Gone are the days when women was considered to be confined just within the four walls of a house. Women today have reached the Top positions in various business segments holding CXO level positions. Below is a descriptive analytical article on the position of women in Business Today. The article is contributed by a friend who is herself a prospective food segment entrepreneur Ms. Khushboo Gupta. Khushboo blogs at KhushKhazana.com
Working women, ever wonder whether you're getting anywhere?
Consider an example: In 1973, Katharine Graham was the only female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Well-educated but with zero business training and precious little journalism experience, she became publisher of the Washington Post in 1963. Over the next three decades, she faced down politicians, personal threats and striking printers to lead the family-owned paper through some of its toughest times. Along the way, she grew the Post Co. into a billion dollar business.
We were so intrigued by Graham's personal story (she took over the paper when her husband committed suicide) that we had to include her in our new Women Rising infographic. It's a snapshot of women in the workforce today—including the progress they've made, the roadblocks they face, and a stirring roundup of all the "Monday motivation" you'll ever need.
What image comes to mind when you hear the phrase "business leader"?: Is it a white male in a suit? If so, it's no wonder. Our culture still tends to equate stereotypically "masculine" traits decisive, aggressive, closed with leadership qualities.
And we're surrounded by images that reinforce this association. (Try a Google image search on the term "business executive" or "business leader" and watch as a gallery of gray-suited men fills your screen.)
The conditioning starts early. As reported in the Guardian, the Geena Davis Institute analyzed all the G-rated films made between 2006 and 2009 and discovered that men were four times more likely than women to be portrayed as working professionals. Never mind reality: In those years at the movies, young audiences (and their families) saw no women in the fields of law, medicine, politics and executive leadership.
The world is hungry for a new style of leadership—one that's less Lehman Brothers and more "lean in," less adversarial and more adept at navigating a changing, interconnected future.
Thanks for this relevant guest blog Khushboo.
