How Can We Get More Women To The Top In Organisations?

I've been thinking a lot about HeForShe recently and what equality between the sexes means. Today I want to explore what it means for people in a professional setting, as I watched a TED Talk recently that put some things in perspective.

In her September 2014 TED Talk (see below), Susan Colantuono starts off by saying that "women represent 50% of middle management positions". Here we have an example of gender equality in the workplace, but only if you're in middle management.

Susan then asks "why are there so many women mired in the middle and what has to happen to take them to the top." We could argue that we don't see women in top management positions due to sexism in the workplace. However, if 50% of all middle management positions are held by women, surely this means that women are not being penalised due to their sex?

According to Susan, there are different elements of leadership, however only certain of these elements are communicated because some of the other elements are "a given" and are assumed to be known. Generally, what is communicated to people rising up the ladder is that they need to be able to successfully engage with people in order to inspire others and themselves to reach the goals set for them by the organisation. It is communicated that good leaders empower others, manage conflict well, are able to negotiate and are good communicators. 

For many middle management positions, that is all that is needed. However, to get to the top, there is some extra information that men take for granted and thus this is not communicated to women who are wanting to get to the top. It is taken for granted that the following concepts are already known to people (men and women) wanting to pursue top management positions. To use Susan's own words: 

"What about people who understand your business, where it's going, and their role in taking it there? And what about people who are able to scan the external environment, identify risks and opportunities, make strategy or make strategic recommendations? And what about people who are able to look at the financials of your business,understand the story that the financials tell, and either take appropriate action or make appropriate recommendations?"

For men, the above ideas are already a given. 

Later on in her talk, Susan mentions a comment by an executive who had mentored both a man and a woman, which sums up the above concepts perfectly. "I helped the woman build confidence, I helped the man learn the business, and I didn't realize that I was treating them any differently."

And so, to go back to my earlier point, when it comes to top management positions, women are held back, unintentionally, because they are not told about ALL* of the requirements that are needed in order to get to the top.

I think that the solution to this is to start opening up the communication channels and exploring what the women in top leadership positions are doing that allowed them to get to the top and sharing this knowledge with other people, men and women, so that in the course of their day to day jobs, both men and women can be aware of ALL* the requirements to get to the top.

* ALL in the context of Susan's talk

Defining Decade and Being A Twentysomething

I'm sure by now, you all know that I love myself a good TED talk, so when I came across this talk in my facebook news feed, I thought I would take a look. It seemed relevant to me. I'm a twentysomething. I find the media's my peers general public's trivialisation of the twenties years frustrating sometimes. Every day there's another facebook post popping up about why The twenties are the best times of your life. Thirty things to do before 30. They're entertaining up until a point. Taken with a pinch of salt, they're fun. But not for one second do I believe that they're really true. Take a look at the talk below. 

Meg Jay: Why 30 is not the new 20.

The twenties is a big step up from varsity. You need to start growing up. You need to start thinking about things you didn't necessarily have to worry about before. You have to start dealing with rent. And a job where you probably know nothing. And maybe you will probably paying off some sort of debt, maybe multiple debts. You dive into a world full of unknowns and somehow you need to start swimming before knowing how to float.

For many twentysomethings, even though you have a piece of paper behind your name (degree, diploma, course certificate), you have to start out life on a salary (if you're lucky!) that can barely cover your rent, let alone debt repayments and grocery bills. And if you're not getting paid a salary, you're expected to be appreciative of an unpaid internship that allows you to get experience so that you can get a paid job. 

No wonder twentysomethings don't want to grow up. It's expensive to grow up. But it's more expensive not to grow up! After watching Meg Jay's Ted Talk, I actually went and read the book that her talk is based on - The Defining Decade by Meg Jay. She speaks so much sense and puts into words, thoughts that have been roaming in and out my head for the better part of a year. She also (and this is the kicker) explains WHY twentysomethings sometimes find growing up difficult. She also explains that it's normal for the twenties to be a time of feeling unsure, insecure and uncertain about your future. And it's precisely because you're feeling these things that it's the perfect opportunity for you to grab on, persevere and grow into the adult that the twentysomething years should be moulding you into.

Friends, family, strangers reading my blog for the first time, twentysomethings, pre-twentysomethings, post twentysomethings  - I really do recommend that you read this book. And once you've read it, please let me know what you think.

TED Talk - Robots With Soul

My weekly TED Talk arrived in my inbox this morning. It's a talk given by Guy Hoffman and it gives a background on his journey with animation and how he creates robots that are less like robots and more like people. This talk really appealed to the engineer in me, as well as the creative in me! 

Here's his talk. Enjoy!

For more interesting talks - click to visit* the TED website. You can sign up for daily or weekly talks that will challenge conventional thinking and expose to you many different, interesting people and their work, beliefs, callings and research. 

*Please don't blame me if you use up your monthly/weekly/daily allowance of bandwidth watching TED Talks! :)

If Diets Worked, We'd All Be Thin Already

I recently posted my views on diets and dieting and this morning when I logged in to my e-mail I found a TED Talk waiting for me and I immediately watched it. It's a 13 minute talk on Why Dieting Doesn't Usually Work by Sandra Aamondt and she gives some scientific insights into why diets don't usually work. She talks about a body's weight set-point, intuitive vs controlled eaters, dieting in children, family members teasing about weight and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Take a squiz at the video below.

I am so excited by this video as it sums up my view on food, eating and lifestyle. My "set-point" hasn't changed much since high-school and I think that this is partly because I've always been encouraged to eat when I'm hungry and stop eating when I'm full. 

Near the end of her talk she mentions, "if diets worked, we'd all be thin already. Why do we keep doing the same thing and keep expecting different results. " It's a profound statement and makes you think whether diets are really worth it.

She finishes off by asking us to stay mindful of when we're eating and to learn from your body. She encourages all of us to eat when you're hungry - and stop eating when you're full! Instead of trying to control your stomach through diets, let your stomach control your eating.