End Male Cartels - Building Gender Balanced Business

The Dutch economist and lawyer Heleen Mees says the benefits of ending male dominance in the marketplace would bring enormous benefits to Europe. Gender balance should be mandatory Europe-wide on company boards and in universities and government, she argues, to end the culture of bias and let all profit greatly from what women have to offer.

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“Women have become the engines of global growth over the past decade, according to The Economist magazine. This is especially true in east Asia. The Asian economies make much better use of the resources women have to offer than Europeans do. In Asia, more women work and women work more hours. On top of that, Asian women advance up the corporate ladder much faster than European women do.”

“Male dominance in the marketplace works like a cartel: it impedes proper functioning of the market by barring talented women from top jobs. The old boy network should be busted like any other cartel. But women, too, must adjust. Top jobs re­quire more than two workdays a week and do not coincide with school hours. Assuming the responsibilities that have long belonged to men requires that women let go of the tasks that have prevented them from advancing.”

Financial times April 23 2008; We must break the male cartel in the workplace
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