Category: Zeitgeist

“In June 2015, Sir Tim Hunt was reviled for arguing in favour of gender-segregated labs on the grounds that ‘girls’ cause men to fall in love with them, and cry when criticized. His comment cost the Nobel Prize winner his honorary professorship at UCL, and his position on the Royal Society’s Biological Sciences Awards Committee. More recently online, The Review argued that campaigning for women in STEM was unnecessary. Gender gaps in different professions, the editorial contends, can often be a matter of biology. Gender is a factor in determining why we study what we study, and blindly incentivizing students to pursue STEM subjects may distort the job market in the longer term.”
Why Campaign for Women in STEM?, by Jonathan Beyer, Mendeley, 2 December 2015

Apparently we still have a long way to go, baby. And this might be funny if it wasn’t so annoying. Cry when criticized? Biology-based gender gaps? Really? Huh.

“Men and women also gave the same most common reason for not applying, and it was by far the most popular, twice as common as any of the others, with 41% of women and 46% of men indicating it was their top reason: ‘I didn’t think they would hire me since I didn’t meet the qualifications, and I didn’t want to waste my time and energy.’

“In other words, people who weren’t applying believed they needed the qualifications not to do the job well, but to be hired in the first place. They thought that the required qualifications were…well, required qualifications. They didn’t see the hiring process as one where advocacy, relationships, or a creative approach to framing one’s expertise could overcome not having the skills and experiences outlined in the job qualifications.

“What held them back from applying was not a mistaken perception about themselves, but a mistaken perception about the hiring process.”
Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified, HBR, by Tara Sophia Mohr, August 24, 2015

“In our first installment of the Women in the Nonprofit Sector blog series, GuideStar’s VP of Strategy Mizmun Kusairi shared her SOS model for success in Women in Nonprofit Leadership. Last week, Peggy Outon, Executive Director of Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management, contributed her story in Women in Nonprofits: Then & Now. Today, we welcome Anisha Singh White as she joins us for the third and final post.

“Last month, I attended the Gender Inequity in the Charitable Sector session at Embark: the 2015 Independent Sector National Conference. In this panel, four nonprofit professionals discussed the strategic and tactical ways that we could better promote gender equality as a sector.

“In the weeks following this dialogue, I thought about the ways that this session is applicable to myself. While I’m fascinated by gender equality from an academic standpoint, I’m more interested in applying the principles to my own life through understanding how I, personally, can better promote myself in the workplace. As a millennial woman in the first few years of my career, I’m aware that this is arguably the most critical time to establishing one’s self as both a leader and an advocate, for yourself and others. So, how can I be my own best advocate?”
Women at the Table: Placing Policy into Practice, by Anisha Singh, Guidestar, December 4, 2015

Our beloved Muna Deriane, former WIM Vice President, and now knockin’ em dead at Rand Corp sent me this lovely little video on Robust Decision Making, something I could certainly use more of. Enjoy! Ginger

Source

“Give me liberty, or give me death.”
Woman in a Meeting: “Dave, if I could, I could just — I just really feel like if we had liberty it would be terrific, and the alternative would just be awful, you know? That’s just how it strikes me. I don’t know.”

“I have a dream today!”
Woman in a Meeting: “I’m sorry, I just had this idea — it’s probably crazy, but — look, just as long as we’re throwing things out here — I had sort of an idea or vision about maybe the future?”

“I will be heard.”
Woman in a Meeting: “Sorry to interrupt. No, go on, Dave. Finish what you had to say.”
Famous quotes, the way a woman would have to say them during a meeting, by Alexandra Petri, Washington Post, October 13, 2015

“Go to lunch with an ask. Don’t be afraid to be transactional. Make yourself go to the cocktail party.

“‘Networking is like exercise,’ says Candace Corlett, president of WSL, a retail strategy consulting firm. ‘You know you must, but do you? And you know if you do, you’ll feel better.'”
Networking Isn’t Easy for Women, but It Is Crucial, by Liz Rappaport, WSJ, October 1, 2015
(hat tip to Kristine Moe for this link)

“The voice is our emotional engine. It carries our energy, health, vitality, joy and intelligence. But because our voices are powered by the breath, which is instantly responsive to stress and anxiety, it can also signal our anxiety, fear and self-doubt. Using your voice to convey confidence and authority is a challenge for everyone, of course, but it often has greater implications for women and can hurt their ability to influence and lead.”
Like, totally don’t talk like this to get ahead in business?, by Gina Barnett, Fortune, July 6, 2015

“Women may face more barriers to leadership if there is a perceived conflict between their professional role and their gender. Organizations must detect any gender bias and promote a positive view of women leaders.

“Two generally agreed-upon facts characterize the state of gender equality in today’s workplace. The first is that despite increased attention paid to gender disparities, society’s archetypal business leader is still a man. The second is that, thanks to enormous, painstaking efforts by women and their advocates, this situation is changing, but very slowly.

“This is despite the tangible benefits of gender-diverse leadership. One might expect the curve of change to get steeper with each year, but that hasn’t happened. According to the International Labour Organisation, if the current rate of progress holds, we won’t see pay equality between men and women until 2086 at the earliest.”
Resolving the Conflict Between “Woman” and “Leader”, by Natalia Karelaia, Instead Knowledge, June 1, 2015