Key Issues and Developments for Women Managers in Asia

Modern Asian BusinesswomanContributed by Professor Chris Rowley, Director, Centre for Research on Asian Management, City University, UK and Director of Research and Publications, HEAD Foundation, Singapore

As we sit amongst the wreckage of the post-2008 ‘credit crunch’ and global financial crisis and consequent economic mess, several other business and management shibboleths have also seemingly come crashing down. These include those such as ‘the war for talent’, ‘work-life balance’, ‘managing diversity’ and so on. Some commentators may now argue these are less important. However, our all too common ethnocentricity may blind us to a clearer view of the situation. I will use the case of women managers in Asia to illustrate this. After all, we can learn more about our own systems and practices by looking at those of others.

Asia’s rapid economic growth led to a significant increase in demand for managers and professionals. Indeed, in parts of Asia women’s labour force participation rates ranked highly, aided by better educational participation levels and falling fertility rates requiring the best use of all talent. It seemed that as women became more educated and qualified for managerial positions, their numbers would rise. However, this is not an unalloyed picture of progress.

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10 Ways to be More Powerful

IMG_3383EnhancedColorContributed by CEO Coach Henna Inam

Many women I work with have a love-hate relationship with Power. They want to be powerful, but the definition of power in their heads leaves a bad taste in their mouths. For many women, power conjures up pictures of a dictatorial, hierarchic, dominating, aggressive, “my way or the highway” person. So, without even realizing this, many women give away their power.

Women often try to fulfill what they believe is society’s version of an acceptable type of power for women, which is much nicer, much more accommodating. This leads to what Catalyst calls “The Goldilocks Syndrome.” Women find themselves in situations where they are perceived as either “too hard” or “too soft,” but never just right for that top job.

The interesting thing is that power is not just something that is bestowed from the outside. It is something that is developed from within, and when others recognize you as having personal power, the external power comes to you. The good news is that how powerful we are and feel is 100% in our control. Here are the 10 tips to BE more powerful.

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How Sponsorship Can Help Senior Women Break the Marzipan Ceiling

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iStock_000015225139XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

What’s keeping women from reaching the highest echelon of today’s top corporations? If you ask Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Founding President and Chairman of the Center for Worklife Policy, it’s certainly not a dearth of women’s initiatives, mentoring programs, and networking. Nor is it related to performance.

According to a new study produced by the CWLP in conjunction with the Harvard Business Group, a lack of sponsorship for women may be to blame. At a recent event hosted by American Express, Hewlett said, “34% of the marzipan layer, that layer just below senior leadership, is made up of women.” On the other hand, she said, only about 21% of senior leadership is female. And that number hasn’t increased in years.

“It’s about relationship capital,” said Hewlett.

Authored by Hewlett, with Kerrie Peraino, Chief Diversity Officer of Amex; Laura Sherbin Ph.D., Vice President, Director of Research at CWLP; and Karen Sumberg, Vice President, Director of Projects and Communications at CWLP, “The Sponsor Effect: Breaking Through the Last Glass Ceiling” outlines the ways in which women are missing out when it comes to sponsorship.

But more importantly, it is a detailed study into the sponsorship-protege relationship. It explains the urgent need for stronger sponsorship of women and how we can get it.

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E.U. Considers Lengthening Maternity Leave – What About U.S.?

Businesswoman holding baby at deskBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

In October of last year news broke that the European Parliament, which covers 27 nations, was attempting to extend maternity leave from 14 to 20-weeks on full pay. On January 7, 2011 European Union ministers rejected the move, citing the cost as the biggest hindrance. Among the countries lobbying against the plan were the UK, France, and Germany. Assessments said the proposed measure would cost UK businesses approximately $3.8 billion a year; France estimated it would mean extra healthcare costs of about $1.75 billion; and Germany put its additional costs at $1.6 billion.

The plan also included paternity leave and a stipulation that pregnant workers would have their job or an “equivalent” position reserved for them. Also, the plan specified that women returning to their jobs could not be dismissed for six months once their maternity leave drew to a close.

In order to reach a happy medium, The European Commission has proposed extending the plan to just 18-weeks as a way of improving work-life balance. Belgium, the current holder of the EU presidency, is showing early support for the 18-week plan, but no deal is expected until at least 2012.

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Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

MartinLutherKingBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Dear Readers, we are taking the day off in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We are inspired by Dr. King’s vision of a better future for all people, and it is our hope that The Glass Hammer provides you with the tools and inspiration to work toward workplace equality as well. As Dr. King said, “The time is always right to do what is right.”

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Intrepid Woman: From Futures Trader to Microfinance Film Maker

RachelCook1Contributed by Rachel Cook

I was working as a Futures Trader on the European shift – in the middle of the night, Chicago time – in September 2009 when I first came across an op-ed in The New York Times written by Nick Kristof the month before, “The Women’s Crusade.” I was completely floored by the article – it told the stories of women in the developing world, facing terrifying, seemingly insurmountable odds. And some of these women were able to overcome these odds using a development tool I’d heard little about – microfinance. I was intrigued. Microlending seemed to help women, and it seemed to be a high-return financial investment – both topics of high interest to me.

I’d studied film in undergrad, as well as Economics and English. I’d loved movies since I was a kid.

It occurred to me that this could make an amazing topic for a global documentary film.

But I’ve never made a feature documentary before; I’d made a few shorts in school, and beyond that I knew virtually nothing about production. It was imperative that I surround myself with professionals who could compensate for my own greenness. And I got lucky; I was able to put together a wonderful group of people who are highly seasoned professionals just as passionate about the project as I am, and what’s more, they were willing to volunteer.

So we got started. While maintaining my trading job, the crew and I traveled to South America and filmed in Paraguay in 2010, and we’re only getting started – we’ll continue filming throughout this year.

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Voice of Experience: Rhonda Mims, President, ING Foundation & SVP, Corporate Responsibility and Multicultural Affairs, ING

rhondamimsBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Rhonda Mims, President, ING Foundation & SVP, Corporate Responsibility and Multicultural Affairs, ING, said she was glad to have learned the value of a non-linear career.

Having begun her career as an attorney, then working for the government, and finally moving to the corporate space, Mims has had a broad range of experiences. She explained, “For a number of years, I have understood the fact that every career doesn’t have a straight linear curve.” Looking back though, she said, “When I started, I was so focused that I may have missed opportunities to go to the left or the right, instead of going straight up.”

Mims now leads the ING Foundation as well as corporate responsibility and diversity and inclusion initiatives at ING. “It’s an incredible job,” she added.

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Ask-the-Career-Coach: Before the Resolutions, Conduct a Career Audit

AnnDalyHighRes-2Contributed by executive coach Ann Daly, Ph.D.

Okay, enough! Enough with all the talk about New Year’s resolutions. It may be a great way to sell gym memberships, but it’s not effective for much of anything else. For one thing, it takes more than a resolution to bring about substantial career change.

Is this the year you’re going to make your move? A high-profile assignment, or client? That promotion you’ve been coveting? A relocation? The top company in your industry, or one outside of your current industry altogether? Your own startup?

Declaring the “resolution” is hardly the end of the process. Defining the goal is only the beginning. Once you clearly define—in specific and measureable terms—what it is you want to achieve by the end of the year, then you need to conduct a career audit. The audit will make plain where you are positioned vis-à-vis your goal and the gap you need to close. In the career economy, there are four basic categories of capital with which you can create growth: functional capital, human capital, political capital, and brand capital.

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Shine from Day One – Five Tips for New Managers

RobertaMatusonContributed by Roberta Matuson, Author of the recently released book, Suddenly in Charge: Managing Up, Managing Down, Succeeding All Around

Congratulations! You’ve just been promoted into management. Now what?

In an ideal world, new managers would be groomed for their new role. However, this is rarely the case. People go to bed one evening as a member of the team and wake up the next morning to find themselves managing the team. One of the most challenging and critical tasks new managers face is striking a balance between managing down—dealing with employees—and managing up—reporting to bosses. To add to concerns, there are scores of replacements waiting should you fail. Here are five tips to help you shine from day one.

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The “Men Who Get It” Project

Lynn_24P2193_FContributed by Lynn Harris, author of Unwritten Rules: What Women Need to Know About Leading In Today’s Organizations

Since publishing Unwritten Rules: What Women Need To Know About Leading In Today’s Organizations, I’ve worked with others to try to get more women in positions of senior leadership.

Basically all change efforts boil down to the same thing – can we get people to behave differently.

In this case, can we get shareholders to appoint more women to their boards?

Can we get CEO’s to create gender-balanced teams to lead their organizations?

Can we get professional services firms to operate differently so that more women stay and make partner?

Can we get political parties to field equal numbers of men and women candidates, and then get journalists and voters to give women a fair chance?

So far, the answer in all cases has been “no” or “rarely.” Women achieving senior levels of leadership still make the news.

Along with countless other women, I will continue to bang my head against these particular brick walls, trying to convince men who hold most of the power at the top of organizations and governments to accept the business case that gender-balanced teams are better for business and governance.

But the uncomfortable reality is that no matter how many studies indicate that companies with more female senior leaders outperform those with the least in return on equity, return on sales, and return on invested capital, the guys at the top aren’t buying it.

No matter how often we state the case that women and men working together are likely to make better and less risky governance decisions, we still see predominantly male governments and boards.

In 2011, let’s plan to take a different approach in our quest for gender-balanced leadership.

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