‘The glass ceiling is crap — females don’t have ambition’

Recent research on the topic of leadership says that women make better leaders than men.

In one such study done by the Victoria University Centre for the Study of Leadership, it was suggested that female managers demonstrate more roles modelling leadership and are more able to develop people as individuals. Not all agreed.  In response to the data one outspoken businessman is reported to have said, “The glass ceiling is crap — females don’t have ambition.”  But who is right? Or are both right?   That was exactly the kind of robust discussion that the Public Advocacy Committee of Association of Female Executives of Trinidad and Tobago (AFETT) wanted to put on the table when it met at its monthly session at the Chancellor Hotel. Sonja Gittens, the Committee Chair, joined AFETT less than a year ago and it was her interaction with other female professionals, entrepreneurs and executives that led her to a rather strong conclusion. “There are a number of women who hold middle managerial positions in their various fields but when I looked further I noticed there appear-ed to be barriers to many women who wanted to reach the very top,” said Gittens. To find out why many women felt that they did not get the recognition or promotion they deserve, Gittens invited four high profile executives to share their perspective.

Catherine Kumar, Inspector of Banks at the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, agreed that women perceived that they had fewer opportunities than men mostly because women were evaluated on their performance while men were evaluated on their potential. This was manifested in behaviours often unconscious on the part of managers who usually assigned men the high profile, high revenue assignments that are key to advancement.

 In order to make a lack of experience not become a self-fulfilling prophecy, Kumar urged women in middle management positions to become more visible by taking on responsibility —even when they were not prepared — and by networking outside the circles with which they were familiar.  Panelist Douglas Camacho, Executive Direc-tor of Guardian Holdings theorised that it was knowledge and talent that make capital dance and that in today’s economy female executives in the 40 and under bracket were outstripping their male counterparts in the race to the executive finish line. Still, Camacho came with his list of do and don’ts. He told the all-female audience that they needed to be aware of the expectations at the executive level. “At executive level, it is the big picture that is critical; leave the micro-managing to the operational levels,” said Camacho. According to the GHL director, while women will be judged on ability it was their interpersonal relations that were critical to the shattering of the glass ceiling.

Despite the positive prognostications there is cause for concern. In a survey of 325 CEOs and 10,000 female executives the question about what holds women back was asked by the US-based Catalyst Group. The difference in the group was mind-boggling. 52% of the female executives said the main issue was stereotyping and pre-conceptions about what they could and could not do, while only 25% of the CEOs thought this was a barrier. 49 % of female executives said exclusion from the informal networks was an issue and 47% said the lack of general management or line experience, in contrast 82% of the CEOs said the lack of significant general management experience followed by 64% saying that women had not been in the pipeline long enough. That self fulfilling prophecy again! In the conference room at the Chancellor Hotel, it seemed that the women who had the most success in defying prophecy had become entrepreneurs. Panellists Lisa Wickham, managing director of Vision Marketing and fashion designer/ entrepreneur Claudia Pegus both agreed that women can succeed in business only if they learnt to master their confidence.
 
Pegus, who said she started her fashion atelier with $200.00 in cash and $2 million in dreams advised the crowd to always think and act positively. “Be confident. Be mindful of what you say and to whom. Practice the art of giving. Do your research. Take risks. And keep your eyes on the prize,” she urged. Wickham ascribed her success to finding her purpose, allowing her competence to be her guide and daring to dream.  In the end it appears that there is room for hope as women stride through the corporate landscape. Perhaps it requires a recognition that the modern corporation will never succeed if female executives are expected to adopt male managerial models. Perhaps the answer lies in women mentoring other women to value their capacity, to risk the hard tasks and difficult assignments and to negotiate for their salaries bravely. Whatever the solution, the challenge is in the transition. And women must lead the way!

The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Guardian Life. You are invited to send your comments to guardianlife@ghl.co.tt