DM Coaching and Development

Brain Differences Can't Explain "Neurosexism"

I am frequently asked how important the brain is in looking at differences between the genders. Too much has been incorrectly attributed to "different wiring" to conveniently explain everything from the dearth of  women in upper management to why so few choose to work in science and engineering fields. In actuality, for most mental exercises, variance between individuals is far greater than the difference between the average man and woman. In New Zealand's Sunday Star Times, UK psychologist Cordelia Fine explains the skewing of much "gender difference" in neuroscience research with a term she calls "neurosexism". "It's easier to say there are differences between girls' and boys' brains than to look at what pressures in the classroom might be affecting boys and girls." For example, it's easier to blame brain chemistry than to raise uncomfortable issues about inequalities in the workplace or in relationships. Fine continues "People who subscribe to gender stereotypes like to have their views vindicated - and if you can have your views vindicated with the help of neuroscience, all the better."

Looking for a New Career? Seek Feedback from Others.

Some of my clients are seeking major career changes but are completely unsure about which direction to take. Sometimes, rather than engage in circular thinking about all their potential options, it pays to enlist the opinions of those you trust. Don't just ask "What do you think I should do?' as that is too open-ended and answers are not likely to get at the crux of what you want.

Rather, I would suggest asking 4 or 5 people - family and friends, previous or current colleagues or mentors -  people who know you well and whose opinion you respect to answer the following 4 questions in a written format so you can look for patterns.

1. What do you think I need in a job?
2. What do you see in me that I may not see in myself?
3. What kind of environment do you think I would enjoy?
4. What do you see as my most marketable skills and personality strengths? 

If You Want More Money, Ask For It

In my work with successful women, one of the key messages I hear is that if there is something you want, you must ask for it. One of the quickest ways to become demoralised in today's workplace is to feel that you deserve better treatment, more money, more interesting projects... and expect someone else to notice and right that wrong for you. The truth is, you are never going to get what you deserve, you will only get what you demand. How well paid you are, like it or not, lies largely with what you are willing to accept - and hence is in your hands. It's a tough realisation - but no one is going to care about your career progression as much as you.

It is great to have a stellar performance, be well-respected by your team and have impressive qualifications, but that is not enough. You must have the guts, or develop them quickly, to ask for what you are truly worth. Otherwise, waiting to be rewarded by others is a long and most often fruitless waiting game. When did you first ask for what you were worth?      

No Need for Affirmative Action? Let's Not Kid Ourselves

I recently read an article about Norwegian legislation requiring all company boards to be made up of 40% women, in the Sunday Times, the question was posed as to what would be the reception to such a move for affirmative action in Britain. The general consensus here was that professional women want to be treated as equals to men - and so no special legislation was necessary. While I can empathise with that point of view, we have had supposed "equal treatment" for decades now and women's representation at board level still flounders at single digit figures. I appreciate women want to be given such positions on their own merit and treated as equals but must point out that most men do not use merit alone when acquiring senior positions. The Old Boy's Network has ensured that the players within that system have been given favours and it seems a bit too egalitarian for my taste for women to claim they want to build their careers without any help. The truth is, a purely egalitarian model still does not exist and is certainly not a career model followed by most successful men who have enjoyed promotions from their brothers-in-law, deals from their university friends, insider news from their schoolboy chums - and understand the meaning of "you scratch my back, I will scratch yours". I have no problem asking women to participate on an "even playing field", but lets not forget just how slanted that field remains.  One suggestion is to ask companies that would like to put more women on the board to look internally and look for those whose talent has not been fully utilised and whose potential could be nurtured - thereby eliminating the need for quotas altogether. What do you think?

What Kind of Team Player are You?

Imagine it is your last day at work. You are going to be honoured with a special plaque ( as well as a slap-up lunch!) - but let's focus on your plaque. The plaque has just two sentences on it underneath your name - one written by your colleagues, one by your boss. What would each sentence say? What are the special qualities you bring to your team? How happy are you with that description? What does that say about you - and about your place within the team? What do you need to do to be happy with it? From both your boss' and colleagues' perspective?

Little Job Security in Sciences Where Short-Term Contract is King

I am on the Steering Committee for Cambridge Association for Women in Science and Engineering and when I speak with members, I am always shocked at how poor their working contracts are considering their levels of education (often a PhD) and experience. Is the UK not crying out for more scientists? A good start would be better offerings than short-term, often poorly-paid research contracts. As elaborated in an recent Times article by Clare Dight "An EU report into the underrepresentation of women found that they face a number of barriers, says Mary Honeyball, MEP. “Seemingly across the scientific community, career breaks are not heard of,” she says. “[And] a lot of jobs in science ... are quite insecure. There is a lot of mobility required and short-term contracts [which], does not lend itself to much of a work-life balance.” Former communist countries such as Romania are well ahead of the UK in promoting women to senior positions in science, according to EU calculations." People are scratching their heads as to why so few women enter these professions, but surely poor conditions and contracts are part of the reason that only a third of 500,000 women who study science at school or university, end up working in these fields. 

Want Innovative Teams? Better Call in the Women...and the Men

In my workshops, a common topic that arises is whether it is better to work with an all male or all female team. I have heard opinions from both sides of the divide and while I have always said that a mixed group is best (very uncontroversial, I know!), I am glad to see my opinion born out by recent research from the Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business. Noticing that there was a gap in the research on the potential impact of gender on the innovation agenda they looked at this issue - and came to a very egalitarian conclusion. In short, they found teams that were made up of 50:50 men and women were responsible for the most innovative processes and helped illustrate yet one more benefit of equal gender representation - it can help to unlock the innovative potential of teams. What experiences do you have working in all male or all female teams? And are you happiest in a mixed gender group?

What's Norway Doing Right?

I was reading an article by Christine Toomey in the Sunday Times on the Norwegian government's mandate in 2003 that all companies need to have 40% female representation on executive boards by July 2005 - or face punitive legislation. The risky mandate was based on American research that shows companies with more women at board level enjoy higher returns on equity - they are more innovative and forward-thinking. The requirement has since had a positive effect on the Norwegian boards as the women are better educated and have wider work experience than the men they are replacing. The Norwegian government defended the move saying it wasn't for the sake of political correctness but it just made better business sense to have executive members that were the best-qualified, across the board, so to speak - as opposed to "being recruited on hunting and fishing trips or from within a small circle of acquaintances". Sound familiar?

Since 2003, the sky has not fallen, companies have not folded and in fact Norway is ranked year after year as the best place to live and the most peaceful country by the Economic Intelligence Unit. The Norwegian people are now very happy with the initially controversial legislation that was introduced by a former conservative government minister, Ansgar Gabrielsen. It makes you wonder, how would a legal requirement of the same kind affect the UK or the US? My guess is that it would rock our institutions to the core.

Give Yourself Some Credit!

I had lunch with a girlfriend recently who relayed a story which I thought perfectly summed up the way many women look at themselves and their achievements. She was spending a weekend clearing out old paperwork and looking through various files she had accumulated from a long career. She came across a paper written in her specialist area within education and read it with real respect and growing envy at the author who had written such a good piece, wishing that she could write that well and completely in awe of the researcher who had penned it. When she got to the end, she found the date scrawled at the bottom and realised that she had indeed written it herself many years before!

It was such a paradigm shift because after she realised she had written it, she immediately questioned it's quality, validity and discounted it. The irony of course is that it had been a brilliant paper when written by some anonymous competitor, but when it was her own work, it was nothing special. We do this to ourselves all the time. I occasionally look at my old PhD thesis, which was a quantitative survey of over 800 people and look at all the ANOVA's and regression analysis I statistically analysed in 80,000 words and look at it in disbelief, thinking "I wrote that?". I literally wouldn't believe it if it did not have my name on it. Ladies, we need to give ourselves some credit! As funny as my friend's story is, it's also sad if we don't take time to recognise our achievements and continue to discount all that we have achieved before.

Get Some Credit!

1. Write down 10 things that you have accomplished that felt like a huge challenge before you accomplished them. You know, those things that kept you up at night? For me, it was passing my manual driving test as a 24 year old, having my PhD viva, presenting to colleagues for the first time? What's yours?
2. How does it feel to see those accomplishments in black and white?
3. What does that tell you about your current challenges? 
4. How can you give yourself credit on an ongoing basis? 

Cast Your Vote for Most Influential Woman Scientist

Visit  www.womeninscience.co.uk to cast your vote for the most influential woman scientist of all time. Sponsored by L'Oreal, a new website has been unveiled - - to find the most interesting and notable female scientists to help inspire the next generation. The website pays homage to 40 exceptional women dedicated to the sciences, including the dozen who have won the Nobel prize. Online readers are invited to read their stories, vote for their favourite and also add their own nominations for the quest to discover the most celebrated female scientist of all time. On the site, you can also find out information about L'Oreal bursaries and fellowships which are intended to retain and develop women in the sciences.