Book

Why Women Mean Business

Understanding the Emergence of our next Economic Revolution

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox and Alison Maitland

Wiley, 2008

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Avivah Wittenberg-Cox and Alison Maitland have carefully gazed through the gender-equality kaleidoscope and then turned it slightly – giving readers a refreshing view. Treating women as a workforce minority is no longer acceptable; nor should executives manage them in the same way as their male counterparts. Women are different from men, and their work and leadership styles reflect this difference. Treating women like men, or trying to “fix them” so they will advance in a male-centric work culture has not been successful, as demonstrated by the dearth of women in high leadership positions and on executive boards. Therefore, company leaders must reframe the gender debate and repair their biased systems. This book tells them how. getAbstract considers it important reading for human resources directors and corporate leaders, who may be heartened by its assurance that organizations that become “gender-bilingual” will find solutions to many 21st-century problems.

Summary

Gender Is a “Business Issue,” Not a “Women’s Issue”

During the last half of the 20th century, women took their place alongside men in the workforce, signaling a significant economic and social shift. Women represent more than half of the talent pool and make most consumer purchases. Their contribution, dubbed “womenomics,” will play a major role in meeting the economic challenges of the 21st century. For example, the labor force is shrinking in developed countries, due to “declining demographics” such as diminishing birthrates and aging populations. Gender equality can help solve such “talent crises.”

Because the talent pool is dwindling, companies that recognize women’s potential have a distinct competitive advantage. Today, organizations must recruit and keep female employees, and advance them to the highest levels of leadership. Traditional leadership boards and teams – primarily made up of white males between the ages of 50 and 65 – are no longer optimal in a multicultural, complex, diverse world market. Research indicates that companies with a higher proportion of women on leadership teams perform better financially than those without female leaders.

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About the Authors

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox is the CEO of 20-first, a gender consultancy firm in Europe. Journalist Alison Maitland wrote for the Financial Times for two decades.

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A. 1 decade ago

The top 10 countries that offer women more opportunities are: Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Iceland, Luxembourg, France, Russia. Surprising to hear that the US is one of the few countries in the "developed" world that does not provide paid maternity leave...
A. 1 decade ago

Great abstract! Why are there still so few women in higher leadership positions? One reason might be that they have a natural disdain for power games and politics and tend to assume a more relationship-based leadership style showing more empathy and less aggression than men do. This should be an advandage, though ...