finding a different route to success, a success that means something to them and does not necessarily include the trappings of c-suite values. But it is no less dynamic, risky, exciting, and rewarding both monetarily and in terms of personal growth and achievement. We need to include many different ways of measuring success so we can see what it really happening, otherwise we are getting a skewed picture that give the impression that women don't want the responsibility of leadership. That is not the whole truth.
ReplyDelete