Tag: Margaret Thatcher

Women and the politics of getting things done

London 2012

Nicky Roche, formerly a big cheese at the Government Olympic Executive gave the after dinner speech at a networking event I went to the other week.  And jolly interesting she was on the nuts and bolts of putting together an event of such mind-boggling complexity as the 2012 Games.

It was clear listening to her that women played a huge role in delivering the Games, although that was far from clear if you were on the outside of the big  bubble.

“Women were in the second tier,  it was the men who were on the news” she said.  “Women were leading teams and doing it well but were not at the top table.”  And when they had opportunities to shine, like when they were in meetings with the Prime Minister, it was the men who took the spotlight.  “There was a lot of alpha male behaviour.  The men loved it.  I didn’t care.  I was doing a good job.  I knew I was doing a good job. I didn’t mind about the plaudits”.

In questions at the end she was asked how women could tackle limelight-hogging behaviour  by male colleagues.  She was surprisingly ambivalent about whether they should try.  “Men and women have different attitudes to being at the top” she said.  “Sometimes women just value different things”.  She commented that she knows women who have come close to the very top, especially in the Civil Service, but have realised that, for them, it’s not worth the sacrifices involved.

Ironically she then went on to tell some hair-raising stories about working for Margaret Thatcher – it was the day after the funeral and the Baroness was much on people’s minds.  Now there was a lady who had no problem with being at the top.

My younger self would have been appalled at this – I think my current self still is, a bit.  Of course women should be at the top table and if they’re doing the jobs then they should get the recognition (though I can think of more satisfying rewards than a pat on the head from the PM).  Partly I suspect that she’s right.  I too know bright, talented, experienced hard-working women, who are working below their capacity because leaping through the hoops of a permanently on-call senior job that takes them away from their families and other interests just isn’t worth the candle.  Maybe we just aren’t as driven to get to the top as men.  Maybe when push comes to shove we are less prepared to sacrifice family life than them.  Maybe they just don’t feel that they have the choice to hold back.  I know what Margaret Thatcher would say – but then I never really counted her as much of a role model.

Is business really harder for women?

Feminist to my fingertips I may be, but I’ve never been one for all-women events.  So I should have known that going to Business Link’s Women in Business networking event probably wouldn’t end well.  But … I’m trying to launch a new project, and if there’s advice to be had or a potential market to tap, it seemed worth sampling.

Then I went.

Trampolining for success and Feng Shui-ing Congleton

“It’s so fantastic to be here with all you girlies.” trilled our keynote speaker.  She insisted that we”girls” weren’t entrepreneurs with a strategic vision for business  – “that’s the boring words”.  We were “dream catchers”, with a “team dream – to be MAD – Making A Difference” as we brought love and hugging to the world of business.  I remained seated as we were encouraged to stand and shout out our mantra:  “I am amazing!  I am incredible!  I am fantastic!”  Apparently it works best if you shout it to the universe first thing in the morning, while trampolining.  I spent an entertaining few minutes trying to imagine other successful women doing this – Margaret Thatcher?  Margaret Mountford from The Apprentice? –  but found it strangely difficult.

The kicker is, of course, that I was the one sitting sourly in the audience planning a dash for the drinks table.  She was the one on stage with £50million in the bank, advising Vince Cable on entrepreneurialism and living her dream of Feng Shui-ing Congleton (really).

The ditsy route to success?

This means one of a number of things: either kooky and wacky is the way ahead in business (I  doubt it); or women have come so far that however ditsy we are, we can still be taken seriously (debatable); or it’s an act to disguise the fundamentally unfeminine pursuit of managing things (I hope that’s not the case now, though it may have been 20 years ago); or it’s just patronising drivel. You’ll be unsurprised to know that that’s my preferred option.

Women as entrepreneurs vs women in the workplace

Ironically, the last place you should have to play the air-head is in your own business – your gaff, your rules.  The statistics on women starting up business suggest that women appreciate the freedom that self-employment offers and are making a success of  it.  The least they deserve is to be taken seriously and treated like adults – especially by other women.  I read one consultant recently recommending that a way to get women to think about business planning was to tell them that it was like preparing a shopping list – dear God …

There are, undoubtedly, big issues facing women in the workplace.  The statistics on equal pay and the gender imbalance at the top of  major corporations suggest that women are  still at a disadvantage in business.  And, of course,  there are barriers to  joining the ranks of the self-employed too.  I’m just struggling to think of many that are unique to women.

Are women’s businesses different?

These are the characteristics which were shared by the 50 fastest-growing women-owned business in the US last year:

  • A commitment to high growth — 71% agreed or strongly agreed that their goal from the very beginning of their leadership of the company was to build a large company
  • Inspiring leaders — 64% believe their “ability to motivate employees” is the most important characteristic for being a successful woman entrepreneur
  • Surrounding yourself with a skilled team – 78% say “Hiring the right people” was the most important action that contributed to their company’s growth
  • Adapting to a changing environment – The strategy most frequently chosen (64%) to meet the challenge of the current economy is to “enter new markets”. Sixty-one percent admitted current economic conditions caused them to change their business strategies

Those are the successful characteristics of businesses.  Not women’s businesses.  All businesses.

Having cast around for hints as to what the gender issues facing women entrepreneurs are, I found this which suggests our major problem is that we “care too much” And maybe we do.  I feel quite un-sisterly in criticising last night’s event. It was done with the best of intentions and may have helped hundreds of women.  But I’m nonetheless slightly baffled at the proliferation of organisations desperate to help us cope with the burden of being women in business.  Do we really need them? I’m genuinely interested to know.    The West Wing’s Ainsley Hayes would probably have a view. (If you’re short of time join her at 3.55′)