SheBytes has done countless articles on crucial female topics such as gender inequality in the workplace, women and technology, where are the superwomen and embracing femininity.
It seems that despite the clear inequality that still exists between males and females in the workplace, very little has been done by companies which has been effective in remedying this issue.
According to Dr. Ronald Burke, (a professor of organizational behaviors); “Gender stereotypes and a lack of mentors contribute to…an environment where employees, when they think of a manager, picture a man.” Because gender differences are so deeply rooted, this statement holds true for women asked to picture a manager as well. These perceived notions have fostered a work environment with a shocking dearth of women in CEO positions.
I just read through a Bloomberg post titled; “Technology Industry’s Gender Gap Seen Hampering Competitiveness” and it really got me thinking.
Even worse than the lack of female CEO’s, is the gender gap between men and women present in the tech sector in particular. Because technology is seen as a male-bent field, women are discouraged and self-discouraged early on from pursuing mathematics and the sciences in school.
I’m going to stress a few quotes in the Bloomberg post which were really eye opening for me personally:
Cisco Systems (@CiscoSystems) executive Kathy Hill says that “The lack of women in technology will hinder U.S. companies’ global competitiveness, leaving a valuable source of female workers untapped.” In these more difficult economic times, it is vital that we turn to utilizing the resources we have and striving for efficiency.
If we neglect the greatness female workers have to offer; the US will sacrifice productivity and maximization. “A homogeneous team is not going to be as innovative and is not going to produce the same level of well-thought-out results as a diverse team,” says Marilyn Nagel, chief executive officer of Watermark (@wtrmrk).
Marilyn is making the case for equality in the workplace from an economic perspective which is too often ignored. By keeping CEO a male dominated position, we will suffer from a lack of diversity which is the key to being able to gain from alternate and varied perspectives.
Leah Eichler (@MommyEconomics), not only has the hippest Twitter handle I’ve seen in a while (I LOVE MommyEconomics), but also writes for the Canadian; The Globe and Mail. In her recent post “Breaking Your Own Glass Ceiling”, Eichler makes it effulgent through the title alone, that it is in our hands (in the hands of female executives), to push forward. Only when we recognize the ability we have to promote change and believe in the ways to get to an equal future, will we realize this potential.
“We need to unlock a vital source of growth that can power our economy in the decades to come, and that vital source of growth is women.” -Hillary Clinton (@HillaryNews)
