I ran across this article today and thought it related to our discussion last week about women in the workplace. It is quite an accomplishment to be named GM’s highest ranking women. Mary Barra has climbed the corporate ladder from being a student intern at GM to her position now. She is truly and inspiration and motivation for women trying to be in the corporate world and make it as far as she did.
http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/10/autos/mary-barra-gm.fortune/index.html
Very interesting! This reminds me of my case study topic involving Marissa Mayer and her appointment as CEO at Yahoo. Mayer was also set to take over a struggling company in a male dominated industry. It must be difficult to find a balance between acknowledging the significance of receiving such a position, and at the same time not wanting people to put to much focus on your gender.
This is a valid point you make. I was wondering, then, how communication style may vary between men and women. This may sound like a stereotype, but from my experience, I have noticed that female managers often phrase questions differently than their male counterparts. For instance, a female manager might say, “Could you come to my office?” or “What do you think about this proposal?” Male managers, by contrast, would say, “Come to my office,” or, “Here’s what we will do.” When female managers speak like men, they are characterized as sounding too aggressive or emotional.
But do women’s style of communication change when they move up the corporate ladder, as Barra and Mayer have? Since Barra began as an intern at GM and worked her way to the top, it would be valuable to examine how her leadership values have evolved during her decades-long tenure there.
What struck me about her appointment is similar to what struck me about Obama’s election as president. Yes, inspirational. But at the same time it may not be normative. Seventy-five percent of women still feel they face more barriers to promotion than do men.
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/12/11/on-pay-gap-millennial-women-near-parity-for-now/