1. Sit at the table. Sandberg says that "the data shows that women systematically underestimate their own abilities". She contends that women have to believe in themselves and that they should"sit at the table" as opposed to sitting on the side of the room. My wife works as a senior mutual funds account administrator for the Bank of New York Mellon. She has been with BNY for nearly a decade. She started working for the bank almost right out of college. There have been opportunities for her to advance in her career with this organization but she has chosen not to. In the last five years, there has been two separate occasions where she could have pursued a managerial position leading a team of administrators. On both occasions we talked about the pros and cons of her pursuing these opportunities. I am her biggest supporter and I truly believe in her and I know she can accomplish anything she wants, she just has to want it. On both occasions she felt like she wouldn't be good at these positions because she doubted her abilities. She felt she couldn't be successful, and of course I told her she was crazy. However you can't make someone do something they are not comfortable with. In the end, she didn't pursue these management opportunities and I'm not certain if those opportunities will be available to her in the future. Women have to be willing to take chances in the corporate world if they want to be equally represented.
2. Make your partner a real partner. One of the more interesting things mentioned by Sandberg in her Ted Talk was when she said "Ive become convinced that we've made more progress in the than we have in the home. The data shows this very clearly. If a woman and a man work full-time and have a child, the woman does twice the amount of housework the man does, and the woman does three times the amount of childcare the man does." If I were PolitifFact I would rate her statement half-true. As two working professionals with a child, my wife and I work together as much as possible in order to maintain our home, raise our son, and keep our commitment to one another. In my house, I do the majority of the cleaning. It isn't because my wife won't clean, its because I am OCD and if something is out of place, dirty, or needs to be done, I will do it. It actually drives my wife a little batty because she says "You know I was going to do that when I had time!" But I actually like to clean and cook for that matter. For me, I find it therapeutic. I will admit that when it come to raising my som my wife does the majority of the work. It isn't because I am an absent parent, it's because my son is two years old and he prefers for mommy to hold him, mommy to rock hm, mommy to give him his baths. We've been trying to explain to him that it is not fair for mommy to have to do all of this when daddy is happy to chip in but he's not buying it... I tease my wife and tell her it's because she over "baby'd" him and now she's paying the consequences :) As a nurturing mother however, my wife wouldn't have it any other way.
3. Don't leave before you leave. Sandberg recommends that women "keep their foot on the gas pedal" when it comes My wife and I made a conscious effort to have our son. We knew we wanted to have a family and as responsible adults we planned our pregnancy and exactly one year after our wedding anniversary we learned we were pregnant. If there is one really great thing about my wife's organization is the benefits they offer. My wife was able to stay at home on leave for three months with full pay. She was actually put on bed rest a month early (which was covered by short-term disability) so in actuality she stayed home for a quarter of a year while being paid in full by her employer. Was her foot on the pedal at that time? I can honestly say no. She was more concerned with our first born than with her job. But should this negatively impact women in the workforce? I would like to say no but I imagine it's hard to have someone in a position of authority if they have child after child and need to be out of the office three to four months out of the year.
I can't imagine how hard it is for women to be successful in organizations in today's climate. As the data eludes to, there has not been any significant change in the advancement of women in higher level organizational positions. As Sandberg said "the numbers are going in the wrong direction". If a woman is completely dedicated, highly motivated, and willing to sacrifice family, it is possible for her to be successful. However, the sacrifices that women make (carrying children, birthing, raising them) are not issues that affect men, giving them what I consider a disadvantage. I would like to see more women in positions of authority and I think that with confidence, determination, and with growing opportunity, women can be just as (if not more) successful as men.
Sandberg, S. (2010, December 21). Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have
too few women leaders
[Video file]. Retrieved from
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