A few months back, I sent a message to some of my male friends. I wanted to know who their biggest female inspirations are, in whatever way and scope, either business or personal.
It wasn’t a scientific survey with a rightly targeted sample but the responses were still revealing. Of some specific patterns.
Every professional female inspiration was an immediate manager or leader.
No famous or super senior woman really featured as inspiration because no such woman was top of mind. Except Sheryl Sandberg. Possibly top-of-mind because she has had the most mindspace and airtime through Facebook and her own book.
‘Mom’ appeared as the role model for a lot of the respondents.
One person interestingly said, and I quote, “I’m not able to identify with a working woman. Mom didn’t work. I didn’t have any close family members who worked. But I had plenty of working men as role models. Perhaps that’s why.”
Artistic inspirations amongst women are many but not necessarily business related, said a few of them.
It brings us back to the age-old question. Do we look at women as inspirations in general at all? Or only as “women leaders” and performers of special things, like music and dance and art and some such?
Is it because there aren’t enough inspiring senior women in the corporate world?
That’s kind of true. Of the Global 500 list tracked by Fortune, 29 of the top 500 CEOs are women (apparently up 20% from the year before).
Do we simply not know enough about successful and senior women?
Perhaps partially true. Except books by and of Indra Nooyi and Sheryl Sandberg, the others are hard to come by. There’s something on Thatcher and even Queen Elizabeth I, but honestly, how many of us read those books as much as we read the one about Bob Iger (Disney)?
Or is the narrative in popular media so skewed that women leaders don’t come across as inspirational?
There is some truth to this and you will agree with me. Let me go for the easy kills first. What do you remember of Hillary Clinton? Jane Fraser? Have you read much about Mary Barra? Safra Catz? What’s the most popular thing you know about Theresa May? Are Jacinda Ardern’s leadership lessons still popular and viral?
For a change, I don’t have calls to action from an article on Girl At Work. It is just a summary overview of the lay of the land - facts and perceptions.
And a fervent hope that we change the situation in our lifetime. As CEOs. As chroniclers. Or, simply as readers seeking more information, and more inspiration.
P. S. Views strictly personal. None of the events mentioned in this post refer to the organisation that I am currently associated with.
A topic worth discussing and contemplating. Stories of successful women need to be told more often. As a father to two daughters this is of high interest to me. Thanks for post.
Keep up the good work.
Yet another thought provoking writeup .. Thank you for consistently nudging us to think differently