In the technology industry, with few women in the executive ranks and fewer still in the board room, we live in a world where balance is a myth. We talk about balance but the reality is that women in the corporate world are competing with men most of the time, appropriately competing on skill and hard work, but up against significant gender stereotypes and so we have to work harder and smarter to get ahead.
Balance is hard for most working women -- but it is particularly elusive for women wanting to be a senior exec, be in the board room, run a billion dollar division or be a CEO. It's elusive because:
- Business is global today and travel is a part of any executive job because you have to meet your customers and your sales and distribution teams. When you are a leader you can't lead from your desk, even with great communications technology.
- As CEO I do have more control over my time than in any other job, and the ability to make a better culture for my own female employees, but I also have the ultimate demanding boss -- my company -- and there is no excuse I have ever been able to come up with to not put my company first when it really needs me. My employees depend on their jobs and I am accountable to them.
- Many men at the top of companies, even today, have wives at home taking care of the family and house. A couple of years ago I found myself the only women on a large company executive team. I strove to hold my ground against weekend meetings, or endless late night dinners, but it was clear that I had to conform to the schedule to do my job.
So given these types of challenges how can women survive and thrive at the top of companies?
Women often have an over developed sense of responsibility -- the belief that they have to care for it all: work, children, husband, aging parents -- caring for everyone else. Recognize that's what's going on in your head, give it up and prioritize what you have to get done. You just can't do it all and be Wonder Woman every day so explain this to your kids, they will understand. My kids learned early on that I didn't play the same role in school as most of the moms, but they're confident in the world because they have travelled extensively instead and I have shared my work world with them whenever I could.
Many women have highly honed multi-tasking skills (try running a board call while cooking for hungry 2 and 4 year olds). You can use these skills to juggle the conflicting demands of work and family. And with the level of travel executive management often requires it's important to have a partner, your spouse and/or child care help, that you trust.
And in the end I have found the most powerful tool I have is to be conscious of the choices I make every day. Choosing carefully rather than being dragged along in the turbulence of my daily demands. I've had my share of tough choices, like when on maternity leave and my company needed me and deciding whether to go to my son when he broke is arm. There is never an easy answer but being aware of the choice each and every time helps me stay sane.
Women can and will find new ways to be executives, and we need this in order to bring women into the executive ranks of companies and so create more diverse companies and more opportunities for women. It's amazing that even today Fortune reports that almost half of the California tech companies have no women executive officers. And Diane Greene of VMware was the last female CEO in the top 150 in Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs has all white men in his executive staff at Apple, and the pervasive prejudice in the VC world still shocks me.
But it's important not to be naïve about how this can and will change in the future. We can only be effective in the boardroom if we are just as committed to the job and the business results as men are, and willing to work just as hard, or harder. So it's our responsibility to get more women to the top and only from there can we change the culture of companies to make balance easier -- but we will always be challenged by the need for long hours and travel that just goes with any executive job.
Follow Penny Herscher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pennyherscher
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This was one of my issues with Sarah Palin as a VP whose also a mother of 5 with a baby that has special needs.
If your a woman and your job requires days or weeks away from home late hours at the office I honestly don't think you should have children .To me children are the ultimate job that requires your total commitment to be there for them to love and nurture them and guide them .I don't think if your children are with a nanny the majority of the time that you are putting them before your ambitions .
Some people will no doubt say well that is a double standard because men do it all the time ,,well I am not too happy with married men with children who they neglect for their career either ,,but having said that I think its worst for a mother because mothers have always been the nurturers and without nurturing a child will suffer.
I say have your career while your young and if you want children have them when your ready to put your career aside to devote your time to raising your children and giving them your full attention .
God forbid you're smart, thin AND attractive
Now I live in the south, and it is 10 times worse than it was in the NYC area. Women down here compete for men like that's the only thing in the world worth fighting for, and if you're sharp... they're not going to hire you because you may undermine THEIR skills.
Sad but true.
It did help to conceal my attractive
My brother-in
Every day, I see more men pushing children in supermarke
For example, The Dollar Store has a policy that if you are a "manager" commanding the decent wages of 1800.00 per month minus taxes and benefits, you have to work a minimum of 52 hour per week. How is a mom supposed to deal with that?
Otherwise, the Dollar Store only give part-time hours without benefits and minimum wages. Nice eh?
Of cause it is too dry. I find corporate world to be very dry and boring. I do not understand why would any woman on earth want to work in corporate world. Why bother? There are better things to do. Or, any smart person, woman, this is why she is so smart, can invent something to do that is good for her. Why to adopt to the environmen
Your post reflects old, misogynist
If you had pursued your career to its fullest like you think you should have, perhaps your family life would have failed in some way. You have 2 in college? Then you did something right. If you had neglected them in favor of a career, you might have a more successful career but one of the kids might be on drugs and the other in prison. Have no regrets.
I don't think anyone should cry over split milk and I'm sure fionagski has many wonderful memories from her time at all, but that comment was ridiculous
Most mothers work and most kids don't end up in prison. You can be an excellent parent and work. And it isn't just a title difference between subbing and teaching- its pay scale, benefits and the ability to plan a year's worth of lessons.
Parenthood is the most important job in the world, regardless of the sex of the parent.