A female mentor
once told me
how HER female mentor
would act like a man
to try to fit into
the then very male world
of business.
It didn’t really work
because she WASN’T a man
and all of the men
she interacted with
knew that.
If they had issues with
her being a woman
(and many of them did),
acting like a man
didn’t convince them
to give her a chance.
So my female mentor
took another approach.
She sold being a woman
as an asset.
She brought forward different views.
She gave unique solutions
to classic problems.
Of course,
she tried to fit in
while being a woman.
If everyone played golf
on Fridays,
she played golf
on Fridays also.
But she was a woman
playing golf,
not a woman
pretending to be a man.
Sabrina Parsons,
CEO of
Palo Alto Software,
shares
“Women shouldn’t feel
the need to apologize
for who they are
and the skills
they bring to the table
…Confidence
and embracing being women,
rather than apologizing
for being women
is what will help women
rise to the next level
and climb the corporate ladder.”
Embrace being a woman
(if you are one
– I know we have some male readers).
Present it as an asset.
Because it IS an asset.
Over half of the population
is female.
That’s a huge market
to tap.