Women Are The Solution to the Recession - Building Gender Balanced Business

BY BLANCA L. VERGARA

Women leaders have the innate qualities to guide us out of this economic crisis. The age of disregarding female perspectives and successful feminine attributes has to end. The age of promoting and hiring women because it is politically correct to do so must end too.

We need to understand that there is a strong business case behind this change. Everyone benefits, from the woman to the company to the community. And men benefit too. Study after study has shown the clear correlation between women in the corporate world and better corporate performance: financial performance, corporate governance, staff retention, and so on.

According to Women on the Verge of the 21st Century, a white paper from Grey Advertising, most women aspire to:

•Make the world a better place
•See children become successful
•Have enough time to do what they want

Women’s aspirations are reflected in their behaviour. It is why they are more likely to challenge old power-based paradigms, or more easily turn down an unethical contract.

Interestingly enough, there are more and more men who are also choosing these “feminine” aspirations.

The gender differences set out in the table (above) remind us that empathy, creativity, intuition, connectedness, meaning and play are female strengths. It reminds us that women are best suited to dealing with living systems. A corporation is a living system, as is the financial system.

Women can become powerful in business when they learn to appreciate and embrace these innate characteristics. Building community, supporting culture, and healing relationships are all crucial qualities and indeed what we need now the most.

It is easy to blame men for many things, from not helping with the children to the financial collapse. But blaming men is not going to take us anywhere. Now women have to take on the leadership challenge and step in to their shoes.

Leave your comfort zone to become a “She-Leader”!