Women's Credibility in the Professional World

The other day I had the opportunity to help a University freshman kill a little time while he waited for a writing class conference. We started talking about how the dynamics of technology have drastically changed how we view gender roles. He was taken aback when I spoke of how the original secretaries were actually men. But his jaw literally dropped when I told him about the days when classified ads had two sections for employment ads, one section for women and one for men. "Really?!?" It was true. And only women were allowed to apply (even considered) for secretarial and administrative positions. It simply wasn't appropriate work for men.

It was time for his conference to start, so we abandoned the complaint of men that their fingers were too large to properly use a keyboard. Computer programming also helped them overcome that malady. And men with their eye on the corner office always found some type of excuse for not having the ability to make their fingers operate a keyboard. Now men seem to be the ones who are most capable of causing smoke to be emitted from their Blackberry because they're inputting data and keystrokes so rapidly.

Technology has been the great equalizer in terms of getting men back into the formula of all roles in the employment spectrum are appropriate for men. Technology has caused men to accept use of the keyboard for things other than programming.

But when it comes to leadership, women still have a very long road to travel in order to gain credibility. What is the secret formula that causes women to have it? There are some who wear it very nicely. They don't tell the stories about how they got to that point in time. They simply wear the status and comfortably do what they need to do without being deterred or detoured by others. It makes for long hours of musing about what the real underlying issues are that diminish women's business credibility. There are several that over time have been identified and addressed. But so far, none seem to have adequately addressed the problem and been the solution.

A Few Notes on the Matter

At one point in time, the matter involved the fact that women accepted their role in the business environment as typists. If you knew anything about a typewriter, your business life was condemned to sitting in front of one while you pounded out the thoughts of others, but not your own. This went along with the steno ability means life in Hell syndrome. This foreclosed women from taking on the role of recording secretary in any organization because it classified her as subservient and still a secretary, an administrative, instead of a planner, builder, doer. So no matter what type of organization, women did not volunteer to take notes of what was happening at any meeting -- not even for their own benefit. They relied on the notes of someone else or taped the session since the micro- and handheld recorders were part of the office equipment scene.

Dressing the Part

Still, that didn't resolve the business leader persona issue. Resolving the note taking issue simply put threw attention to other superfluous areas. Then it became the way women dress. So in order to be seen as "manager" of anything, women discarded their skirts and blouses and dresses for tailored suits accompanied by tailored shirts instead of blouses, and accessorized by scarves that were more like ascots and ties. The outfits looked snappy and sharp. Observation that there were now a lot of lesbians who were coming out formed part of the reason this fashion statement faded. But the woman's power suit re-entered the workforce. It became more flattering. Colors began to fan the palate. Soft tucks and pleats, even curves and ruffles adorned what could have been seen as starkness. And soft blouses replaced the scarves, ties, and button-down shirts. So we gained well-dressed typists and secretaries and a bunch of women who brought the spotlight on their ambitions to be other than a typist or secretary.

What a Hairy Thing

Others identified hair fashion as the reason for detouring women from the executive row. Long, flowing tresses were indicia of sexuality and sensuality, not reasoned, decisive leadership. Curls were indicative of youth and softness and untested waters. Curls were better for HR people who wore pink and dealt with people problems all day long. Eventually, Sinead O'Connor hit the scene - shaved head - and women going through breast cancer treatment who dared to expose the risks they endured caused the hairdo matter to fade into oblivion.

Housemakers and Housekeepers

The Mommy Years has always been a great excuse for retarding women's business growth. Age 30 to 40 years were the crisis years when a woman's biological clock needed more attention than the Atom Bomb. Thus, we could not take seriously any woman who was over thirty or under 45 years because she was dealing with the production of babies and homemaking rather than building business enterprises. And those who were under thirty years were approaching that age and getting married, therefore, getting ready to go out of the workforce for a protracted period of time and thus, not eligible for the leadership roles that needed to be filled.

Women are the homemakers and housekeepers. They're the ones who stay at home with the children, teach the children, kiss the boo-boos away, and keep things organized. The women give up their jobs in one state in order to follow the husband's career into another state. She wasn't earning that much anyway, so the sacrifice isn't that great. And so went yet another of the arguments for keeping women out of senior management and corporate boards. Such was the path for derailing women's business credibility.

Breadwinners

Somewhere along the line, someone forgot that these same women who were caring for the home and children full time also became widows and divorcees whose alimony ran out or wasn't sufficient to cover the expenses of living. Somewhere along the line, someone forgot that these women had at one time held responsible positions before the "M" thing happened (marriage) and were capable of making business decisions. Is it any wonder that these women got tired -- and bored -- with the lack of challenge and opened their own businesses when the steel ceiling simply would not allow them to grow? It shouldn't be.

Talking About Exclusion

But the excuses continued. It was the way women talked. They were either too demanding or so weak that everything sounded like a mouse asking permission to squeak. There was no middle ground where communication was just right, unless you were a news anchor or a teacher. Still, many endeavored to make it without resorting to the extremes. There was learning assertiveness compared with being aggressive. There was being more like the guys in order to be accepted by the guys by using profanity whenever possible. There were stabs at being jocular by using humor sprinkled through communications so that more would listen. That resulted in women being seen as comedic and not to be taken seriously. Voices were pitched in high registers in order to be heard; conversely, they were pitched in low registers to create presence. Speech was staccatoed in peppering statements so that people felt the need to listen or get hammered. Speech was spoken in well-modulated tones that lulled into a drowsy romanticism with the sound instead of the words.

Weighing In

Another thing that seemed to be a drawback to female credibility was a woman's size. A robust figure meant she was too big, therefore not healthy, therefore a risk and not leadership material. If she was petite, how in the world was anyone going to see her much less hear her. A tiny woman was more for being looked at rather than being followed. She was a novelty. An average sized woman would have seemed the "just right" answer to the credibility issue. Nope. That meant she was just like everyone else and tended to blend in with the crowd. There was nothing to make her stand out. (Nothing except at particular element she had, her secret weapon, that made her the leader who was finally accepted.) But weight and size were not the answer to the credibility gap.

Brains

Someone discovered the way to get men to pay attention was to appeal to their minds. Women stopped being dependent little girls and became business partners who could challenge men in thinking, negotiating, deciphering, speaking and presenting. This seems to stand as the answer to the credibility question as it relates to women as leaders. Some men will try to shout down a woman by telling her she's talking about tough issues that only men should discuss. They will argue that she should be talking about nice things that women should discuss like how to be friendly and develop relationships. It's nothing more than fear that they will be shown to not measure up to the task that men use these manipulative arguments. This is the time to make them talk through the real issues and make them stick with the pertinent issues without letting theirselves be sidetracked with periphery. It will be a challenge but eventually they will become better at critical thinking challenges.

Mentors

Believe it or not, one of the things that helps women's credibility the most is the male mentor. These are not ordinary men who let their gonads do the thinking for them. These are men who know how to think and reason. They know how to listen. They know how to ask critical thinking questions in order to develop conversations and draw out strategy. They are confident about who they are and are not challenged when they meet a woman who can be a mental equal with them. They are mature enough to admit that they have met such a person and enjoy it. In fact, the partnership is a delight and makes them welcome each encounter.

Bottom Line

It doesn't matter what the hem length is. (Well, micro-mini kind of cuts credibility.) Hair and make-up, voice and weight, and all the other "stuff" are not the makings of credibility, although they can be signs that one has it. No, credibility does not flow from those things. It seems to come from exuding one's own confidence. Confidence comes from knowing your subject and not feeling intimidated about discussing what you know. It isn't a weapon to pound others over the head or intimidate them with how much you know. But just knowing you have the answer and don't have to talk about it (until the right time) is power. Knowing when to set limits and knowing what the limits should be, then holding them is another way to show not only confidence but also credibility.

Until these things are recognized by your audience, it appears women will have to be long-suffering Job-bahs by being who you are and letting them catch up with the fact that you are qualified and deserve the respect and credibility that you've been seeking to have given you.