Playing With the Boys, Not Against Them

As Jessica mentioned in a post that passed, Monar facilitated an event at Kellogg Executive Women’s Network a few weeks ago that illuminated the way that women view the workplace shift that is beginning to affect them. Many of the things that they mentioned as being especially advantageous to the advancement of their career include networking and mentoring, and one of the largest obstacles they point to is what they refer to as the “old boys’ club.” One woman told a story about how she was shut out from a business deal because the deal took place in the men’s room. You know it’s a bad state of affairs when women wish they could negotiate next to a row of urinals.

But this idea of an “old boys’ club” may be slowly thwarted. A New York Times article recently illuminated an all-female organization titled the Belizean Grove, what they are referring to as a low-profile “old women’s network.” While the club is mostly comprised of C-suite members, the Grove emphasizes the importance of “heart, soul, and spirit” past that of a high ranking title. Davia Temin, a CEO of Temin & Company, says “many of us had to shoehorn our way into a completely male world, so there’s one level of network that provides solace and comfort.”

Having a network of committed women professionals is inspiring, especially given the necessity for this network in terms of mentoring high-potential females. That being said, my perspective is a delicate one. The author touches on this point briefly at the end of the article:

“WHILE some businesswomen celebrate women-only networks as their own “golf game,” others bristle at the idea that gender should inform business alliances. Many senior women say supportive male bosses and mentors have been instrumental in their rise. And because men still hold the keys to power — 97 percent of Fortune 500 C.E.O. positions and 84 percent of corporate board memberships, to be exact — some businesswomen are wary of networking in isolation.”

With all this focus on women professionals forging a path for themselves, are men getting lost in the mix? If it’s true that they hold many of the executive level positions that women would like to vie for, isn’t the smarter option to be working with the males rather than trying to forge a gender-separate path? I don’t argue that in the past (and even in present day), women have had to fight very hard to put themselves at a similar level as their male counterparts. Nor do I argue that this hasn’t been a necessary and rewarding process. But with all this talk of women’s networks versus old boys’ clubs, with finding women mentors to take over male jobs, I feel a bit as though I’m back at a junior high dance, both sexes standing opposite one other in the gym.

Can’t men mentor women to push themselves ahead, and can’t women do the same? What I worry is that with women focusing on their gender taking over male positions, there is a focus on tipping the scales in their favor, if only to show up the man trouncing the corporate world for decades. It’s a delicate balance between trying to reach a balance of competent employees and fighting an “anything you can do, I can do better” battle. As a woman who hopes to enter the corporate world, I know that my position on this is quite contentious especially with regards to women professionals who have worked tirelessly to disestablish a glass ceiling, but I believe a cooperative effort is much stronger than “networking in isolation,” as the Times article mentioned.

Instead of pitting male competencies against female competencies, women should attempt to develop themselves in such a way that makes them the individual with the strongest competitive advantage within their organization. This, in sum, seems to be what women from the KEWN event have reported as being one of their greatest obstacles, with points ranging from “learning to negotiate and ask what they want” to “learning to be assertive without being afraid of being seen as aggressive.”  Women can be instrumental to one another in helping each other up the proverbial corporate ladder, especially when they find they have to develop similar competencies. To that end a women’s network is laudable; given that highly driven women can become very competitive toward one another, it’s incredibly refreshing to watch females lend each other a hand rather than push them out of the way. The most successful women can recognize the need to connect with other females while still cooperating and respecting the men within their corporation.

As long as women can tread lightly atop the line dividing pure female success and female success to counteract similar male accomplishments, then the development of a women’s network is a hugely valuable resource.

To our readers: do you agree or disagree?