Women's leadership in the 21st century

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.Page 1

Women’s leadership in 21st

century

www.huawei.com2012-08-31

Norway Representative Office

prepared by Mirjana J. Bohlin


Computer definition

A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.'

'Pencil,‘ is masculine: 'el lapiz.'

A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?‘

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether computer' should be a masculine

or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.


“ La computadora “ –> male group findings

The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the Feminine -> 'la computadora', because:

1. No one but their creators understands their internal logic

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval

and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.


“El computador “– female group findings

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine -'el computador', because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to switch them on

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem

and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have got a better model.


The 10 Worst Stereotypes About Women Leaders

• Women are being judged more, even by other women

• While male leaders are allowed to have complex personalities, women leaders are often summed up by stereotypes that undermine them and their power or position

• The following represent the 10 most pervasive stereotypes.


No. 1: Ice Queen

Women on power are considered as unsympathetic power – mongers ( petty person) !

...while women are often in “Catch 22” situation:

–> If a woman shows emotions in a workplace she will be considered too fragile or unstable

If she shows no emotions and keeps it hyper- professional , she is said to be icy and unfeminine

What about situational leadership ?


No. 2: Single and Lonely

There is a strong perception that powerful women are intimidating to men and will need to sacrifice their personal lives for power – which may stop women from going after power.

Even those women who aren’t interested in marrying, face harsh judgments.

• Older single women are reduced to “spinsters” and “old-maids.”

• Older , single men are “ a good catch” .

A WOMAN’S LIFE IN 3 PICTURES

SINGLE MARRIED DIVORCED

http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/14/crazy-cat-lady-pets-stereotype-forbes-woman-time-felines.html


Despite female complexities, most of the time women need to be contend with being called “tough” and “brusque”.

Sometimes women need to live up to that expectations ... )

...but sometimes women do say ....

“I have “three boys” at home ( meaning a husband + 2 kids )”

No. 3: Tough


No. 4: Weak

Stereotype that women are “weak “comes as women have greater desire then men to build a consensus.

Women understand success not as the result of just one person work but as the result of a team effort and work.

It’s a different way of dealing with power that is misunderstood as a kind of weakness.

Now lets take some time to build consensus, shall we ) ?


No. 5 : Masculine

There is the notion that powerful women must be, lead and look like a man to be ( more) trusted and supported by men in decision execution.

Women do feel pressure to look “the right way “ .

..but they do try not to be overly businesslike .

and he still looks “right” ..... good and trustful? )


No.6: Conspire / cooperate secretly

The idea is that a woman can only be successful because she somehow engineered her rise.

In other words, that she could not rise simply because she was too good to be denied a leadership position.

What about talent, hard work, knowledge, creativity, persistence, Humanity, etc )


No. 7: Emotional

This is the most dangerous stereotypes for female leaders, where it is thought that women are prone to emotional outbursts.

At the same time.....watch people’s emotional reactions....Words can fool us but not so the emotions. They rarely lie.

Paradox: IQ. contributes 20% to the factors that determine life's success, which leaves 80% to other forces - Emotional Intelligence.


No.8: Anger

Anger is a sign of status in men, but when women show anger they are viewed as less competent.

..and is it really so ?


No.9: A “ proof “

Women hold just 16% of corporate board seats. But instead of focusing on balancing things out, they are often devalued as being a “proof” of diversity rather than having earned the post.

While companies take their diversity goals seriously, they are not going to settle for less than the best person for the job.

Women are hired because of their education and experience and what they can do for the company.


No.10: Cheerleader

Sometimes prominent women who are considered feminine and warm are dismissed as “cheerleaders” rather than the strong leaders that they are.


Women and men in (leadership) positions, both have complex personalities.

Lets not stereotype each other !

..........but rather have fun and use of our (complementary ) differences.......


THANK YOU !

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Women's leadership in the 21st century

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