Women Leaders. CI Business Brief Book Review Column

The inauguration of Joe Biden will be memorable for numerous reasons. The National Guard troops sleeping in the corridors of the Capitol building.  The Field of Flags mournfully taking the place of the crowd that in pre-Covid times would have filled the National Mall.  The embittered, forthright speech given by the outgoing 45^th president to a sparse crowd at Andrews airbase.  Less dramatic but potentially most important were the shades of purple worn by many of the women standing on the inaugural platform.  Seen by some as a nod towards a desired consensus between the blue of the Democrats and the red of the Republicans, purple was also a colour adopted by the Suffragettes at the turn of the last century.  The swearing in of Kamala Harris as the first female, and the first black and Asian American, vice-president bought the 125-year struggle for ‘deeds not words’ closer.

There is still far to go before we reach true equality of representation, though.  Most of the people on the inaugural platform were men.  How do we get more women on the platform?  With that question in mind I asked Jersey’s Women in Tech network which books had influenced their work and careers.  One title received overwhelming recommendations, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg.  Expanding the observations put forward by the Facebook COO in her seminal 2010 Ted Talk Lean In explores the factors that keep women from progressing to the tops of companies.  Sandberg urges women to examine how work is balanced in their homes, to avoid psychologically ‘leaving’ the workplace before starting families and to ensure they always ‘sit at the table’.  Dawn Foster’s Lean Out provides an interesting riposte to Sandberg’s arguments, suggesting that they encourage women to adapt to suit the prevailing patriarchal corporate power structures.  Whilst they come from different perspectives both books ask important questions of modern workplaces.

One core issue that seems undeniable, though, is the question of confidence.  A number of research reports over the past ten years have suggested that women are far less likely to apply for a job if they don’t feel they meet the job specification compared to men.  In terms of organisational performance this may not be a bad thing and potentially explains why the Peter Principle is named after a man.  But, as Sandberg suggests, a deficit of confidence is keeping some women from asserting the place they merit at the top table.  Katty Kay and Claire Shipman explore this in more detail in The Confidence Code, while The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane uses stories, science and practical tools to unpack how charisma and confidence work.  

Aside from understanding corporate power structures and the psychology influences the ways in which we work, it is also often helpful to look to those who have blazed a trail before us.  Michelle Mone’s My Fight to the Top, Deborah Meaden’s Common Sense Rules and Jo Malone’s My Story all offer useful insights from UK entrepreneurs who have led their companies to great success.  Business As Unusual by The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick gives an engaging account of the creation and rise of an early social enterprise, while Emily Chang’s interviews with Silicon Valley insiders in Brotopia gives a more contemporary look at the challenges faced by women working in America’s tech’ industry.  

One final memory will stay with me from inauguration day; Amanda Gorman, the Youth Poet Laureate, reading her poem The Hill We Climb.  Delivered with quiet poise and confidence, Gorman’s words echoed those delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s in his famous ‘all we need fear is fear itself’ speech given 87 years ago.  Gorman’s poem delivered the hope, honesty and vision we should expect from all our leaders and gave a hint that we may be moving towards a more purple future;

“For there is always light,

If only we’re brave enough to see it.

If only we’re brave enough to be it.”