" Luckily, there has been a rise in the esteem of women in business. The reasons for this have been growing for over ten years. The recession of the 1980's and early 1990's forced companies to downsize. As a result, business became more team oriented and leadership became more nurturing. This quality is the one that most women identify with. .
In the era of "Ozzie and Harriet" and "Ward and Judy Cleaver" it was deeply embedded in the minds of men and women alike, that it was the man's job to go to work (outside the house) and the woman stayed behind to take care of the house and the children. It is this train that women are slowly but surely changing tracks in society. It has been (and still is) a long, hard fought battle. However, one worth fighting.
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One afternoon, while watching CNN's Moneyline, I saw an interview with Mauriel Siebert. She was the first woman to become a member of the New York Stock Exchange in 1967. She described the obstacles she had to overcome, such as the simplicity of a ladies room. Ms. Siebert says that it was necessary for her to adapt to her surroundings. She says that "it was pretty difficult, if not impossible, to keep a feminine perspective in the business world. There were people who would have been shocked if I didn't use four letter words." .
Research has also shown that most women have taken on male qualities (in leadership) to enable them to survive in corporate America. However, when they reach the "top", they tend to be stereotypically labeled in one of two ways, the "Bitch" or the "Bimbo". The Bitch shouts, scolds rants, back stabs and goes for the kill to rise to the top. She has the attributes of a nasty man. The Bimbo is the air head who got where she is by using her feminine wiles. She is incompetent and remains in the corporate stratosphere only because she has charmed enough male bosses who would be willing to protect her.
