Punishment..

While, thank all of your for the great comments.

Many of the best comments are those that force me to think about things. And lets face it, I don't have all  the answers. As an older woman I lived most of my life in a different age. It is the young women of today who are taking over. It is these women who ten or fifteen years from now will be running things.  From a societal  prospective these women will most likely be running their homes, their businesses, as well as their countries.

There are several really good questions for us to talk about. One of the most relevant questions came from Sara. In a world that is increasing female orientated what will be the role of men. Both my son-in law and my son work for large national companies. From both of them I hear much of the same refrain. They tell me that most of the promotions are going to the women. Yes, they say, men can be promoted, but in order to receive that promotion they must work harder and longer than the women. Wherever it is possible or convenient to promote a woman companies are doing so.

Earlier this year much of what we are talking about hit home for my son in law. With the idea of increasing sales the division of the company he works for was reorganized. A young woman was put in charge of the reformed division as his immediate supervisor. This would not have been an issue with him except for the fact that 'she' is newer with the company and appears to have less experience. 'Does it bother him', I asked Becky?

Becky's response was that he doesn't mind working for a woman, but he resents the fact that 'she' received the promotion. From what I gathered they were both contenders for the job. Becky tells me that 'she' has been with the company less times, and has less product knowledge. The feeling from Becky was along the lines that her looks may have had something to do with the promotion.
According to David 'she' was also very good at making friends with the higher ups. In Becky's opinion the promotion had more to do with political correctness than anything else. In today's world it is becoming politically correct to extend a hand to any female with some leadership potential.

Of the two of them Becky was more upset than David. Up to a point promoting woman is fine she told me. However, when a company uses a gender version of affirmative action as part of their personnel policy it affects everyone in some ways. Becky reminded me how I was able to take several years off from work when the children were young. 'Mom, you know, I can't do that' she told me. 'My salary is not extra, it is what we live on', was her quote. David does more than Daddy did, but it would be nice to spend more time with the children while they are young. She would like to be there when they get off from school, and be the one to make their afternoons snacks. And, back then you had grandma there to help you, she reminded me. Now we live in different cities and you can't be there for me in the same way grandma was there for you.

The last part of Becky's comment had a bit of a sting to it. In today's world we all live in different places. I love the children, I love to visit with them. The fact is that living in different cities makes it impossible to be the same type of grandmother as my mother was to the children. In today's world we go to where the jobs are. It is my concern that one day Becky may need to accept a job in a city even further away than Atlanta. And, yes there are times when I would like to be the traditional grandmother who would always be available when a need arises.

Going fast forward a few months David is learning to adjust. He tells Becky there is a different culture in the office. People are expected to be there on time, and are expected to get their work done.
There is less playing around. There are no longer the dirty jokes. And, the women are treated with  more respect. Likewise, the new female manager treats him with a certain respect he didn't always receive from the former boss. She listens to what he has to say, and gives him credit for his ideas. According to David she is more of a team leader, and has made David feel like he is an important member of the team. In trying to define her version of leadership he uses the word colligative a great deal.

Even though he was passed over for promotion he now understands the why of it. She may have had less product knowledge than the men, but she has a different way of working. She gets things done her way. Her way is more of a feminine way, but it gets results David says. And guess what, David tells me that even the men are happier under her leadership. If she allowed him he would love to be the guy who gets her coffee in the morning or picks up her lunch, but that is not what 'she' is about. 'She' expects results. In her office, David says, there is no room for partonomy.

At this moment I have no real answer for Sara's question. Yet, I believe a part of the answer is that the men will learn to adjust and to fit into a world that is increasing run by women. It may take a generation or so but it will happen. It is happening as we talk. The other part of the social equation is that it means new roles for women. We are all in a time of rapid change.

Love you for reading.


Kathy