A little over 25 years ago, my mentor who was a decade older than
me, philosophized that with every passing decade, things would get
easier for women in the future within the business marketplace. The
challenges I faced climbing the proverbial corporate ladder were nothing
compared to the obstacles she had faced. Although I remember thinking
that regardless of the "degree of hardship" that women over the years
faced, hardship is still hardship. Less pain, still implies pain.
Fast forward to 2015, getting ahead in the corporate environment is
still challenging for women (albeit maybe less so than 25 years ago).
However, we now see more and more women as entrepreneurs, mompreneurs
and at the helm of small businesses that they had a hand in starting or
growing.
Women have finally come into their own. They now respect
the fact that they can't do everything, for everyone, perfectly, all
the time. With that, women have come to the understanding that it's okay
to set their own rules and pace, in accordance with the way they run
their lives and still be successful in business.
Women networking is a must in today's market landscape.
I believe wholeheartedly that most women in business today applaud one
another’s efforts. Kudos to them! Gone are the cut-throat, competitive,
isolation-style tactics that existed between women in business in the
70's and 80's. Despite the genuine lack of support that existed among
women in those decades, women in business today are achieving greater
independence as a result. I for one, recognize the sacrifices that those
women had to make.
However, applauding one another simply isn’t
enough – although it sure does feel good. It’s high time that women
networking catch up and reap the benefits that male-dominated networking
has enjoyed for eons. Women in influential or "decision making"
positions need to open the door for other women. Make no mistake about
my intent. I am not saying that women networking with other women should
be anything more than a connection or a meeting for the potential of
developing a business relationship. All women need to do for other women
that they are acquainted with, is to open the door. The rest is up to
the professionalism of the woman who will be walking through that door
to ask for the business and turn that connection into an opportunity.
Men do it all the time. It's time women do as well.
What have you done for a woman business colleague lately?
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