Wise Words For Any Women In The Workplace
Not long ago, the idea of women high in business was near enough unheard of. Now, things are on the up, as pressures increase of employers to take sexual equality into account. Those with male-only workforces are coming under scrutiny. And, more women are finding their places because of it.
But, that doesn’t mean all is well for female workers. In fact, women only account for 10% of executive positions in the U.S. What’s more, those who achieve the goal face discrimination. As we’ve seen thanks to the #metoo campaign, many high-flying women fall foul to unwanted sexual advances. Many also feel as though they have to conform to a specific set of rules.
It’d be fair to say, then, that women have been let into the club on condition. And, many adhere through fear. But, these conditions don’t actually make us better at our jobs. And, that makes it harder than ever to advance. So, to stop them constricting your career growth, we’re going to look at what they are, and why you don’t need them.
Acting like one of the lads
Many women in business feel they have to ‘act like one of the lads.’. After all, life will be easier if you fit in, right? But, acting in a way which isn’t true to you will do real damage to your confidence. Not to mention that it undermines the struggle you’ve been through. You are a woman in the workplace, and you’ve gotten where you are through hard work. You don’t need to pretend to be anything. Doing so will only set you back in the long run. Perhaps in more ways than you realize.
You don’t need to do it all
We’ve all heard women can multitask. Its ingrained like any other gender stereotype. And, in high-level business, you and the men around you may enforce this without noticing. Men may pile tasks on you because ‘you’re a woman’. If you’re in a management, you may try to take everything on to prove your worth. But, burning yourself out isn’t going to prove anything. So, don’t be afraid to delegate tasks. If you spend hours fixing computers each day because ‘that’s what a man would do’, accept you may need to outsource managed IT services to ease your burden. Make sure you can focus on one task at a time, and keep your work up to standard.
A lack of empathy won’t get you further
Women also come under scrutiny for letting emotions cloud judgment. Men may even make you feel you’re unfit to manage. It’s like they think you can’t cope with a team if you care about them. As such, many women managers go too far the other way and operate without any empathy at all. But, that won’t serve you. In truth, compassion is not a weakness, but a strength. It allows you to make the best workplace possible, and listen to colleague needs. So, it’s past time you stopped shutting it out.