Sally Garratt - Women Managing for the Millennium

COPYRIGHT

Fourth Estate

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First published in paperback 1998

Copyright © Sally Garratt 1998

Sally Garratt asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780006386773

Ebook Edition © APRIL 2016 ISBN: 9780007483068

Version: 2016-04-27

DEDICATION

To all those women managers who;

in the past, have paved the way for the rest of us;

in the present, are reaping the benefits of that pioneering

work and taking it forward;

and, in the future, will recognize the contribution of

previous generations and be able to realize for

themselves our dreams and hopes for fulfilling,

challenging and balanced lives.

And to:

All the men who are working for a world where diversity

is valued and where each individual’s skills and talents

are used and appreciated.

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

PART ONE: HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Women at Work: The Way in, the Way up and the Way Forward

Management Barriers

Attitudes of organizations and managers

Lack of career guidance and career goals

Family pressures and expectations

Personal limitations

Help is at Hand

Colleagues

Family

Role models, coaches and mentors

Friends and networks

Books and articles

Courses and outside activities

Embracing Change

The nature of learning

Finding the right training

Women-only programmes

Criteria for Success

How do we measure success?

Keeping the Balance

PART TWO: MANAGING FOR THE MILLENNIUM

The 21st-Century Manager: The Shape of Things to Come

Looking Forward

How could training and development for women managers be improved?

Do women need to compromise to succeed in a male-dominated corporate world?

A seat on the board?

And, finally …

Keep Reading

Appendix I: The Case Studies

Appendix II: The Scope of the Questionnaire

Further Reading

Useful Addresses

Index

Acknowledgements

About the Author

About the Publisher

INTRODUCTION

The role of women in the world of work, and the consequent impact it will have on corporate cultures, is at a crucial transitional point as we approach the Millennium. How organizations respond will determine to a large extent the future of business and the economic success of the nation.

The world of work is undergoing a significant transformation and is learning, through necessity, to manage that change. Organizations of all sizes are rethinking not only how they are structured but, above all, how they are run and what types of directing and managing styles are appropriate.

Growing recognition and acceptance that women bring different and unique talents to the workplace has resulted in women making remarkable headway in organizations during the latter years of this century. That awareness must now be taken a step further – by fully integrating men and women within corporate cultures – so that organizations may reap the benefit of the combination of both sexes’ abilities and qualities.

First, the statistics: all indicators point to significant changes in the future composition of the working population of the United Kingdom. Social Trends 27 – the 1997 edition of the annual survey of life in the UK published by the Office for National Statistics – reports that, by 2006, the number of full-time jobs is not expected to show any significant increase or decrease, but that the existing trend for more part-time and self-employed workers is likely to be reinforced.

It is anticipated that, by 2006, women will account for 46% of the entire workforce; and of the additional 1.4 million people expected in the workforce, 1 million will be women. The number of part-time workers is set to rise by 10% and those in self-employment by 25%. Traditionally, women are more likely to be in part-time work, but that trend, too, is changing. Between 1986 and 1996, the numbers of women in part-time work rose by 17% to 5.3 million, but the number of men doubled to 1.2 million. Social Trends 27 also reports that, in 1995, the UK had a higher proportion of people working from home than any other EU country, with 30% of males and 25% of females working at home for at least part of the year.

If these statistics are borne out, then the number of women within all spheres of the workplace will increase dramatically and the nature of organizations will undoubtedly change. As modern companies recognize the need to be people-oriented and family-friendly in order to move forward and succeed, they will need to build on the ‘feminine’ characteristics which complement the ‘masculine’ traits that have traditionally typified corporate cultures. The workplace would then not drive women away, but become much more attractive to them.

As society re-evaluates the way it conducts itself, and as businesses search for healthier ways of organizing themselves, the old ways are being called into question. Characteristics of traditional, male-dominated organizations – where women have been judged by masculine yardsticks – are no longer accepted as the norm. The competitive, controlling, hierarchical, dictatorial, critical approaches epitomized by the Army, the Church and the State, and practised by many business organizations, are being strongly challenged by supporters of the more intuitive feminine qualities of co-operation, facilitation, coaching and an ability to listen to and encourage other people.

Already, a great number of highly successful women have paved the way to a point where their influence is beginning to be felt and appreciated. Marjorie Scardino, Chairman of the Pearson Group, has become the first female chairman of a FT-SE 100 company. By example, such women have highlighted alternative approaches to the traditional managerial styles of the past, and are teaching organizations to react positively in their attitudes to employing women. In turn, organizations are accepting that women’s capabilities provide a useful, complementary and necessary foil to the skills and qualities of their male employees. This is why there is such a strong and determined move towards establishing equality of opportunity in the workplace.

In the aftermath of the publication of GCSE and A level results in 1994, there were several articles remarking on the fact that girls’ schools had ‘forged ahead’ in the league tables. In an article featured in The Times of 3 September 1994, a professor of education was quoted as saying ‘Ten years of equal opportunities has focused on raising the standards achieved by girls, and has proved brilliantly successful.’