Women of Influence
March is Women’s History month and throughout this month I will be posting / writing about Women of Influence.
This week I have invited my friend, Kim Jowell to share with you the presentation she gave recently for International Women’s Day – at a luncheon sponsored by Working Women of Tampa Bay.
Kim’s message:
“Today we are celebrating International Women’s day. There are many things to celebrate:
– the equal opportunities and rights the women before us fought for
– how far we have come in business and leadership
– the changes to workplace cultures and structure that are opening more opportunities for women
– the “firsts” that women continue to initiate.
“We can and should be proud of the significant progress already made, this day also reminds us that much work lies ahead to achieve global gender equality.
” A poster for International Women’s Day in Germany read: “Give us Women’s Suffrage, Women’s Day, March 8, 1914. Until now, prejudice and reactionary attitudes have denied full civic rights to women, who as workers, mothers, and citizens wholly fulfill their duty, who must pay their taxes to the state as well as the municipality. Fighting for this natural human right must be the firm, unwavering intention of every woman, every female worker. In this, no pause for rest, no respite is allowed. Come all, you women and girls, .. .. No pause for rest, no respite is allowed.” Those words and the poster were bold and courageous actions by our ancestors 100 years ago.
“I would challenge us to think about if we have gotten too comfortable with where our rights as women are. We are more comfortable because women before us made sure we can vote, perhaps it is because more women than men are graduating with college degrees now, or is it because we do make better – not equal – salaries than in the past. Are we pausing? And if so is it for the right reasons?
“In keeping up with everyday life we naturally think of what impacts us directly. How women are viewed and treated is not just an over there, as in another country, thing. Our work may look different than our sisters in Pakistan but there is work to be done here.
“I joined Girl Scouts almost four years ago because of its mission. Our mission is to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. I believe that if we build girls who are courageous and confident we will live in a different world. A world that has less domestic violence, better economy, advanced technology, and my list could go on. And while I am passionate, very passionate, about that, it helps that there is research to support the latter.
“Women are different than men. Thank goodness! Between my husband and two boys I am affirmed many days the strength of women. – Back on track – Women are physically and innately different than men.
“Let me get a little scientificcy on you – I know that is not a true word. Studies show there are physical and neural differences between women and men’s brains. How many of you knew that?
“Well research shows that connections within a typical male brain run front to back whereas women are more likely to run from side to side using both hemispheres. Researchers believe this plays an important role in understanding why men in general are better at spatial tasks involving muscle control while women are better at verbal tasks involving memory and intuition.
“Men’s brains are bigger than ours but let’s be clear, per the research, that does not correlate to higher intelligence.
“But each of the differences do correlate to different competency strength. The variations in our brains is a good thing. The differences are complementary. The differences of men and women bring value to all.
“Soon Women will be the workforce majority. Catalyst, an organization that focuses their work around expanding opportunities for women and business, compiled research that shows companies with gender diverse leadership demonstrate again and again to have a positive impact on various measures of performance, especially when they include a critical mass of women. I do have to say that I found it amusing that “critical mass” is defined as 3 or more . I was thinking that if they only need 3 to be considered mass it really shows how powerful we are.
“Their research provides data to use in building an organizational business case for diversity and inclusion. Here are some highlights when critical mass is obtained in company’s board or leadership make- up:
• They outperform like organizations in financial performance.
• The inclusive leadership style reduces turnover and improves the performance of teams.
• They have increased corporate social responsibility. Which in turn, also has positive impact on company’s reputation.
• Greater effectiveness in solving difficult problems.
“Another great resource is an article from Harvard Business Review that looks at 10 critical components of Leadership. They used 360 degree assessments and found that male observers rated women leaders higher in 7 of the 10 categories. Women were ranked high in Energizing and motivating employees, Designing and Aligning, Rewarding and feedback, Team Building, outside orientation and the last two are my favorites … TENACITY and EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Great stuff right?
“What wasn’t so great in that same comparison was that women, men and the actual leader themselves did not rank women high in Empowerment.
“According to Margaret Thatcher “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” As a Girl Scout I think that is a little harsh but, I do think as a whole society we can do a better job of empowering others.
“This Harvard Business Review article is entitled “ Women and the Vision Thing” the 360 feedback also showed relatively low scores related to key elements of visioning including ability to sense opportunities and threats, to set strategic direction, and to inspire constituents. The author’s suggest three explanations for the low scores:
• Some women don’t buy into the value of being visionary.
• Some women who develop a vision in collaboration (at which we excel) with their teams don’t get credit for having created one.
• Some women lack the confidence to go out on a limb with an untested vision.
“BINGO!
“We know from our own research with Girl Scout Research Institute that girls fear taking on leadership roles because of a lack of confidence in skills and competence. And from what I see that pattern continues into adulthood for many.
“Have you read Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In? I love her story about when playing games and other activities girls are often called “bossy” when really they are just being a leader. And while we are not children anymore, sometimes I wish I were and then I have flashback of middle and high school drama and how mean girls can be to each other. But that is exactly my point. It wasn’t just the boys that called us bossy it was our girlfriends. And so while we are not children anymore the point of “being called bossy” still exists in our adult lives but different words are used.
“In fact, Girl Scout CEO Anna Chavez, Condoleezza Rice and Sheryl Sandberg have just launched a “Ban Bossy” campaign. Their goal is to end the word bossy, a negative label that is too often applied to young girls, and one of the many ways they are discouraged from speaking up. The powerful trio are aiming to change the conversation about girls and leadership through the Ban Bossy Campaign which will be highlighted in this weekend’s Parade Magazine.
“Whether you know it or not, each of you play a role in showing young girls they should live out their dreams and pursue their ambitions. At the same time, we play a role in showing young boys of today to not fear women’s success. By showing that you are successful at what you do, being passionate and committed to your work and causes, you in turn inspire girls to break glass ceilings and change the culture for young boys as well.
“As women, we have lots of wonderful qualities and we should embrace our uniqueness. We are intuitive, we focus on interpersonal attention, and we are problem solvers, and most of all we are collaborative. Those are traits that I would not trade for another.
“I have given you research to support why we are an important and a needed equal part of the leadership in the workforce. It is up to each of you to believe it and put it in practice.
“Just like our teenage girls – many of us lack confidence at times. We question ourselves more than our opposite sex.
“My wish for every girl and every woman to:
• Be confident in who she is and what she brings to the table.
• Have the courage and confidence to follow their dreams.
• Do what they feel is right.
• Accept that it will not always be right and may result in an opportunity to learn – AND learn she will – and she will gain resilience and become stronger.
“And when you are not feeling strong – do not under estimate your potential. Go out on a limb, to get in the game, …. BE BOLD, BE COURAGEOUS, and most of all BE CONFIDENT.”
© Kimberly Jowell
Kimberly Jowell, CEO
Girl Scouts of West Central Florida
https://www.gswcf.org/