The Case against the Successful Woman
This is being written by a man, so it’s already a given that my impression will be subject to debate and feedback by women readers. However, it does seem to me that life is a great deal more difficult for the woman executive than it is for men. Some of the challenges are strictly gender based. These present problems that have limited options.
Life is without so many hurdles for men that quite naturally exist for women. First, there is the presumption that business is a man’s world. It is not, but so many people hold the prejudiced view that it is a world where white men have some special divine right to function. When others try to enter all manner of barriers are placed in their way.
This is not to say that if you are a white male you will automatically have a guaranteed smooth ride. You won’t! But banks seem to feel more at ease when the person sitting in front of them is a white male. They don’t have to think about possible pregnancies in the case of a white woman, nor do they have to think about the problems a black male will encounter that are of a special nature. The black female presents a unique set of problems to her banker, yet given a chance the black female can achieve wonders. I only have to say “O” for you to know what I mean.
The constant problem faced by most females is that of her biological clock, and the need to have at least one child in the furtherance of the human race. She can deny this only for so long until the alarm sounds and makes focusing on any thing else very difficult. Most women in high-powered positions have their children early in life or very late in life. In the marketplace they constantly have to weigh the offer of a promotion against the need to start a family.
As men in charge of companies we say we understand the need of the family, just don’t be a female executive of the company who becomes pregnant. Enter the glass (invisible) ceiling that so many women encounter on their march up the corporate ladder.
Then there is the attitude of so many men that is hostile against women who dare to enter what they consider their arena. Consequentially the battle against sexual discrimination in the workplace rages on. This is patently unfair, and far too many men have to be held accountable for their stupidity. It just shouldn’t happen, especially when often the offending person is the very one who should be protecting the workforce.
Life is especially difficult for the young woman who studied hard and acquired a good education. Perhaps she had the children early in life, and as part of her ambition went back to school and reinvented herself for the world of high finance. The problem is she is married to a simple man who is a tradesman. He sees her efforts as being an attempt to pull away from him and out of desperation he tries to sabotage her.
This almost never happens in the case of the man who tries to better himself. His wife can usually be counted on to support him.
In the workplace she might encounter a problem in directing the workforce if there are men involved. She shouldn’t have a problem of this nature and if she gets the type of support from management that she should, it will be a short-lived one. But men never even have to consider this a probability.
Lastly, but certainly not the least of her problems is that she brings sex into the office when she comes, simply because she’s a woman. Hopefully she doesn’t intend to do this, but every man will notice her every day of the week. We notice what she wears, how she smells, how she walks, we notice her jiggly bits, and what she says and how she says things. That is because she’s a woman and we men are absolutely fascinated.
That may all be very well, so long as none of those things are held against her. However, in far too many cases a woman will make the fatal mistake of entering into a romantic relationship with a co-worker. She will almost always be the one to bear the worst of such a mistake. Whether he is a man on her own level, or worse from the higher levels she is best advised to stay well clear.
In short, I imagine that being a woman in business is never easy. What I am unable to imagine is just how hard it can be.
Copyright © 2010 Eugene Carmichael
This is being written by a man, so it’s already a given that my impression will be subject to debate and feedback by women readers. However, it does seem to me that life is a great deal more difficult for the woman executive than it is for men. Some of the challenges are strictly gender based. These present problems that have limited options.
Life is without so many hurdles for men that quite naturally exist for women. First, there is the presumption that business is a man’s world. It is not, but so many people hold the prejudiced view that it is a world where white men have some special divine right to function. When others try to enter all manner of barriers are placed in their way.
This is not to say that if you are a white male you will automatically have a guaranteed smooth ride. You won’t! But banks seem to feel more at ease when the person sitting in front of them is a white male. They don’t have to think about possible pregnancies in the case of a white woman, nor do they have to think about the problems a black male will encounter that are of a special nature. The black female presents a unique set of problems to her banker, yet given a chance the black female can achieve wonders. I only have to say “O” for you to know what I mean.
The constant problem faced by most females is that of her biological clock, and the need to have at least one child in the furtherance of the human race. She can deny this only for so long until the alarm sounds and makes focusing on any thing else very difficult. Most women in high-powered positions have their children early in life or very late in life. In the marketplace they constantly have to weigh the offer of a promotion against the need to start a family.
As men in charge of companies we say we understand the need of the family, just don’t be a female executive of the company who becomes pregnant. Enter the glass (invisible) ceiling that so many women encounter on their march up the corporate ladder.
Then there is the attitude of so many men that is hostile against women who dare to enter what they consider their arena. Consequentially the battle against sexual discrimination in the workplace rages on. This is patently unfair, and far too many men have to be held accountable for their stupidity. It just shouldn’t happen, especially when often the offending person is the very one who should be protecting the workforce.
Life is especially difficult for the young woman who studied hard and acquired a good education. Perhaps she had the children early in life, and as part of her ambition went back to school and reinvented herself for the world of high finance. The problem is she is married to a simple man who is a tradesman. He sees her efforts as being an attempt to pull away from him and out of desperation he tries to sabotage her.
This almost never happens in the case of the man who tries to better himself. His wife can usually be counted on to support him.
In the workplace she might encounter a problem in directing the workforce if there are men involved. She shouldn’t have a problem of this nature and if she gets the type of support from management that she should, it will be a short-lived one. But men never even have to consider this a probability.
Lastly, but certainly not the least of her problems is that she brings sex into the office when she comes, simply because she’s a woman. Hopefully she doesn’t intend to do this, but every man will notice her every day of the week. We notice what she wears, how she smells, how she walks, we notice her jiggly bits, and what she says and how she says things. That is because she’s a woman and we men are absolutely fascinated.
That may all be very well, so long as none of those things are held against her. However, in far too many cases a woman will make the fatal mistake of entering into a romantic relationship with a co-worker. She will almost always be the one to bear the worst of such a mistake. Whether he is a man on her own level, or worse from the higher levels she is best advised to stay well clear.
In short, I imagine that being a woman in business is never easy. What I am unable to imagine is just how hard it can be.
Copyright © 2010 Eugene Carmichael
