Try Thinking of Yourself as an Aphid

Aphids probably appeared around 280 million years ago, in the early Permian period.  One of the keys to their evolutionary success is that they are parthenogenic - in other words they are asexual.

I’m not a feminist, but for the past thirty five years I have been told that very shortly women will be equal in the workplace.  The Equal Pay act was passed in 1970 and yet in September 2011, forty-one years later the dinner ladies at Sheffield City Council took their claim for equal pay to the Supreme Court. 

Equality means equal workloads; equal rewards and equal opportunities, and it's the equal opportunities that I want to talk about.

A report recently published by McKinsey & Co. found a positive correlation between higher levels of company performance and the proportion of women on the executive board, and they are not alone, there are numerous pieces of evidence which show that generally women bring balance and an effective leadership style into organisations.

The Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) has just published a report entitled ‘Ambition and Gender Report'. http://tinyurl.com/3tdc6zu

Amongst other things the report examines the factors impacting on women's career progressions.  Here are some of the interesting findings:

• In 2009-10 57% of first degree graduates were women.
• 49.4% of the UK workforce are women.
• 12% of FTSE 100 directorships are held by women (Cranfield School of Management latest annual report).
• 22% of senior management positions are held by women.

The broad findings suggest that:

"Men have higher levels of self confidence than women; this was evidenced by more than 50% of the women interviewed admitting to feelings of self-doubt relating to their performance and career compared to 31% of men.  In addition women were described as being more cautious in applying for jobs and promotions.  20% of men said they would apply for a role even if they were only partially able to meet the requirements of the job description." 

In terms of learning and development, whether it's workshops, skills training, or facilitating senior management meetings, I consistently work with groups made up of a majority of men.  Naturally maternity breaks and childcare issues take their toll, but there is more to it than that.

I have never yet met a business woman who was in favour of positive discrimination or who did not want to be judged on their own merits.  So where are the women at a more senior level?

I often find women to be very self aware in their roles, and this level of awareness seems sometimes to make them question their ability to perform as effectively or as confidently as their male counterparts.  Frequently women seem very conscious of their gender comparing themselves unfavourably to men.

By comparison, men do not appear to me conscious of their gender - they simply get on with it!

Perhaps the aphid has something we can learn from:

• They are not concerned with their gender.
• They are soft bodied and generally have little protection, although they can excrete a fluffy coating which can stop predators getting dangerously close to them.
• They have a wide variety of predators and parasites, but by forming a mass they are less likely to be predated.

I strongly believe the opportunities are there - but women have to be more self-confident, be less aware of their gender and just go for it.

I suggest try thinking of yourself as a person (or an aphid) -  it has worked for me.

Further reading: http://tinyurl.com/6j7up44 'Women's promotion opportunities'

http://tinyurl.com/3ev7zas 'Four ways women hold themselves back'