Up, Up, and Away! – easy ways for women to improve their career mobility.

  I hate to be the one to have to tell you this, but you need to know:  Gender-bias is still alive and well and flourishing in Corporate America.  Women only earn about 72% of what men earn for the same roles.  Only 2% of Fortune 500 companies are run by women, and we only hold 8% of the corporate leadership positions.  What can we do about it?  For starters, we can stop acting like girls and start acting like women.  Stereotypical behavior that we learned as children works against us once we reach the office.  In many different ways, women inadvertently sabotage their own efforts to move up the corporate ladder.  What follow are some ways that Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D., and author of Nice Girls don’t get the Corner Office says we can do to improve how we sound at work.

• Use your full name, not just your first name or a nickname.  Listen to how the men around you answer their phones.  You very seldom hear them saying things like “Good morning, this is Danny.”  They are more likely to answer the phone saying “Dan Thomas” or something similar.  Try using your full name when you answer the phone or when you are introduced to someone.  If you are known by the nickname Beth, consider referring to yourself as Elizabeth instead.  A formal name helps you to be taken more seriously.
• Instead of asking permission, make a statement.  Women have a tendency to ask if they can do something instead of just letting people know that they are doing it.  For example, instead of asking for next Tuesday off, try saying “I’m taking next Tuesday as a vacation day.   Let me know if there are any scheduling conflicts.”  When you ask for permission to do things that you already have the right to do, you diminish yourself.  Children ask for permission; women don’t need to.
• Don’t apologize for small stuff.  You might think that apologizing for small errors shows your committment to high quality and your attention to detail.  But in reality, you can cause others to have less confidence in your abilities to do a job.  Lots of small errors don’t need to be discussed at all.  But if you’ve made a mistake that requires discussion (such as spending too much money on food for a sales luncheon that you organized) you can acknowledge the error without saying “I’m sorry.”  Instead, try saying “That lunch went over budget.  Next time I plan on using a different vendor.” 
• Don’t talk too fast.  Let’s face it: we get interrupted when we are talking.  I recently attempted to participate in a meeting where one of my male counterparts interrupted me every single time I tried to talk.  Women frequently speed up their cadence in hopes of completing a full thought without interruption.  But talking too fast can give the impression that your words are not valuable.  Take the necessary time to say what you want to say.  Joining Toastmasters www.toastmasters.org can help you develp an appropriate speaking voice if speed or volume is a problem for you. 

     What did I do about the man who interrupted me at the meeting?  I (more or less) calmly confronted him afterwards.  Not only has he not interrupted me since then, but he has also made some recommendations that I be considered for a corporate role higher than the one I currently have.  I’ve earned his respect.

     The business world is tough.  You have to be confident and competent.  Try following these tips and see where they take you.