7 Career Myths about Women
August 24, 2010
By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network
Why aren’t more women in leadership positions? Why is it, despite there being more women in the workforce than men, there are so few at the top of the corporate ladder?
Women on Boards, an organisation that champions the advancement of women into leadership and board positions recently held a breakfast at which this subject was the topic of discussion.
One of the speakers, Catherine Fox, Deputy Editor of Australian Financial Review’s BOSS magazine presented on the 7 Career Myths.
Below are two parts of a video interview in which we explore these myths and look at why they continue to justify the less-than-equitable state of business in Australia.
Part 1
Part 2
And, below you’ll find a summary of her 7 career myths.
See Catherine Fox Speak at Nice Girls Finish Second
Catherine is part of the panel of speakers at the Nice Girls Finish Second debate which will be held in Sydney on Friday, 27 August. Presented by AIM NSW, the event is a light-hearted and irreverent clash of the minds over fine wine and great food with some of Australia’s leading businesswomen (and a couple of men). Call AIM NSW on 1300 551 776 to register, and quote AIMABN when you book to receive a special ABN price. You can find more details here.
7 Career Myths
1. Work hard and you will be rewarded – workplaces are meritocracies
Most of our business senior ranks are men of a certain age. Meritocracies are made up of people who are the best of what they do. While a natural level of talent exists, it’s not across our business.
It remains, though unfair, that:
- Women are often excluded from informal networks within companies
- Women put more importance on building relationships than men
2. The gender pay gap is grossly exaggerated
The gender gap is at 18% and has not changed in 20 years (calculated on hourly earnings of people doing the same jobs). It broadens the further up you go. Part of this is due to the types of work, the roles that women take on as their expertise. 50% of women work in just three areas.
3. Women have children and choose to lose their jobs or lose interest in their careers
This is a handy way of fibbing off problems about gender. US study shows maternity leave takes up only a couple of years for most women. We still don’t have a viable market of party time jobs so you get off the career track, unfortunately.
“The motherhood penalty” is a situation where mothers are rated as less competent, less committed and less favourable as hires. Catherine talked about a US study where applications for senior roles were discriminated against when the applications had two items changed on them. a) the gender and b) the parental status. That is, when the applicants seemed to be women who were mothers they were overlooked as suitable candidates.
4. If women just behaved more like men at work and stopped being so emotional they would succeed.
Not a good piece of advice. And if it had worked, would we not all be doing it? Women are typically penalised for being aggressive.
5. Programs and targets for women in the workplace are unnecessary and unfair
This is informally rife. We don’t have an equal paying field. What we do when we come together (as women) in this way learn how we can support each other.
6. Women are scarce at the top because there’s not enough of them in the pipeline.
60% of women of working age are employed. More women graduates coming out of schools. We need to look at why educated women are not going up in the ranks.
7. Time will heal all
That has not been proven. And, the longer that we fail to see women in leadership positions the more convinced some will be that women are not suitable for those positions.
Advice: Sharpen your pins and puncture the myths. Set the record straight.
Guerrilla Social Media Marketing: Engagement is Key…Simple Enough?
August 17, 2010
By Laura Thomas, Intern at Australian Businesswomen’s Network
Do you think of yourself as a Guerrilla Marketer? During the 3 August BOOKED for Lunch webinar, Guerrilla Social Media Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson expanded on how social media is changing the game of guerrilla marketing, how to measure your return on investment of social media and four important weapons for social media marketers.
Over the years, guerrilla marketing tactics have changed and evolved. Television was the beginning of guerrilla marketing tactics, then came the Internet, and now social media. Guerrilla marketing tools work at an accelerated pace with social media. Two very strong concepts for using social media as a tool for guerrilla marketing are patience and imagination. Without both, companies will find their results from using social media are disappointing.
Most people believe social media guerrilla marketing is mostly about marketing, but those people are wrong. 90% of social media marketing is about listening and engaging with the community, while the other 10% is about actual marketing. Social media marketers are leaders that know how to build a community.
Do you want to measure your return on investment (ROI) of social media to make sure it is worth all the time and energy spent on it? To begin, start by looking at the number of hours put into social media tools. A tool that can help you measure the effectiveness of social media tools is Google Analytics. Of course, any ROI can only be identified in time (it takes 18 months on average to measure ROI), so be patient. If you have been consistently engaged with the community, you should have nothing to worry about.
If you are completely lost about where to start, Guerrilla Social Media Marketing, by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson, has an equation for measuring the return on investment of social media.
Social media marketers need to remember and use four important weapons:
1. Information – understanding guerrilla tactics for yourself and your competitors is crucial.
2. Imagination – you have to stand out to be recognised. Remember: if you sound like everyone else, you’re not a leader.
3. Innovation – realising how to market better and more efficiently is the key to cutting costs.
4. Community – (MOST IMPORTANT) engaging the community is vital because they are the ones who build up your brand.
I have given you a very brief (and I’m not exaggerating when I say brief) overview of the wonderful advice from Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson. To listen to the whole recording from 3 August BOOKED for Lunch, click here.
See Jay Conrad Levinson LIVE in Australia!
Jay Conrad Levinson joins a team of international marketing legends at the Wealth from Marketing event in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in September. Presented by Universal Events, this one-day program is valued at $597, but yours is free: http://www.wealthfrommarketing.com.au/?af=CLS1043088
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY LAURA THOMAS
Pre-Election Results Reveal the Issues Women Want Government to Act on
August 2, 2010
By Amy Lyden
Thank you to those who participated in the Australian Businesswomen’s Network pre-election poll.
We have analysed the results and written to all major political parties so that we can hear how they respond to issues that are important to YOU.
Below is a list of the top issues you identified, as well as a link to a copy of the letter we have sent to the major parties.
You will see the top issues are:
• Government support for small business including training,
• reducing red tape and compliance issues,
• gender imbalance on boards and
• cost and flexibility of childcare.
There were also two running themes in the open ended questions you answered:
1. Reduction of tax for small business – income and payroll, and
2. Climate change – incentives offered for small business and concerns over reducing our carbon footprint.
Many of you commented that many of these issues that are important to you haven’t been addressed by any of the parties or their policies aren’t clear.
We will notify you as soon as we have heard back from the parties so that you can make a better informed choice at the polls on the 21st of August.
Link to letter sent to Political Parties
Will keep you posted…
Amy Lyden
Advocacy Ambassador
P.S. Many of you took time to provide additional comments and reasons. Thank you for your passion. We will post some of these additional thoughts in the coming days.
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY AMY LYDEN
- Paid Parental Leave – Article: Maybe Baby: Juggling Home, Work and Family Life.
- Tony Abbott vs Craig Emerson – Live from COSBOA’s National Small Business Summit, 8 July
- Paid Parental Leave Scheme Gets the Go-Ahead
|
|
Amy Lyden - Advocacy Advisor – Australian Businesswomen’s NetworkAn entrepreneur and specialist in ecommerce and online strategy, Amy has had over 13 years of practical experience in these areas. Launching her first website in 1998 Amy was at the forefront of an online revolution without even realizing it. Within a year this site became and remains today a #1 ranking site and global community of pet lovers that attracts over 4 million visitors a year. This Australia-based business, Bow Wow Meow, now sells product online to over 100 countries worldwide. Amy sold this business in 2007 and turned her energy to the nonprofit sector. Amy is currently the CEO of Australian Scholarships Foundation, an organisation that facilitates scholarships for education and training for people who work in the nonprofit sector. Amy is the recipient of numerous business awards including the 2006 NSW Telstra Business Women’s Awards for Innovation, the 2002 National Telstra Business Award and the Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World Grant. Amy is an Ambassador and former Chairperson for the Australian Businesswomen’s Network, an organisation that supports female entrepreneurs. Amy was also invited to serve on the Commonwealth Small Business Council, an initiative by the Federal minister for Small Business. Amy has been profiled in the following books: “Women’s Business, Women’s Wealth” by Amanda Ellis, “Female Entrepreneurs”, by Leiza Clark and “Secrets of Female Entrepreneurs Exposed!”, by Dale Beaumont. Amy is passionate about using technology to connect people globally for positive change.
|
The power of influence. Cialdini’s principles are more pertinent than ever before.
May 28, 2010
Having the best product or service, the newsiest, shiniest and most innovative business does not, unfortunately, always give us the edge when it comes to getting clients to take up our offer, comply with our requests and do business with us.
In any business situation, however, there are moments where the opportunity to move someone towards saying yes to your request are heightened.
Recognising these moments and the correct action to take at those moments is the science of persuasion and the understanding of what influences us and how we are influenced.
In 1995 (yep, that long ago) I read a book called Influence, by Dr Robert Cialdini. Since them I have reread and referenced it many times. And, today, when economic circumstances are such that there is some lack of confidence in what the future holds, when our customers could be frozen in inaction purely out of fear of an unpredictable economic climate, the lessons from Dr Cialdini’s book are more pertinent than ever before.
Robert Cialdini | Author, Influence
That’s why I am extremely excited that on 15 June Dr Cialdini is my guest on BOOKED for Lunch – our webinar series with the world’s best business book authors and thinkers.
I’m thrilled that Dr Cialdini is going to be able to share with you the practical and powerful opportunities that the six universal influence principles (which I’ve summarised below) present to you and your business.
They are truly gold! And, if implemented correctly, they are proven to move people closer to a Yes response to our proposals, our invitations, our businesses.
Robert Cialdini’s Six Principles of Influence
- Reciprocation – The obligation to give back what others give us
- Scarcity – The idea that something is rare or diminishing in its availability is more attractive
- Authority – the idea that we’re much more willing to follow the lead of someone that is a legitimately constituted authority
- Commitment – the idea that once we’ve taken a position on an issue we are more likely to say yes to a decision that is consistent with that commitment
- Liking – opal are much more willing to say yes to a request from someone they know and like
- Social Proof – we’re much more willing to say yes to a request when we have information when someone around us
On 15 June we’ll take a look at how to put these principles into practice.
Master, or even just better comprehend, these and I promise your effectiveness as a communicator and leader will be boosted. They’ve been hugely beneficial to me over the years in countless situations.
About Dr Cialdini
Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career researching the science of influence earning him an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation.
His books, including Influence: Science & Practice, and Yes – 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, are the results of years of study into the reasons why people comply with requests in business settings.
Dr. Cialdini is President of INFLUENCE AT WORK, an international consulting, strategic planning and training organisation based on the Six Principles of Influence.
Below is a video with Dr Cialdini.
BOOKED for Lunch – with Robert Cialdini
15 June 2010
12.00pm- 1.00pm AEST
Webinar – Presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and GoToWebinar
Register today for BOOKED for Lunch
Win, Lose or Synergise?
April 23, 2010
By Cat Matson, Alito
The news has been dominated of late with the Prime Minister’s discussions about health reform … or more accurately, with his attempts to ‘win-over’ the Premiers during heavy-duty negotiations.
Watching the commentary about these negotiations got me wondering … why does he think he needs to ‘negotiate’ a reform system that he obviously thinks is in the best interest of the country? Why is it not a discussion or facilitation or think-tank?
Unfortunately his approach reflects, I think, our adversarial approach to power – not only in federal and state politics, but also in business. As business owners, we often think we need to negotiate with our staff, and negotiate with our suppliers … and goodness knows, our customers and clients often think they need to negotiate with us to get the best deal.
The problem with this approach is it pits the parties against each other … in some kind of competition where someone will win, and someone will lose. Or, if you subscribe to the notion of win-win, where someone will win ‘more’ and the other party will win ‘less’.
What would happen in business if we stopped ‘negotiating’ and started ‘co-creating’?
- There’d be less conflict
- Entering into what is currently seen as ‘difficult’ conversations would be less stressful
- We might create solutions that we hadn’t considered before
- We might actually create something bigger, better, more effective or more enjoyable for everyone
- Synergy
Yes, I appreciate that such a utopian approach isn’t always possible … but I suspect it’s possible more often than we think. Business isn’t really about ‘us vs them’ (whoever the ‘us’ and ‘them’ are) – rather everyone is trying to do their best … to do their best.
If we stop thinking adversarially and start thinking collaboratively … wow, the possibilities are literally quite breathtaking.
Have you been thinking ‘us vs them’ in your business? What would happen if you shifted that thinking?
|
|
Cat Matson - Alito
|
| Phone: | 07 3289 7055 |
| Email: | cat@alito.com.au |
| Website: | www.alito.com.au |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/catmatson |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/AlitoFusion |
| LinkedIn: | www.linkedin.com/in/CatMatson |
| Blog: | www.alito.com.au/blog |
| Member Profile: | See Cat’s Member Profile |
What is your superpower?
March 16, 2010
In his newest book Linchpin – Are You Indispensible? marketer Seth Godin asks: What is your superpower? (He explains that your superpower is not your USP, it’s not your ’strength’ or your ‘core competence’, it’s that about you that tells me how you can help me – or how I can help you. It’s the unique talent that you choose to develop.)
In the lead up to International Women’s Day I was invited to speak to a group of young business people at CBS Interactive. So, I posed the “What’s your superpower?” question to them (along with letting them know that it was okay to NOT know what you want to be when you grow up – I’d left home at 17 and didn’t have a tertiary education but have worked long and hard to improve my skills, encouraged them to try lots of different things that interested them – telling them I assumed that they HAVE a rare gift, that if they chose to share would make them very happy and make a big contribution to others – and I invited them to dare to lead).
CBS Interactive Team
Something I said seemed to stick. I heard, from the lovely woman who coordinated my presentation, that over lunch that day, they talked about what they thought their super-powers are. That made my heart sing.
In Linchpin, Godin says:
“The ’super’ part and the ‘power’ part come note from something you’re born with, but from something you choose to do and, more important, from something you choose to give.”
Choose today.
Warmly,
Suzi
P.S. If you haven’t yet signed up to attend the free webinar with Seth Godin on 23 March at 12.00pm AEDT, here’s a link. I hope you’ll join me.
New Year, New Career?— How to manage staff’s new-year blues (and minimise impact on your business)
January 21, 2010
by Kristy-Lee Johnston, Footprint Recruitment
‘New Year New Career’ is a term well used by employers and recruiters alike in job ads during the lead up to, and aftermath of, the Christmas and New Year period. And there is a simple reason for this – it works.
Many employees who have become disengaged in their workplace, roles, and careers during the year find themselves taking stock of what really matters and what they really want to achieve in the year ahead – and they do all of this whilst on their Christmas break.
At the end of the day, staff will always leave organisations, and in some cases there is nothing you can do to prevent this, but you can ensure you manage the process to minimise the impact it has on the rest of the team.
As they sit with family and friends, and start discussing New Year’s resolutions, and the achievements of the year just gone, it dawns on many people that they are unhappy in some aspect of their lives, and the quickest fix seems to be to get a new job! They return from their Christmas leave and one of three things will generally happen:
1) They stay put, waiting for a ‘sign’, some motivation, inspiration or for something to change. These people generally remain disengaged from their responsibilities and do just what’s needed to get through the day flying under the radar.
2) They promptly hand in their resignation on their first day back and commence job hunting.
3) They start searching for that great new role, giving little if any focus and commitment to their current workplace until they inevitably resign.
None of these are ideal situations for a business of any size to face at the beginning of the calendar year, but what, if anything, can you do to avoid these times and minimise the impact they have on the operations and profitability of the organisation?
1) Look for the signs of staff who have began to disengage from their roles or the organisation. These signs generally involve a shift in behaviour and some classics include taking more than the usual amount of sick leave; leaving work right on time every day, when they used to be the sort of person to work back whenever needed; not putting their hands up for those special projects they previously have been dead keen to be involved in; withdrawing from groups within the workplace; taking long lunches and in general being a different person in the office.
2) Don’t wait until after the New Year to start re-engaging these employees. By having regular reviews and appraisal systems in place, you will more easily be able to identify and manage these employees. Also coordinate more casual and off-the-record catch ups with staff to encourage open communication.
3) Keep employees engaged in the vision through regular team and company meetings – sharing with them goals and visions and allowing them the ability to provide ideas as to how they can contribute to the success and achievement of company goals.
4) Reward staff who are doing a great job! It doesn’t have to be grand or expensive, nor does a big fuss have to be made – a small gesture goes a long way.
5) Know what motivates your people – when you understand this you have the best possible chance of keeping them engaged and committed.
At the end of the day, staff will always leave organisations, and in some cases there is nothing you can do to prevent this, but you can ensure you manage the process to minimise the impact it has on the rest of the team.
If you have open and honest communication channels with your staff, and they feel they can come to you with honest feedback, you will be in the drivers seat when these situations arise. If they come to you indicating they are seeking alternate work, and there is nothing more you can do to keep them should you want to, give them your blessings, help them to find something new and start he replacement process yourself internally straight away.
The longer an unhappy employee stays with you, then more detriment it will have on your team and ultimately your business. Don’t try and delay the inevitable, nip it in the bud and move on.
Kristy-Lee Johnston is the Director of Footprint Recruitment, a Central Coast based Recruitment and HR agency which is run by locals, for locals.
Kristy-Lee Johnston - Footprint Recruitment
Kristy’s background includes 10 years in Recruitment, as well as 10+ years in a broad range of other customer facing sectors. She possesses Post Graduate qualifications in Psychology, as well as a Masters in Human Resource Management. Kristy is passionate about bringing something unique to the recruitment sector in her local area and wants to see all businesses make the most successful staffing decisions they can.
How have you expanded your capabilities as a Leader?
July 21, 2009
We have just released the July Leadership issue of our Women in Business e-newsletter and have included some of the ways you have expanded your capabilities as leader.
How have you expanded your capabilities as a leader? Please add a comment to share your thoughts.
Women and Leadership – Empower Magazine’s International Women’s Day feature
March 11, 2009
“On the eve of the 98th International Women’s Day, the outlook for women is radically different to what it was a century ago. Huge strides have been made in the area of equality, choice and freedom of speech and yet, despite this extraordinary progress, there’s still more work to be done. We take a look at how far women have come, the key issue on the agenda and what’s being done to address them.” – emPower Magazine
The Australian Businesswomen’s Network was asked to comment on the issues facing women.
We commented that leadership is an area that we want to empower women to be their best at. As part of our charter we look to give women the business skills, information, resources, access to support and role models, and mentoring to help them become better leaders.
When we asked a group of women leaders what would help them be better leaders they told us it was access to peers and the skills to be good mentors.
So, we’ve put it on our agenda to give women leaders the opportunity to network with other leaders, a safe forum to discuss business (and life) issues and the opportunity to learn to mentor.
Our quote from this recent publication reads: “Leadership is the key skill that women need to harness. The more female leaders we have the more women will be able to overcome some of the (business) issues they face. It’s not about gender; it’s about taking a stand and taking control.” – Suzi Dafnis
Ask us about our women in business mentoring program and how you can improve your leadership skills.
Empower Magazine | Suzi Dafnis | Australian Businesswomen's Network
Empower Magazine | Suzi Dafnis | Australian Businesswomen's Network
Women leaders given skills to take board positions
November 18, 2008
This morning I attended an interesting session presented by Women on Boards, an organisation dedicated to providing women with the information and resources to apply for, and get, board positions.
Today’s session (titled Getting Serious I: Your Directorship Action) prepared us for the next steps of finding the right board by having us focus on getting board-ready through addressing knowledge gaps, working on our strategy, improving our pitch and building our brand.
Great information. Highly recommend it if being on a board is part of your future. Learn more at their website.
