By Giadha Aguirre De Carcer
A generational transformation is definitely taking place in terms of women networking. I remember when being a young woman in the financial sector, especially in Manhattan, was an oddity at best, and if your boss was a woman, as was mine, you were more likely to get additional scrutiny than help. Women were too busy surviving to have time to help the few others around. Elas, in most cases, even if they did have time, they felt too threatened by a younger version of themselves to be inclined to do so.
A generational transformation is definitely taking place in terms of women networking. I remember when being a young woman in the financial sector, especially in Manhattan, was an oddity at best, and if your boss was a woman, as was mine, you were more likely to get additional scrutiny than help. Women were too busy surviving to have time to help the few others around. Elas, in most cases, even if they did have time, they felt too threatened by a younger version of themselves to be inclined to do so.
In fact a particular anecdote comes to mind -
I had just started working for a defense consulting firm in Washington DC and my two male bosses thought it might be a good idea to take me to a client meeting because a woman would be leading it. This was probably around 2003, and the client was Lockheed Martin. Encountering a woman executive in one of the leading prime defense contractors in the US, or arguably the world, was most definitely exceptional, and I was consequently dully eager to meet such an impressive individual.
I had just started working for a defense consulting firm in Washington DC and my two male bosses thought it might be a good idea to take me to a client meeting because a woman would be leading it. This was probably around 2003, and the client was Lockheed Martin. Encountering a woman executive in one of the leading prime defense contractors in the US, or arguably the world, was most definitely exceptional, and I was consequently dully eager to meet such an impressive individual.
As is customary in this type of situations, everyone around the conference table took turns introducing themselves and giving a one minute description of who they were and what their role and position were. When my turn came, I explained I was a junior analyst, having already worked in three industries beyond that of defense, I added that I was more of a 'generalist' than a specialist in any one sector, and that I was consequently eager to plug in anywhere my team might need me to.
To everyone's surprise the exceptional lady interrupted me half way through my introduction: "What exactly do you think makes you a generalist?" she asked rather tersely. I must admit I stuttered a bit, but did manage to get out that I had worked in the financial and energy sectors for six years and was therefore more in tune with 'general' business rules than defense-specific ones. Unfortunately my response was not satisfactory to the lady in question, and without skipping a bit, she looked around the table, found my boss, and announced "I am not sure what value a 'generalist' has to me", she then turned back to me and added "and I am not sure what value 'you' have to anyone.
Needless to say I have never since, and I mean never, described myself as a generalist. That aside, and while this incident was most certainly a bit extreme, it was by no means unique or uncommon. I have never had a supportive female superior in the twenty years I worked in male-dominated sectors such as banking, defense or energy.
These women are today in their fifties and sixties, and I think it is fair to say that they are part of a very different generation than the women occupying those same positions today. Women are finally discovering the value of helping one another because, unlike it was twenty years ago, today there are other women around to help; women in higher positions no longer need to operate in a vacuum deplete of other females. These women have also likely felt what it was like to have the type of female boss I described and thus experienced first hand how unfair and counterproductive it can be. Working in a male-dominated industry does not mean we have to appear so 'tough' that we turn into what is often referred to as (my apologies for the language) 'a total bitch'.
The article below is a great illustration of how women are beginning to awake to the fact that it pays to help one another.
I've never understood the women who don't instinctively support other women. And, trust me, generalism/versatility is secret-weapon power.
ReplyDeleteTo this day I have no idea what inspired her to be so unnecessarily aggressive and dismissive...Regardless, I agree that the instinct to support one another is only beginning to surface today, and it is still a relatively slow process...
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