Women to Blame for Lack of Female Executives

Many aspiring female executives, business managers, and other professionals often forget that they really have two jobs — the first is to do what they get paid for (and do it better than men). The other is to proactively manage their career paths and do what is required to ensure that their upward mobility isn't dependent on others — especially those who notoriously subscribe to the ''old boys' club'' mentality and who may or may not be working in their best interest.

It's shocking and frankly unacceptable that less than 4% of America's largest companies have women in the most senior management roles. This is clearly not representative of a woman's ability or desire to lead, but rather is reflective of the cold, hard fact that gender bias does still exist in the 21st century workplace. This statistic also reveals that too many talented, intelligent, and deserving women simply do not strategize, or execute, effective ways to be seen, heard, respected and, in turn, promoted in the workplace.

Throughout my many years as a corporate executive, I have hired, promoted, fired, and laid off literally thousands of women and men, and in my current capacity as a business coach, I council many aspiring women on how to successfully achieve their business goals. All of this has given me keen insight on a few specific ways working women can better manage their success paths.



For one, women managers need to understand the "circle of success," in that they need to spend time helping their bosses look good at every opportunity. When the boss understands that someone is willing and able to help her/him succeed, that person will get more time, attention, and resources facilitating maximum productivity.

Women also need to accept that gender stereotyping remains a harsh reality, even in today's so-called politically correct workplace. The proverbial "old boys' club" still exists today, as many of our nation's male executives entered the workplace with little experience interacting with women other than mothers, sisters, and girlfriends. Consequently, a woman may unknowingly be getting slotted into one of those roles by men throughout the workplace and should be aware of this possibility so she can compensate accordingly, if necessary.

Women would also benefit from speaking more assertively, since how a woman sounds affects how she is perceived. Female professionals must be especially mindful of how their voices carry during meetings with others, whether in large rooms or in rooms with ambient noise issues, lest a comment not garner the attention, and perhaps the response, it warrants. Additionally, many women tend to state their opinions, objections, or suggestions as a question as opposed to affirmatively and confidently making their point as a statement. In a work context, women must command the floor, lest their great ideas fall by the wayside.

For women, "presence" pays. Because many bosses still associate one's appearance, demeanor, and speaking ability with overall ability, having the right presence remains a formidable challenge for those women who have physical or other stereotype-related attributes that are difficult, if not impossible, to change, such as a certain height or weight, blonde hair color, or even a high-pitched voice. This subjectivity is even worse for women, as society is generally more able to accept men with what are considered to be shortfalls than women. Irrespective of these barriers, women must condition themselves to walk with good posture, speak and gesture in a confident and authoritative manner, and wear attire that imparts an air of success.

To really stand out from the others and get the all-important promotion, a woman should pace her boss by ensuring that she is in the office whenever the boss is in the office. This lets the boss know that she shares the same work ethic. Right, wrong, or indifferent, these are new rules of time management. Simply put, if her boss is at work, she should be as well. Even in this day and age of so-called gender equality, women must take advantage of all opportunities to distinguish themselves in the workplace.

And finally, women really need to step up self-promotion. It is important that those who are in the position to benefit a woman's career in any way know who she is and what she has accomplished. Successful businesspeople understand the importance of letting others know about their successes, and go about it in the appropriate way. If done properly, it will not be construed as bragging or conceit. Women should stop humbly waiting to get noticed while they toil away at the task at hand, and instead develop the skill of how to strategically talk about their achievements in the workplace.

About the Author

John McKee, founder and president of BusinessSuccessCoach.net, is the author of Career Wisdom - 101 Proven Strategies to Ensure Workplace Success and 21 Ways Women in Management Shoot Themselves in the Foot.  He can be reached at 720-226-9072, john@businesssuccesscoach.net, or through his websites at www.BusinessSuccessCoach.net and www.BusinessWomanWeb.com.