“Men are taller, stronger, cleverer and more suited to the highest levels of the world of work. Men are more suited to executive positions on boards.”
If you are over 5ft9in (without your killer heels), look around you. Chances are you’re surrounded by a bunch of guys. How many of them are taller than you? Or walk down the street and see how many are taller or shorter than you? What is your reality?
Height matters. Our Lord Mayor who is going to abseil down Lloyd’s, is 6ft. That has to instill confidence. You know when she enters a room. A player on the global stage her talents are negotiation, facilitations and communication. She has advised in Cross-Border Projects in areas such as West Africa South Africa, Central American and Malaysia as well as nearer home. Perhaps women are better players in the global context. Angelina Joley.
A reminder of another global woman Mary Robinson. Who was a former President of Ireland, now UN envoy for Human Rights, leader of “theElders”. G7: where are the women leaders?
“We should not wait another generation or two for women to be on an equal footing with men.”
These women are less suited to the world of money making in the City, than to recognize and address global concerns, global solutions, such as climate change. taking a long view and planning for the future. These women can hack it.
So is it true that men are always taller, stronger, cleverer?
“Suppose a researcher were to ask you what are males and females like?
Would you stare at the researcher blankly and exclaim, “But what can you mean? Every person is a unique, multifaceted, sometimes even contradictory individual, and with such an astonishing range of personality within each sex, and across contests, social class, age, experience, educational level, sexuality and ethnicity, it would be pointless and meaningless to attempt to pigeonhole such rich complexity and variability into two crude stereotypes?”
Delusions of Gender:Cordelia Fine
Some women endure hours of labor in childbirth, and it is called labor. Perhaps it is endurance rather than strength, though if you’ve ever seen a mother carry an 8-11 year old boy up the stairs,, or a nurse doing her back in lifting a 10+ stone patient, you might want to re-think. How our thinking and ambitions are constrained by urban myths. Making money doesn’t require strength, but it does require being both clever and cunning. Money makers are clever. The top financiers, bankers, pension fund managers, especially if they are Eton, Oxbridge, are good at eroding the confidence of the little people, and often exclude women from the upper echelons of power. They are very clever at awarding high level bonus and justifying the need, acquiring money, underpaying compensation for misdealing in PFI. they think it’s their money. But are all the top bankers men? If you read the last article 43% you will know that the CEO of Westpac, one of the top banks, is female.
Gail Kelly sees service, to staff, to customers, to communities as her mission. That, and increasing the number of women employees to achieve employment equality to 50% by 2017 for the banks 200th anniversary. So is it true that men are taller, stronger, cleverer or is each individual unique with unique qualities to contribute, justifying the argument for gender, race, ability, etc more diversity. Driving Diversity as the Lord Mayor’s bus says.
It is said that fewer young graduates are seeking a career in the city, they want more value in terms of quality and life work balance. Is there a shift in values happening? (City AM)
So do you walk tall? Have you unique strength to offer, do you belong to the women’s culture. The “c” words. Creative, clever, collaborative, conciliatory, confident, communicator. Your time has come. Go for it.
©2014 Christina.ionthecity.wordpress.com