There is a powerful and thought-provoking article in the May 25th edition of Time Magazine which should be read called Women Will Rule Business. Not only should women read it and reflect upon it when thinking about their own career choices but also think about it in terms of how businesses will operate in general.
Women are also less competitive, in a good way. They’re consensus builders, conciliators and collaborators, and they employ what is called a transformational leadership style — heavily engaged, motivational, extremely well suited for the emerging, less hierarchical workplace. Indeed, when the Chartered Management Institute in the U.K. looked ahead to 2018, it saw a work world that will be more fluid and more virtual, where the demand for female management skills will be stronger than ever. Women, CMI predicts, will move rapidly up the chain of command, and their emotional-intelligence skills may become ever more essential.
That trend will accelerate with the looming talent shortage. The Employment Policy Foundation estimated that within the next decade there would be a 6 million – person gap between the number of college graduates and the number of college-educated workers needed to cover job growth. And who receives the majority of college and advanced degrees? Women. They also control 83% of all consumer purchases, including consumer electronics, health care and cars. Forward-looking companies understand they need women to figure out how to market to women.
It begs the question, “Is now the perfect time to go solo?”
When I read this article is was chock-full of undeniable statistics. It also provides a guide post for the future of business and how it will operate regardless of gender.
Please read and let me know your thoughts.
Interesting. I think the next generation is going to dispose of a LOT of our generation’s attention to such matters as gender, sexual preference, religion, nationality and the like. We act surprised that women haven’t yet reached parity with men yet, but when we remember that the woman’s movement (the second wave) took place only 40 years ago, after literally THOUSANDS of years of male domination, we aren’t doing too shabbily now are we? Next up — world peace!