Women in Business - Playing Wonder Woman

By Akhil Shahani

"The only difference between a man and woman climbing the ladder of success is that a woman is expected to put it in the closet when she's finished with it", said American cartoonist Barbara Dale. Is it surprising then that a working woman (and we mean one that holds a job outside her home) is actually some kind of Wonder Woman! Isn't it remarkable that women in business control over nine million ventures contributing nearly US$ 4 trillion to the economy? You have to ask, how on earth does she manage?

From the get-go, women in business have been given the big brush off. Read anything to do with business leadership and you'll find that the star cast features the same bunch of men. "Women" as economic beings! Definitely, nah! And yet, ninety percent of American women will need to fend for themselves financially at some stage of their lives.

Over half the jobs created since 1992 can be attributed to the women in business owning the firms providing the employment. According to a study conducted sometime back, the glass ceiling that undoubtedly exists in the corporate world is not the only reason why there are more and more women in business. The boredom that comes with a paid job, along with a working environment that usually stifles creativity has as much to do with it. A lady president of an organization that deals with issues faced by women in business says that turning to entrepreneurship is not something women do just to "feel good"; their reasons are grounded in hard nosed reality. And they're as successful as men because of it. Programs such as Women's "Brain" -Storming On The Playground™ provide a platform to women in business to share their motivations and experiences with like-minded people.

Yet, few would deny that there are some important differences between the men and the women in business. Men are good at creating and following a "top to bottom" hierarchy, and letting people know who is boss. Women, on the other hand create horizontal networks, and believe in nurturing relationships. Men will focus on business goals possibly to the exclusion of everything else, and fall back on logical reasoning during decision making. Women in business employ different techniques, giving greater importance to the process, or the means rather than the end. While men stand up for individual rights and entitlements, women are less likely to do so, preferring to go with group opinion. However, men are very good at mentoring and passing on their expertise to those younger or less experienced, but it's rare to see women in business mentoring others, especially other women.

Clearly, some of this can be explained by the fact that women are more concerned about fulfilling their affiliative needs, rather than satisfying their desire for power or money. No surprise that they put more emphasis on benefits such as flex time, child care facilities and retirement benefits.

And to those who wonder how women in business can ever be good "businesswomen", we'd like to present one startling fact - women owned firms outpaced overall business growth by over two times. If there are still any skeptics around, all we can do is to quote Barbara Dale once more. "I am a working woman. I take care of a home. I hold down a job. I am nuts."

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