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Advice to Working Women Out of Touch With Reality

Recently I read a newspaper article in which an established woman in academia noted that the power to change the scarcity of women in high positions lies with the individual woman. She then referenced a rather standard checklist upon which such reportedly successful senior-level figures often rely when offering career advice to women:

• market yourself like a man
• find a mentor
• go to extra lengths to prove your capabilities
• take risks by accepting assignments in new areas
• set and communicate career goals
• think and act strategically

From one who once took this checklist seriously, applied its behavioral elements throughout a 20-year managerial stint in corporate America, and still experienced degrading career discrimination, I say hogwash!!

Let us look in more detail at this much overused and sometimes irrelevant list of career tips and techniques:

• Market yourself like a man - Some have suggested if a woman patterns her conduct after a man, she will be more readily accepted in the business world. They reason men are more comfortable with what they know - a masculine demeanor rather than a feminine style. However, it takes more than using cuss words, drinking with the "boys" after work, and smoking cigars to become a player in the workplace. Regardless of abilities and track records, the careers of females typically tend to stall out within managerial hierarchies if they lack ties to a male power figure or if they have not been tapped to be a token. Sure, women can market themselves like men. However, such marketing campaigns often fall short given the targeted audiences (i.e., high-level, powerful male executives) long-held endorsement of stereotypical gender lines.
• Find a mentor - "Find yourself a mentor and you will go far" you might have heard. Mentors tend to counsel and advise as well as promote, provide career development opportunities, and fight battles for protégés. However, a mentor relationship oftentimes is ephemeral. If a mentor's position and authority are challenged, undermined or removed, then, the protégé's standing in the organization most likely will be affected despite her performance and achievements. Then, there is the question of whether male executives really like to help women with their careers. Some men might help women if they want to be thought of as liberal or if they are by nature paternalistic in their dealings with people. Realistically, most businessmen tend to assist women only if they will benefit in some way, too. After all, society has tended to tag women as more nurturing "givers," while men traditionally have been labeled as the "takers."
• Go to extra lengths to prove your capabilities - There are few guarantees in the work world and the career experiences of a number of workers verifies that extended efforts do not necessarily lead to career advancement. Many a promotion has been handed to a mediocre worker who basically spent more time and effort socializing with higher-ranking colleagues than concentrating on the tasks at hand. The business world is a network of people, and since humans are social beings, it seems only reasonable outgoing individuals rather than "worker bees" will thrive in work settings. Ironically, though, "worker bees" can be certain as soon as they begin to cut back on patterns of giving more than 100 percent effort, they will be criticized by management for not maintaining a previous level of commitment.
• Take risks by accepting assignments in new areas - Clearly, many working women are confident and brave enough to take assignments in uncharted areas. However, opportunities to move into new areas can be few and far between within the traditional workplace. For instance, one would think after demonstrating a certain level of ability in a job and adding to academic credentials, an employer would prefer to give such an employee an opportunity for further career growth rather than hire a new employee or a consultant. However, many contemporary business executives in their preoccupation with the bottom line seem to hire new people, whose credentials look good and who interview well, rather than maintaining a comprehensive career development program to cultivate internal talent. Even when an unexpected special project pops up, one often will find management hiring a consultant to deal with the challenge instead of taking the time and effort to seek out skills and potential within the existing employee population.
• Set and communicate career goals - This sounds like a rational initiative if one works with secure and confident management. That was rarely my experience. As I expanded my academic credentials through part-time studies during my weekend, after-hours and vacation time, and established visibility and positions of leadership in outside organizations, my employers always seemed to become more threatened. They reacted by ignoring or, in some instances, belittling my achievements and aspirations. A male colleague once shared with me that when he earned through evening studies a professional degree, the human resources executive in the company, rather than congratulating him, dryly said something to the effect that now he figured this man would expect a promotion. Interesting to note, though, this male co-worker eventually was given a promotion. Whereas, when I completed my doctoral degree in a field related to my job function and industry, the same employer said congratulations but never promoted me. Go figure!
• Think and act strategically - Behaving strategically in the workplace is a given, but how strategic can one be without access to information. Information is power in the business world, and far too many managers take that notion to an extreme. They share information with employees only when necessary, and even then, they filter select data to protect their perceived insiders edge. Working in a need-to-know environment can be frustrating and demoralizing to employees; such workers are handicapped in seeing the larger picture and responding strategically.

Given that business settings are reflections of the values and priorities of those in power, until senior management chooses to recognize, accept and cultivate the talents and skills of female workers in a manner consistent with how they treat most of the male employment population, it seems the cards will always be stacked against women without connections in the workplace. And yet, the media more than likely will continue to showcase advice from recognizable male and female executives whose names or titles might provide for eye-catching headlines or ear-catching sound bites, and who imply women can get ahead in the male-centric business world if they simply follow this standard behavioral checklist. Of course, each of us has the option of turning the page or tuning out the channel rather than reading and listening to the same old, out-of-touch rhetoric over and over again.

By: Sarah Banda Purvis, Ph.D.