Men's World versus Women's World, in politics and in business leadership

Last edited Mon Feb 11, 2013, 08:28 AM - Edit history (1)

As I was reading this morning, and writing my first blog post of the day, I came across two things that related to each other, our perceptions, and how we think.

One was this:



One of the economist sites that I follow is Project Syndicate.

The shift in how we operate, in terms of hierarchical structure, and methods of operation intrigue me, as does the issue of feminism and inequality in terms of power and in terms of compensation. The recent shift in the number of women in Congress is a case in point; we are still well shy of anything approaching parity of representation but it is better than it has been previously. IF - and of course it is a big 'If' - Hillary Clinton runs for the presidency, as things stand now, she is the odds on favorite to win overwhelmingly against any currently proposed candidate. But of course things will not remain as they stand now. But clearly, we are coming closer to having our first woman president.

We are also starting to see more women in the upper echelons of business, with more women influencing the economic sector, changing it. And with combat positions opening to women, we see the opportunity for more women to advance to the upper echelons of our military, a profoundly hierarchic entity.

The premise is that leadership is changing, and that women are changing it in a specific way which is influencing among other things, our economy. I'm not sure I quite buy into author Joseph Nye's assessments of how women operate, but Nye certainly brings an interesting background to this review:
Joseph S. Nye

Joseph S. Nye, a former US assistant secretary of defense and chairman of the US National Intelligence Council, is University Professor at Harvard University. His most recent book is The Future …

Leaders should be viewed less in terms of heroic command than as encouraging participation throughout an organization, group, country, or network. Questions of appropriate style – when to use hard and soft skills – are equally relevant for men and women, and should not be clouded by traditional gender stereotypes. In some circumstances, men will need to act more “like women”; in others, women will need to be more “like men.”

The key choices about war and peace in our future will depend not on gender, but on how leaders combine hard- and soft-power skills to produce smart strategies. Both men and women will make those decisions. But Pinker is probably correct when he notes that the parts of the world that lag in the decline of violence are also the parts that lag in the empowerment of women.