Women, know your place

Today is International Women's Day. Now, I don't know much about it, but I'm hoping that it serves to raise awareness and make some positive changes in the lives of oppressed and abused women the world over.

(It's clearly a hot topic, because the official website isn't loading...)

Anyway, women's rights aren't what I intended to write about, but it is timely because I have been mulling over a subject for blogging for a couple of days, since receiving an interesting email...

One of my pet gripes is 'Women in Business'. No, no - not the women themselves. I'm trying to be one, after all. But the groups, forums, seminars, books, etc. that are abundant and supposedly cater for the 'special needs' of women who want to succeed in a man's world. I don't really understand what these groups, especially, are trying to achieve. Surely, by setting yourself apart as a woman (rather than a person) trying to achieve your goals and become successful, you are, by definition, alienating yourself to some extent. Of course, there is still inequality in pay and prospects between men and women, and so there needs to be some kind of lobbying/action group to address this issue. But shouldn't men and women be campaigning for this? I believe in equal rights for everybody, and any group promoting women above men is surely guilty of positive discrimination.

Now, I've worked for men and I've worked for women. Some were great to work for, some not so much. The difference had nothing to do with gender. It was that they were different people. The idea that a female boss is more supportive of her 'sister' subordinates is surely a fallacy. An ambitious woman can be far more cut-throat than any man, in my experience. You might say that a woman has to be twice as ruthless than a man to succeed. Perhaps that's true in some circumstances, but it's not the way I would want to live my life. Being part of a women's group that favours others of the same sex just feels a little hypocritical to me. My main issue is with networking groups. There's nothing wrong with a bit of 'you-scratch-my-back-and-I'll-scratch-yours', but to do that based on gender doesn't sit comfortably with me. Do it based on merit, on shared ideals, or on geography (support your local economy).

Having said all of that, I appreciate that I'm possibly (no, probably) quite naive. I'm not an ambitious go-getter. I've never hit a glass ceiling. I've never knowingly been the victim of discrimination in the workplace. I have been to a 'Women in Business' event. It was made up of a number of seminars - mostly interesting stuff: how to deal with conflict; how to have difficult conversations; how to be more assertive. You get the drift. All helpful and informative, but nothing that wouldn't be just as useful to a man. Not once, in any of the seminars, was anything female-specific mentioned. But there was one subject that I can't imagine making it into a 'Men in Business' event (would you even get such a thing without cries of "sexism"?). That one seminar was entitled 'Feng Shui Your Office'. Yes, interior design to positively enhance the energy flow in your workspace. Serious business women care about that stuff...

So, to the email I received which prompted this musing. Despite what I've said above, I have put a tentative toe in the waters of networking groups. It's something I feel I really must do if I'm serious about getting my own business off the ground. I'm terrified of networking - it goes against all my instincts to walk into a room full of strangers and tell them how great I am. But someone recommended The Athena Network to me as a friendly introduction to the business networking scene. I thought I'd have a look at their website, and I had to sign up to see any real information. I'm still not sure about it, and none of the events are particularly local, so I haven't done anything about it yet. However, I'm now on their mailing list, and emails come through every few days with details of upcoming events.

Last week, one such email appeared in my inbox. The subject line said, "New Community Event: Angels and Ascended Masters circle." I read that a couple of times, then thought I really needed to click on the link to see whether it was really what it sounded like. Yes it was. Angels (as in Guardian, or Michael) and Ascended Masters (Buddha). Now, each to their own. I have no issue with such things. I understand that people might be keen to "develop their 4 clairs" (clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience and claircognizance - but you knew that) and "work directly with the Angelic Realm and Ascended Masters". I don't believe a word of it, but I understand there are people who do. However, what does this have to do with business? What place does this have in an organisation that says it "offers inspiring opportunities to engage with business owners and decision makers from diverse industry sectors". It is surely this very thing that can undermine women in business. It is feng shui and angels and pink websites that can set women apart, and I'm having none of it.