I attended the Global Women’s
Rights Forum on Tuesday, which addressed the unique ways women can contribute
in the corporate world. I was so surprised to learn that only 3% of all CEOs
are women. If we are striving for equal opportunity, I think the makeup of
business leaders should be reflective of our diverse population. I don’t think
this should just be limited to women, but also minority groups of color and
LGBT communities. 3% is a shockingly small percentage, when it should be at
50%. I think this relates to the issues of privilege we have been discussing, specifically
male privilege. Unearned advantages based on sex in the business world,
translates to wage glass-ceilings and underrepresentation of women in positions
of power. We like to think that the most qualified and adapt person would get
the job, but we fail to ask who is defining the ‘right’ qualities or standards.
Another component to the discussion
surrounded women’s initiatives to help other women in business. One of the
speakers made an interesting point that, “we can retain our ‘woman-ness’ but
still be strong”. I understood her intention to reflect the opinion that we
should not try and conform to male standards if our intention is to encourage
women in the business field. But I’m not sure what she exactly meant by ‘woman-ness’
and how you would go about defining such a word without being restrictive and
leaving other women out. Also her point that we can ‘still be strong’, raised
some questions in my mind. So do we have to consciously make sure we are being
strong, if we are being too ‘womanly’? Are these qualities in contention?
Overall though I thought her message of women using positions of power to
encourage other women was extremely effective. Specifically, she mentioned
creating a legacy that would benefit other women through the financial support of
low-income women with business ideas by investing.
-Erika
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