Our correspondent, on condition of anonymity, spoke with subordinates of female managers of several Russian companies. And on behalf of the top managers of the fair sex, Natalya Kasperskaya, General Director of Kaspersky Lab, agreed to talk with us on the same topic.
The tradition of female professional leadership in our country appeared relatively recently: in Soviet times, a female boss was perceived more as an exception, rather than as something familiar and natural. But times have changed, and so has the attitude towards women in leadership positions. Today in Russia there are a sufficient number of successful and accomplished female businesswomen and top managers who have gone through fire, water and copper pipes and have proven that professionally they are in no way inferior to men. It’s just that their leadership style is different, radically different from men’s.
Women are more flexible, diplomatic, and sociable than men. Psychologists think so and add: “this is what makes them the best leaders.” A female leader is more patient, open in communication with people, always tries to understand the problems of a particular employee or team, and at the same time more decisive than representatives of the stronger sex; she makes tough decisions more easily, but implements them more softly. But these are advantages, but there are also very noticeable disadvantages, because of which female leaders were perceived with a grin, a little condescendingly. The opinion “a female boss is bad” has existed for a long time and has not been completely eradicated to this day. They are accused of excessive emotionality, unpredictability and illogicality in decision making. What outweighs the pros or cons?
Let's ask about this not from psychologists and consultants, but from subordinates. They are the ones who communicate with a female leader every day, and they are the ones who are most noticeable about her strengths and weaknesses. So, the opinion of subordinates about female managers is anonymous and impartial. We interviewed several employees of large Russian companies headed by women.
« Gorkaya» truth from women:
Disadvantages... One thing can be noted right away - this is probably the most serious drawback. Power spoils women more than men; its negative sides are more easily manifested: snobbery, impatience with objections, and so on. Everything else can be classified as minor,« household» inconvenience.
A woman always lives by emotions, and at work this does not always manifest itself in the best way. For example, she came to work in a certain mood, irritated, tired - this often spills out on her subordinates, all matters that day are considered through the prism of this mood.
In addition, female managers always have favorites; of course, this also happens with male bosses, but to a lesser extent, and the selection itself occurs differently. For a woman, everything depends on who can listen to her and what tells her. A woman remains a woman: she always wants to be the best, in everything. Therefore, she takes criticism worse than representatives of the stronger sex, and forgives failures and miscalculations more easily.
A woman takes a blow more difficultly and breaks faster than a man. If problems arise, she becomes nervous and inconsistent, which often makes the situation worse.
However, female emotionality is also a virtue and an advantage for a leader. A woman feels more subtly the nuances of relationships with subordinates and management. This allows you to better understand the capabilities of each employee and smooth out possible conflicts within the team and with management. Men, unlike women, find it difficult to close the distance with subordinates.
« Gorkaya» truth from men:
The most important advantage of a woman is, undoubtedly, flexibility. In addition, as a rule, women managers are more result-oriented than men; they do not strive to make short-term profits; they are more competent strategists.
If we talk about managerial qualities, then there is not much difference; the qualities, knowledge and skills of a particular person are important. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a man or a woman, the only thing is that the style of communication changes.
Of course, this applies primarily to women top managers. Line managers or middle managers of the weaker sex can have emotionality as a shortcoming, but women in top positions are deprived of it, otherwise they simply would not have reached such heights.
No one has advantages in business, initially everyone is on equal terms, both women and men, then everything depends on the person. There are a number of rare positions/areas where, out of habit or for other reasons, women are perceived very poorly, but today this is rather the exception.
Men remain men - they are more loyal to their female leaders than the fairer sex. I wonder what this has to do with it? With female observation, intuition, or simply women are more attentive, emotional and “live in more detail”, i.e. Are they more interested in all sorts of little things than men? A question without an answer, or rather with a huge number of them.
What do women managers themselves think about their abilities and their place in business? What tasks are set and what problems are they solved? We talked about what it means to be a female leader, who are the best managers - men or women - and why Natalia Kasperskaya, CEO of the company Kaspersky Lab.
E-executive: There is a common belief that women are better managers than men. Is this so in your opinion, and why?
Natalya Kasperskaya: I don't think that's true. Management requires rigidity, which is usually unusual for women. In addition, management implies a cold approach to decision making, which is again difficult for women, since they are more emotional.
E-executive: In which types of business/managerial functions do men have advantages and in which do women have advantages?
N.K.: I would say that women are good at things that require meticulousness, accuracy and attentiveness. Men are better at coming up with new ideas, technical implementation, creating schemes and a systematic approach.
E-executive: Is the situation of top women different in the West and in Russia? If yes, then with what?
N.K.: Yes, we have more female managers, and there are fewer complaints that it is difficult for women to break through. I don’t know what this has to do with - maybe it’s because men don’t live long, or they’re more passive. For some reason, in the West they really like to exaggerate the problem of an insufficient number of female managers, although, in my opinion, the problem is just the opposite. There are not enough managers, but women who want and have children, mothers of many children. So European nations are aging, especially in developed countries - Germany, France, so they are cutting subsidies and subsidies, increasing retirement age. Because a working woman and her career ambitions are the direct cause of low birth rates.
In my opinion, Europe should not think about tops, but about housewives - how to return women to the home, to the family.
E-executive: Neurophysiologists have proven that the thinking process is different in men and women. Meanwhile, in the West, and not only, there is an opinion that there should be no difference between the sexes in work. Do you consider this position productive?
N.K.: The thinking process is obviously different. And the opinion that there is no difference between the sexes is obviously flawed. It was invented by stupid feminists (by the way, all feminists are stupid by definition, because an intelligent person will not fight for the equality of what is not equal).
E-executive: Have you ever felt the advantage of being a woman in various business situations?
N.K.: Undoubtedly. There are fewer women in the IT business, and in business in general, so it’s easier to remember me. Very often a person comes up to me: “Natalya, we met at such and such a conference!”, And at the conference there were crowds of identical men - can you really remember them all? 🙂
But of course, I remember business partners or potentially interesting clients. 🙂
E-executive: But on the contrary: when and in what situations was it difficult for you because you are a woman and not a man?
N.K.: It’s more difficult to come up with new things and to systematize existing ones - I don’t have very systematic thinking. Sometimes toughness is not enough... But, in general, these are rather qualities of my character. They meet after all tough women and men are wimps, so I wouldn’t definitely classify this as a gender problem.
E-executive: What is the gender composition of your company?
N.K.: Programmers, analysts, technical managers are almost all men (99%). Marketers, salespeople, technical support - approximately equally divided. And the accounting department and secretariat are entirely women. The top management is also mostly men.
E-executive: Are you, as a manager, interested in the issue of gender balance, do you think about it?
N.K.: As a rule, it does not take. There are rare cases where hiring a manager of a certain gender can cause confusion in the department, then you have to choose someone specific, but this is rare. This happens when a manager is hired for a specific person. If he is a man, then the appearance of a woman above him may be painful. Or if managers need to work together. A man-woman or man-man relationship works better than a woman-woman relationship, in which conflicts arise more often. But I repeat – these are rare cases. In my practice it happened 2 or 3 times.
E-executive: If you imagine that the company was left with only men or only women, would you deliberately correct this situation?
N.K.: Yes, definitely. The male team will start talking, start using obscene language, and stop taking care of themselves and their workplace. Although ladies sometimes allow themselves the latter. In addition, problems with alcohol may arise. In the feminine, squabbles, strife, resentment and tears will inevitably begin. There must be a balance. In our company the ratio is approximately this: 65% men and 35% women.
E-executive: What holidays do you celebrate in your company? How do you feel about celebrating February 14, 23, March 8?
N.K.: I think there should be fewer holidays. Our country has not yet achieved such high economic indicators that we can rest for weeks. I’m especially annoyed by the New Year holidays - people don’t need it, and employers suffer losses. How can we convey this point of view to our government?
About these holidays... I would cancel the celebration on February 23 - I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t work on this day. I consider February 14 a Western invention, and March 8... Well, March 8, perhaps, can be left. Although usually on this day I go on a business trip to Cebit.
We have two corporate events - New Year and the company's birthday. We celebrate the New Year in some concert hall, restaurant or circus, and our birthday is usually outdoors (we have it in July).
Of course, we do not consider the points of view, views and opinions that we presented in this article to be exhaustive; each person remains with his own opinion...
“He will stop a galloping horse and enter a burning hut” - and all this is about modern women. In our world, male and female professions are almost equal. So, for example, you can meet a female steelworker and a male hairdresser; such castlings have not surprised anyone for a long time. However, the strong half of humanity does not want to recognize a woman as a manager.
Who is a manager?
A manager is the manager who is able to plan his working day and his subordinates, organize their work correctly, motivate employees for a better work process and control employees at all stages of work.
The manager belongs to the management team of the company. In business, it is customary to rank managers by level: grassroots, middle and top. Depending on the position he holds. There are many examples of companies around the world that are successfully run by women managers. And such enterprises develop and prosper.
However, not all men believe in female leadership. But if you look at how women masterfully manage family life, manage their husbands, children, run the household and at the same time work for everyone. It immediately becomes clear who should occupy leadership positions in enterprises.
A woman manager is no different from a man. Or maybe even better. Women have a strong character, sensitivity and can lead people. If a woman has leadership qualities, then why can’t she be a leader?
Working under the leadership of a woman has its advantages. A woman manager will not force you to do work, yell at you and put moral pressure on you. She is like a fox, she will study you and select exactly the method of motivation that will interest you.
When at important negotiations there is a man on one side and a woman on the other, then the woman will have all the laurels. As they say: a man is the head, and a woman is the neck. A woman will find a compromise in any controversial issue and smoothly bring her opponent to her side. And mind you, without conflict.
Women, as you know, by nature love to get to the bottom of details. Perhaps this is not necessary in your personal life, but at work there is no price for such quality. Women are able to work in one place for a long time, and every day they find something new in routine work.
A woman leader always communicates with subordinates and does not show her importance. She smoothly integrates into the team and this allows her to quickly adapt to it. When an enterprise treats employees like a second family, they are included in their family troubles, given days off on important dates, and congratulated on holidays. In such a team you want to work harmoniously and diligently. And only a female manager is capable of such gestures. Since she has a maternal instinct, she is able to create a cozy working environment for her subordinates.
Psychologists say that women are able to withstand twice as much psychological stress as men. What a female manager will find much faster common language with his subordinate. First of all, women are more disciplined. And a female manager will not miss a day of work without a good reason. However, there is no rush to hire women to leadership positions. And often, in order to become a leader, a woman must open her own enterprise.
Female manager, disadvantages for staff
Being a woman in a leadership position has its downsides. Women are often not collected and sometimes cannot navigate a stressful situation. And such a decision can cost a lot. Sometimes there comes a time when you urgently need to resolve this or that issue. A woman leader must think and weigh everything, and only then give an answer. But there is no time for that. Men are quicker to show composure and make the right decision.
The female manager has analytical warehouse mind. And business is a risk. Very rarely will a woman take risks with the company and employees. And the man will take a risk and win big. So, to implement a new ill-conceived project, it is better to appoint a man. A man will be able to take risks and bring the project to fruition.
On large enterprises, often men work. Let's take, for example, a construction company. You are a woman manager and a construction foreman comes to see you. He speaks to you in his own slang language, and your level of education will not allow you to answer in the same tone. Consequently, your authority in his eyes will fall. While a male manager will be able to put the employee in his place. As a result, simply no one will listen to you. And your project will be in jeopardy.
A woman manager very often pays attention to other people's opinions. And she is often insecure and driven. And uncertainty in business is unacceptable. From my own experience I can say that a woman leader is always afraid of something, especially judgment from the outside. This fear prevents her from taking any decisive steps. And because of such indecision, the profit of the enterprise may be lost.
A woman acquires masculine traits in the process of work. It becomes tougher, more calculating and pragmatic. And this doesn’t make her look good. So the choice is yours. Remain a gentle, defenseless creature, or lead the masses, but lose your femininity.
Women leaders see themselves as others see them. After a meeting, such a leader often calls in employees she trusts under various pretexts and asks them for an outside opinion. How the meeting went, what they said in the team, etc. Maybe that’s why she’s being reincarnated as a man. As she adapts to the team and to her position, a woman absorbs everything that happens around her, which often becomes the reason for the acquisition of masculine character traits.
A female manager creates a team atmosphere. However, we know that a woman’s mood, like the weather, is changeable. Because of this, the staff will be in emotional tension. And this will negatively affect the work as a whole. A woman leader always has favorites and unsympathetic personalities. The entire staff knows them and this gives rise to discord in the team.
Women are often vindictive. And if once a subordinate disobeys the leader, he will remember this for a long time and will often affect his salary. But not only women, but also men have disadvantages in management. And men often have more of them.
Woman manager and professions for her
So there should be a certain area of leadership for women leaders. Recruiting Manager is one of the positions for which females are recommended. An HR manager is a human resources manager. This managerial vacancy is most suitable for women.
The work for this vacancy will be both paper-based and people-based. It is a woman who can conduct office work and check compliance with Labor Code norms. Men, as you know, do not like to do “paper” work. This is painstaking and responsible work.
As for recruiting, a woman will cope with this function better than a man. Only a woman can compare the skills, abilities and education of a candidate for a position with the proposed position and not make a mistake in her choice. A woman only needs to ask a few questions to the candidate, and she will make a choice.
Men often focus their activities on solving one problem. While a woman is able to find answers to several questions at the same time. The range of responsibilities for this vacancy is wide. It is necessary to have time to provide the enterprise with a sufficient number of qualified personnel, set up a personnel policy, organize a corporate culture at the enterprise, maintain contact with all employees, send sick leave and vacations, and much more. Only a woman can cope with all this.
It turns out that a woman leader is more important. Since the overall coordinated work of the enterprise depends on its choice. Moreover, a woman HR manager should know and partially possess the required vacancies. Since the responsibilities of an HR manager include conducting training sessions and seminars for staff. And a woman can cope with this task.
The manager position is ideal for all women in the beauty industry. There they are like fish in water. Preferably women work in this industry. Managing a female team is always difficult. But only a woman can cope with this task. Because he will know his subordinates from the inside.
In the beauty industry, female sales managers are common. Since they are the ones who are able to sell the thing that you don’t need. It is women's charms that cloud the mind. Women are more eloquent than men.
There are still many managerial vacancies in which it is preferable to work female. However, men continue to be skeptical of women in leadership positions. Globally, women have matched men in career performance. Women become presidents and chancellors. And they actually prove their leadership abilities. Perhaps men will remain in the majority of leadership positions. However, women will not back down. A woman is a housewife by nature. This means that she is able to restore harmony in her life and at work.
Everyone who has encountered a woman leader in their life takes their side. Whether you work under a man or a woman is up to you. However, remember that if you choose a woman, you will not regret it. After working under the leadership of a woman, you will not want to return to a team managed by a man.
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Many businesswomen are in charge of companies run by men, but more than half of them say they have achieved success without any male support. And although female managers often strive for leadership not only at work, but also in the family, they manage to combine a responsible position and a prosperous personal life, a recent study by the headhunting company Contact Agency showed.
According to the majority of study participants, in Russia women occupy senior management positions in 20-40% of companies, while in the West the share of female leaders is approximately 50%.
At the same time, in the context of different sectors of the Russian and Western economies, the ratio of women in senior management varies greatly, which allows us to talk about different perceptions of “purely female” and “purely male” careers.
Thus, in our country there are almost twice as many women top managers in the tourism and hospitality sector as in the West (16% versus 8.5%), approximately the same picture is observed in the sports, fashion and beauty industries (15% versus 7%) . But in the domestic mining industry and construction there are very few women managers (only 0.10%), while in foreign companies - 3% and 4%, respectively. However, there are industries where the gap is not so significant (advertising and media - 13% in Russia and 10% in the West; consulting - 7% and 6%, respectively) and is even absent (FMCG - 8% each).
73% of business women surveyed primarily value professionalism and emphasize that qualifications do not depend in any way on gender, however, 22% of respondents still prefer to work with men and only 4.5% with women.
Moreover, in most cases (77%) the post of CEO is occupied by a man and only 23% of companies are headed by women.
What’s interesting is that the direct subordinates of female managers are mostly women (70%). And although only 30% of survey participants indicated that men predominate among their subordinates, this figure has increased significantly in recent years (5 years ago it was 8.5%), the authors of the study note.
Almost a third of businesswomen surveyed (32%) admit that women most often become participants in work conflicts, while men are less prone to confrontation (11%). At the same time, more than half of the respondents (56%) claim that they never have conflict situations at work.
28% of successful business women reached career heights largely thanks to male support, 22% admit that men helped them advance in their careers, but this help was very insignificant. Almost half of successful businesswomen (47%) say that they do not owe their achievements to men at all, and 3% refused the offered patronage.
Almost all ladies who have acquired a certain influence and now occupy a high management position (80%) are ready to contribute to the career growth of employees, regardless of gender. About 15% help women advance to a greater extent, and only 6% single out men.
As the survey showed, many women managers are characterized by career mobility: 31% of them change jobs every 5-10 years, 47% every 3-5 years, another 11% find new opportunities every 1-2 years. And only 11% of study participants hold a position in one company for more than 10 years.
Russian business women are quite active and ambitious: 60% of them do not even think about stopping on the way to new career heights. Only 17% expect to retire in about 15 years, another 13% consider a ten-year period, and only 10% say they will retire relatively soon - within 5 years.
The results of the Contact Agency study (as well as hundreds of global and regional studies on the topic of leadership, motivation and engagement) once again confirm: the priorities of high-potential employees of companies around the world coincide, regardless of gender. For Russian women managers, the most important thing in their work is interesting projects(60%), opportunities for career and professional growth (53%) and high wages (52%).
Among the least important factors, respondents noted the opportunity for women with children to work from home 1-2 days a week (62%), health insurance for children (50%) and preservation of 100% of salary during pregnancy and maternity leave (34%).
At the same time, it would be a mistake to assume that successful business women are obsessed with their careers, and for them there are neither family values nor household chores. More than half of them are married, the majority have children (51% have one child, 20% have two, and 5% have three children). Only 24% of survey participants do not yet have children, and only 13% have never been officially married.
Representatives of the fair sex combine many roles. 49% of top managers cook their own meals, and 31% share kitchen work with their husbands and partners. Only 10% of respondents entrust cooking to housekeepers, 6% delegated this responsibility to their husband, and only 4% prefer to eat in restaurants.
Judging by the responses, women who manage departments and entire companies well have well-developed “home management” skills: 38% of study participants distribute housework among all family members, and 36% cope with all matters independently. Another 21% use the services of housekeepers, and 5% entrust all family chores to their husbands.
29% of married female executives earn more than their men, and 19% have the same income. It is noteworthy that in the family, businesswomen also strive for leadership and gender equality: 50% manage the family budget independently, 46% manage the family budget together with their husband.
What is the secret of business women who manage to combine responsible work and a prosperous personal life? First of all - in wisdom and mutual understanding (43% of answers), in the desire to combine this (40%) and the desire for harmony (32%). For 21%, a successful marriage means a lot - to a person who will not compete for leadership, and patience (19%), many noted interesting work for both partners, great love for family and optimism (14% each). Luck and common sense also to some extent influence the work/life balance (7%), but the choice of place of work, where personal and family values being recognized as part of the corporate culture means practically nothing (3%).
About the study
The study by the Contact Agency involved 310 female top managers of Russian and international companies from different sectors of the economy (medium and large businesses).
Age of participants:
- 26-35 years old – 16%
- 36-45 years old – 58%
- 46-55 years old – 22%
- 55 years and older – 4%
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Topic: “Woman Manager”
Introduction
We've already heard about emancipation
Women think differently
Why individual women were able to break into leadership
Conclusion
Notes
Literature
Introduction
A woman manager is a global phenomenon in the development of private entrepreneurship and the economy. After all, a manager is a member of an organization who carries out management activities and solves management problems. It can be said with full responsibility that managers are the key people in the organization. American researchers R. Peterson and K. Vermeyer called this phenomenon “a quiet revolution on a global scale” 1 . The intensity with which the “wave” of female entrepreneurship is spreading around the world, indicating the ability of women to create their own businesses, raises the question of the growth of their contribution to the global economy. The most dynamic processes of the formation of women's business are taking place in the United States, which allowed J. Nasbit to call the 90s of the 20th century “the decade of strengthening women in business” 2 . Indeed, women's businesses are currently a powerful economic force 3 .
In Russia, during the transition to a market economy, women's participation in entrepreneurial activity also increased 4. It would seem why modern women not to follow the example of their mothers, who conquered space, raised virgin soil, and not begin to develop the virgin soil of domestic business? Why shouldn't they head the largest trust companies, trading and advertising firms?
However, this is not observed as often as we would like. For successful career in a government agency or private company, a woman needs to be a more qualified specialist than her male colleagues. After all, other things being equal, preference is always given to the stronger sex. According to statistics, working women are more educated than men, but their wages are almost a third lower. Public opinion The 90s offers a woman the only alternative to become the wife of a successful businessman, to serve as the ideal of “home” and “motherhood.” Men tried to prevent women from redistributing finances, power and property. The same thing happened in large and small businesses. Men, having seized the “commanding heights”, if they take women into business, then not even in second and third roles, but only in technical, auxiliary roles. According to male businessmen, women are poor strategists and are accustomed to trusting feelings rather than sober reason. If one of the representatives of the fairer sex manages to achieve at least some success in business, then she will certainly be criticized. And as before, successful business women are denied the right to femininity, considering them to be “middle sex” 5. Perhaps women’s character really deteriorates in business: they become tougher and more pragmatic. However, men do not change in better side. Many turn into unprincipled cynics, and, by the way, much more often than women, they do not restrain themselves in emotions. Such social injustice forces us to take a closer look at the problems and advantages of women's management.
We've already heard about emancipation
IN Latin the word “emancipare” means: to free a son from his father’s authority and thereby declare him independent; to formally renounce something, alienate, yield. The root of the word “emancipation” can be interpreted as “liberation from a certain role.” For almost a century, emancipation has claimed the role of an active element: women, who are subject to discrimination in the first place, demand the right to liberation from the role imposed on them. They want to take for themselves what is not given to them voluntarily. The concept of "emancipation" in in this case means an attempt by a person to free himself from a circle of responsibilities that contradict his individual needs. This applies not only to women, but also to men.
If we proceed from the fact that for a long time the established image of a man (strong, brave, resourceful) is outdated in the same way as the image of a woman (tender, sensual, helpless), then emancipation is a common task for men and women. A task that can only be solved by the united efforts of men and women, for each individual will be defeated in the struggle for his liberation. Moreover, radical activity does more harm than benefits the common cause.
How to promote emancipation as a manager
It is worth noting the truth of the saying of the Western adherent of Sufism (Sufism is a mystical movement in Islam) Sir Richard Burton: “Self-expression, combined with respect for others, is the only and sufficient goal of human life.” The key words in this quote are “treating others with respect.” If emancipation is understood as an attempt by both sexes to free themselves from anachronistic role images, then this means not only a tolerant attitude towards the opposite sex, but also helping the other to free themselves from a role that does not meet those needs and degrades feelings self-esteem. Therefore, managers are encouraged to actively support their employees who are trying to free themselves from situations that discriminate against them. What should you do for this? First of all, to help them develop a sense of self-respect, help them become economically independent, give them the exclusive right to decide whether to have children or not, and promote mutual respect between employees of different sexes.
Women think differently
No man can truly understand women's logic. However, women are better at penetrating the psyche of men. One of the best books on how the sexes relate to each other was written by two women who were awarded degrees from Harvard Business School. This is Dr. Margaret Henning and Dr. Ani Jardin. The main thing in the results of their research can be highlighted as follows.
Women decide to make a career very late. Often, only after ten years of work at the company do they decide to take a higher position, but this is too late for their planned career. Most women are too passive. Instead of doing something themselves, they allow events to take their course.
Women believe that the decisive factor in professional success is their self-realization. As a result of this, they cease to be interested in more significant things in their environment, they do not recognize and do not perceive any mutual loyal relationships, dependence of relationships like “you - to me, I - to you”, mutual usefulness, patronage that arise between employees and are always taken into account to a certain extent in their activities by men. Women perceive a career as personal growth, as self-realization. Men understand career as prestigious and promising positions. Men carry out the work they do solely with their own ideas about a career, that is, they view it as promotion, success. Women share two concepts: the work they do and their career. For them, work is carried out “here and now,” and a career is an exclusively personal goal, the results of which can only be judged by the woman herself. From childhood, men are determined that they will work in order to at least be able to feed themselves. Only a small part of women thought about this issue in childhood. Most of them hope to find someone who will support them. The difference in mood and direction of thinking, resulting from various ideas that develop in childhood, is enormous. Men view their career as an essential part of their lives. If any personal problems arise, then men look for an opportunity to “distort” the personal and professional “cards”. Women insist on a clear distinction between personal and professional problems; in the event of a conflict, they clearly choose one path or another. If men start their work at a company, then they already automatically have a “general staff in their knapsack.” Women, on the contrary, must constantly prove through their work that they are doing their job, although everyone assumes the opposite.
Another typical difference relates to the concept of “personal strategy.” Men define it as achieving a set goal. When faced with a new task, they constantly ask the question: “What’s in it for me?” This is a crucial question as it stakes their career future. Already while playing football, boys learn how to unite as a team, what can be won and lost, what individual team members can have bad character. As a rule, girls do not gain experience acting as part of a team. If they play sports, they prefer single sports such as equestrianism or tennis. Most girls never learn what "team spirit" means, they don't learn to form groups and win together, despite the fact that individual members of the group are unlikable.
The next difference in the thinking of men and women is their assessment of risk. For men, risk means loss or gain, victory or defeat, danger or chance. Women assess risk as a fundamentally negative aspect. For them it means loss, danger, pain. They avoid risk whenever possible.
Otherwise, women tend, in contrast to men, in their role behavior most often to adhere to the view: “I am exactly who I am, whether others like it or not.”
Women take everything very seriously. They invest something very special into what is happening, so they react especially painfully to criticism and personal insults. They least of all think that they can cope with work that they are not yet familiar with or have never done.
In conclusion, both authors summarize the results of the studies that seem to them the most significant. The difference in thinking means that a large number of boys learn to be friends with each other, while girls do not always consider this necessary.
Male group behavior is actually a phenomenon that causes women to say something like this: “How can two men who absolutely hate each other sit together in a meeting and pretend to respect and help each other while others know How is it really? How can they be such hypocrites? This question explains a lot. The activities of the company correspond to the activities of a team, whose members care, on the one hand, about profit, and on the other, only about their own survival. As long as there is no profit or winnings, prudence must be observed. Why deliberately make enemies if you can move forward and make friends. Women, on the other hand, care about maintaining good relationships, since these relationships are an end in themselves for them. And in traditional women's experience there is hardly anything that can contradict this end in itself. On this basis, women find themselves in the trap of intolerance, which can be defined as follows: “I don’t like him (she), I can’t work with her (him).”
Let's try to move from theory to practice. Suppose a young employee, after talking with her boss about her career, decided to start her path to the top. What should a boss do if he thinks a young woman is capable? He should take the following steps: 1) offer the woman several tasks of various kinds to establish in which areas she is strongest: planning, organizing, budgeting, negotiating, developing new ideas, and so on; 2) with the help of “particularly important” tasks, determine how she reacts to workloads and is ready in such cases to work overtime and subordinate her personal interests to the interests of the company; 3) if she fails, then together with her find out why this happened. It is possible that she lacks the knowledge and skills to complete this particular task. Otherwise, he should praise her achievements in work and regularly discuss successes with her so that she knows whether she is on the right path; 4) support the young employee and make it clear with the utmost clarity: as long as she achieves good results, he, as a leader, will support her; 5) show that he is assisting this employee only because of the high results that she has achieved, and only because of this; 6) to prepare for her promotion to the middle management level, give her the opportunity to attend special courses so that she learns how to make decisions, hold meetings, criticize subordinates, and more; 7) after about a one-year probationary period, interview her again to help her finally decide what she wants to achieve while working for the company: whether she wants to deal with personnel issues, sales issues, or work in the marketing department; 8) first, the manager must understand the following questions: what are my plans for this employee? Do I want to take her on my team when I get promoted? Then I must gradually introduce her to the tasks that are the responsibility of the next level of management. Many companies have a well-known point of view: managers at all levels do not encourage capable and ambitious employees, but try to expel them from the company, because they see them as rivals trying to take their place. These short-sighted ideas harm not only the company, but also the manager himself. Why? Let's assume that the head of a department has a promising young man on his staff. The manager realizes that it would be a pity if such a person remained in his position all the time, so he systematically promotes him and one fine day offers him the vacant position of group leader. Perhaps in two years he will already be the head of the department, and in another two – the main head of the department. Now he has already surpassed his former leader. Is this bad? Of course not. On the contrary, his former leader now has a friend at a higher level of leadership who owes his rise to him. Finally, let's assume that our department head has implemented this support policy consistently over many years. Then, regardless of whether he himself rises through the ranks or not, one day it turns out that he has friends in leadership positions who owe their careers to him. In other words, the benefit from such a personnel policy is not only for the company itself, but also for the manager implementing this policy. Bottom line: Promoting capable and ambitious employees, regardless of their gender, is always beneficial.
Why were some women able to break into the management of the company?
The authors of the mentioned book, Henning and Jardin, interviewed 25 successful executives who managed to achieve the position of vice presidents of large companies. First of all, they were interested in the question: why were these women able to make a career? The results of this study are as follows.
1) Of the twenty-five leaders, twenty were the only or eldest child in the family, the other five fell into the position of being the first child born as a result of prevailing circumstances (divorce of parents, death of older brothers and sisters).
2) All twenty-five respondents had good relationships with their fathers and took part with them in an unusually wide, traditionally male sphere of activity, starting from an early age.
3) All respondents were born into “upward-looking” middle-class families. The fathers of twenty-two held leadership positions in the economy, the other three were college directors. Twenty-four mothers were homemakers, and one was a teacher. The educational level of the twenty-three was at least the same as that of their fathers.
4) Of decisive importance, obviously, was the fact that families had a special attitude towards these children, as their firstborn. And the feeling of this situation is deeply imprinted in the child’s soul. Twenty-five women recalled having a happy childhood and that their parents played a special role in their eyes.
5) Fathers and daughters shared interests that are considered traditionally characteristic of fathers and sons: physical activity, sports competitions, aggressive pursuit of success, readiness to compete and a strong determination to win. These successful women learned very early from their fathers to soberly assess the degree of risk, that is, to consciously weigh their chances of success or failure. In this way, all the women interviewed differed from the overwhelming majority of women, for whom risk means losses, so they try to avoid them.
6) All twenty-five women were the best students and “leaders” while studying at school.
7) The fundamental prerequisites for any success are the desire for it, focus on luck, desire through one’s knowledge. All twenty-five women possessed these, it was the result of their upbringing. All respondents were of the opinion that the efforts spent on this were not in vain, since they gained respect and recognition from their parents.
8) All survey participants studied at college with great diligence. The strategy they developed for themselves was to set a goal, identify priorities, and develop a program of action that allowed them to identify and avoid false paths. In other words, even at that time their behavior did not differ from the behavior of a successful manager striving to reach the top. They did not spend much time on men and generally divided them into two types: helpers like their fathers, and the rest.
9) All twenty-five women, at an early stage of their professional activity, decided at their own risk to pursue a career in one company. They came to the conclusion very early that a woman can only achieve a responsible and high position if she copes with the work performed at a level better than any male employee of this company.
10) All participants considered their first leadership position as the initial step on the ladder to the top. They all very quickly identified another factor that decisively influences success or failure: the presence of a good immediate supervisor.
11) These women were of the opinion that the development of good business relationships with men depends on the extent to which they can “erase” gender differences and on their communication being focused on the functions or tasks performed. This means that they sought to downplay the fact that they were women and used competence as a crucial element of self-affirmation.
12) They attached great importance to not having intimate relationships with men working in the same company or with those with whom they had business relationships.
13) These women developed good and lasting friendships with the men who were their immediate supervisors. Without exception, they all started out as personal secretaries or assistants to their boss. And when they reached the next step in their career, they too rose to a higher level. And this always happened at the suggestion of their leaders. They helped each of them, encouraged, inspired, were their teachers and support in the company. These executives admired their business skills and drive to succeed. The leaders believed that women should advance in private enterprise, and defended this point of view to their colleagues, as well as to clients and customers.
14) The strategy of the twenty-five women was to meet the above-average requirements of a given position, which was achieved by studying independently at home and attending evening courses. Finishing work at the next step, they were already able to perform more complex tasks at the next step of the hierarchical ladder. And if their boss was promoted, they, based on their level of competence, were ready to accompany him.
15) When these women reached the level of department head and had many men under them, they could cope with this problem. One interviewee said: “I came to the conclusion that I should try to ignore the problems associated with gender relations and concentrate on making my department a place where men could work well, improve their skills and advance. up".
The price women pay for their careers
Problems for working women arise because most of them, especially before starting their labor activity, cannot decide two questions for themselves: do they want to work to have money or to make a career, should they demonstrate their femininity in their professional life? These are fundamental questions for every working woman 6 . The answer to them determines whether they will be happy in their professional activity or not, whether they will be satisfied with it or whether they will feel constantly “exploited”. There are still ongoing complaints about “ungrateful firms” that push dedicated female employees into the background after they have dedicated decades to the firm. What are such complaints based on?
Research results have shown that after approximately ten years of work, every woman stops working 7. Some of them have already demonstrated their business qualities, starting as a secretary, reaching the position of middle management and by this time having reached the age of thirty to thirty-five. Others, most often, did not make any career, but worked diligently and devotedly as a secretary or clerk. So, we have two groups of working women.
The first group includes women who, regardless of their desire or abilities, have not made any career. Most of them got married at the age of twenty-five to thirty, but continued to work. These are those women who strictly separate their profession and personal life. We have already mentioned them. All this means that they live a tense double life: at work they do not want to allow bad words to be said about themselves and therefore work, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. At home, they must take care of the children and please their spouse. Since not every woman can withstand such a long-term load, the time comes when she begins to “give up” both at home and at work. If a woman has been happily working for more than twenty years at a company and in the meantime reaches the age at which birthdays are no longer officially celebrated, then the situation changes again: the children have grown up and left home, married life has turned into a meaningful ritual and work is routine, because that she knows all her professional duties by heart. If the man does not earn enough to maintain an adequate standard of living, the wife continues to work for about fifteen more years. The boss is pleased that he has a reliable employee, however, he keeps her on a “short leash,” especially in financial matters. And one fine day such a woman quite reasonably says that she has worked at the company all her life, and receives less money than young employees, and she will receive a small pension, and so on.
The women of the second group made careers. After ten years of work, they reached the position of department heads and are respected. Male colleagues speak of them with admiration: “They are as smart as men!” And this is where the dog is buried. All these women behaved like men and denied their femininity. They were somewhat cold, dressed strictly, and some of them even took it as an insult if a man complimented them at work and noticed how good they looked. We tried to stay away from such “violators of the rules of the game.” All women, at the age of about forty-five years, made a shocking discovery for themselves: suddenly it became clear to them that as women they had missed everything in life, they had no husband, no children, no family life and, in general, their life is life without emotional outbursts, the life of a “sexless worker bee.” Was it supposed to be like this? Is this the meaning of life?
All participants in the study reacted to this experience in the same way: they set themselves a moratorium on their careers, became less active in their work, and for the first time for almost one year reflected on their lives. This thought process led them to the same result: they decided to henceforth “be women” and behave accordingly. For the first time in their lives, they recognized themselves as women and radically rebuilt themselves. Most respondents married, most often to men who were at least ten years older than them. And all this in order to live, even if belatedly family life. The rest of the participants were left alone. However, all respondents began to visit beauty salons, use cosmetics, and dress in a fashionable and feminine manner. Thanks to this, their communication skills improved, and they began to be liked more by those around them. And all the men from their professional environment declared with confidence: “We like you better this way.” The professional consequences of this change were surprising. Step by step, these women began to delegate their authority to others and work out decisions together with the men who were under them. They stopped worrying about every little detail, which made it possible to systematically continue their careers to the level of company management. From success-oriented specialists, they turned into leaders. This was facilitated by the fact that they were able to assert themselves as women and find their individuality.
In order for a woman to be able to be both a good worker and an attractive woman, her husband must take on a certain share of the burden in raising children and managing household. We must not deprive her of the chance to realize herself in accordance with her own ideas. This can be greatly facilitated by work (including the desire to make a career) or study. Increasing attempts to present married life as a true partnership, in which the man in a sense plays the role of “master of the house,” are seen as an encouraging sign. The problems of emancipation can only be solved through the joint efforts of men and women.
It is worth mentioning one more type of successful women who can afford to be leaders without “suppressing” their feminine side: we are talking about independent women entrepreneurs. All of them had a different path to ascending to the position of manager: they either created companies themselves and put them on their feet, or received them as an inheritance and successfully continued the work they had already begun. However, these women entrepreneurs have a huge advantage over the women who have made their careers, mentioned above: it was not easy for them to “break through” to the top. From day one, they were bosses and therefore could afford to be both a leader and a woman.
Conclusion
Studying the personality of an employee in an organization, in particular a female manager, analyzing the influence of the manager on the socio-psychological structure and development of the team is one of the most important factors in increasing the efficiency of the team. The manager must take care of the advancement of employees of any gender. And in some cases (depending on working conditions, the nature of the work), preference can be given to a woman as a leader, since she feels relationships in the team more deeply, intuitively evaluates the behavior of other people, and reacts more sensitively to the nuances of relationships between people and in relation to herself .
When nominating a woman to a managerial position, it is very important to recognize her equal rights, the equality of her opportunities and abilities in managing a team. If a woman leader is able to combine the qualities of a true leader (strong character, professionalism, initiative, ability to take risks) with traditionally feminine values, such as sensitivity, humanity, flexibility, cunning, practicality, then she can become an ideal leader. Men's persistent belief that a woman should be more involved in the home and children, or that a woman can only be a leader in traditionally female positions under a man, prevents women from being promoted to leadership positions. Neither society nor the state can do without taking into account the opinions of women when making decisions. Therefore, women must be involved at all levels of decision-making and represented in the executive and legislative branches. Although the full realization of the right to equal representation of men and women in government is currently still a long way off, targeted efforts are needed to increase the proportion of women politicians and women managers.
The question of whether or not to be a leader must be decided by everyone himself, but at the same time, men and women should have equal opportunities through the construction of a system for training and promotion of personnel.
Notes
1 Peterson R., Weirmair K. Woman Entrepreneurs Economic Development Change. – Journal of Development Planning, 1988, No. 18
2 Naisbitt J. Aburdene P. Coup d'etal daus I'entreppriuse. P. 1986, p. 218
3 Woman’s Business Issues: Hearing before the Commision on Small Business; House of Representatives; 102 nd Cond., Ist session, Washington, DC, 1991, Apr. 18 Wash.: GPO. 1991, III 174 P, p. 4, 6
4 A working woman in the conditions of Russia’s transition to a market economy. Ed. L. Rzhanitsyna. M.: Institute of Economics RAS, 1993, p. 31
5 Vasilyeva G. First steps of women entrepreneurs - Man and Labor, 1995, No. 1
6 Samartseva O., Grebneva T. Gender features of management. In: Russian entrepreneurship: strategy, power, management. M.: Institute of Economics RAS, 2000
7 Barsukova S. Specifics of women's management. – Sociological Research, 1999, No. 9
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