Bridget had some great comments on the May 9 post re: entrepreneurial moms on the cover of Costco (yes, Costco) magazine. While the brilliant Hot Momma Bridget is editing her comment, I thought I’d post the essence of it below:
Bridget said…
“OK here’s my take:Sure the entrepreneurial moms thing is cool. These moms are saying, OK I’m not just going to stay home and twiddle my thumbs. I’m going to use may brain, do something creative, and heck, make some money.But I also have a problem with it. Why are these moms at home in the first place? I saw the late Betty Friedan give a speech a few years ago about why we, despite making strides in the workplace, haven’t really achieved feminism yet. The main reason: Women still are expected to be in charge of kids and home. As long as that’s the case (and men don’t equally share that responsibility/expectation) the sexes will NOT be equal, said Friedan.In a nutshell, as long as there are aren’t babychanging stations in men’s bathrooms, there is not equality.I agree.What I want to see on Costco’s cover is a woman CEO of a Fortune 500, suit on, arms crossed (but with confident femininity, NOT a motorbike chick), who’s started an on-site cost-sharing daycare program for all employees in all company locations. That sort of program gives both parents easy and equal access to the kids as well as the boardroom.OK, rant over 😉 “
Bridget has some great, thought-provoking ideas. Bridget, I consider this view a constructive suggestion and vision for the future. I always think it’s great when – no matter where you sit – you’re rooting, cheering, and being part of the solution with suggestions and not just kvetching. Interestingly (always deciding if I think ‘sadly’), there are about 2% of women holding a CEO postion at Fortune 500 companies. This was mentioned by Tenley Carp, a prominent DC lawyer and entrepreneur, the other night at a Women’s Campaign Forum event at her house. You can go up and down the line of ikky percentages..board seats, corporate officers in general, top earners, etc. The numbers ain’t great. So – I get into this dilemma again. It’s sort of like, “Do we care?” I think there are a couple of, or more even, populations surfacing and we hear from them in varying degrees through the media at different points in time. Maybe some Hot Mommas out there have a foot in both camps.
Population 1: “It’s a man’s world, and we need to crash the locker room and rise to power in order to have influence.” This means CEO/corporate positions. It means representation in politics (which, to be honest is a bit different than corporate America because we live in a democratic society). Did Meg Whitman of Ebay have aspirations along these lines as she moved up the chain? A great follow-up question to post. My guess would be that she just naturally kicks major butt, she was doing stuff she loved, and she moved on up. However, she does represent doing it all, big corporate muckity muck, and actually seeming like a cool “normal” person at the same time. I view her as a great representative of Population #1.
Population 2: “You know what? I’m making my own rules.” We all know the stories of folks in corporations who got tired of someone else’s rules. Bad strategy = staying and complaining. Good strategy = staying and doing something about it (see our pending Hot Mommas Project case study: “Melinda.” Click here and tell us if you want an email alert when this case is ready.) Alterative strategy = leave. Or don’t engage, period. A great example of this is Doris Christopher, Founder of The Pampered Chef. Me, I’m far from a domestic goddess but holy moly….Anyone can appreciate a woman who started out of her basement selling a few kitchen gadgets and teaching folks how to cook. She sold the company to Warren Buffet for about $1 BILLION. That’s right $1,000,000,000. No Dr. Evil pinky up to the corner of your mouth there, huh? So, don’t you think the corporate muckity mucks were lining up at her door for partnerships, a piece of the midas touch, etc.? This is turning the model of Population #1 on its head. Margaret Heffernan, a person the Hot Mommas Project likes, talked about this at the George Washington University last month. Her great book, How She Does It focuses on women who achieved success…their way.
Of course, not everyone can be Doris Christopher. And, some of us are in circumstances where going it on your own is not an option. However, we at The Hot Mommas Project are big proponents of DEVELOPING A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. One of our Hot Mommas Project Toolkit betas deals with this, and, I honestly believe it’s the way to stay in Population #1 (crash the locker room), but make your own rules within that context. Hot Momma Melinda built the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum for the Smithsonian. And she did it 4 days a week from 8.30am to 4.30pm. How? Because she’s good. Because there was no one else who could do what she did. Melinda had a competitive advantage.
A competitive advantage will also serve you in Population #2 (making your own rules a la own biz), and probably be the driving force that allows you to even dip your toe into the pool of this entrepreneurial population. If you don’t have a competitive advantage, you might be heading down the yellow brick road to the big castle of failure. Why would someone use your company/services/product if you’re just like everyone else?
So, the big losers here – for both populations – are the folks who are just like everyone else, and really have no desire to be anything different. The winners in both circles are folks who are different and better and can prove it. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE LADIES…get one, build one, find one, or wish for one because as far as this Hot Momma can see…there is no other way to success. (Click here to email us you want an update when Competitive Advantage Toolkit Beta is released. See http://www.hotmommas.org/ for available toolkit betas.)
OTHER FUN STUFF AND STATS:
– Fortune reported in 2006 that the number of women CEOs was up to 10 from 9 in 2005. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/womenceos/
This is a cool link because you can click on the profiles of the CEOs.
– Catalyst, falling into the “We Like Them” list (veterans in the Womens Leadership circles) has done significant research on this topic and it’s built into their mission. http://www.catalyst.org/pressroom/press_releases/2-10-05%20Catalyst%20Female%20CEOs%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
– The Women’s Campaign Forum. Non partisan organization supporting women getting into politics: http://www.wcfonline.org/
THE TO DO LIST (Hot Mommas Project Team – this means you Julie! …Let’s give a little shout out to my right hand lady Julie Boyle):
Follow up with Meg Whitman from eBay. What was on her mind as she ascended the corporate ladder? Playing her own game, playing someone else’s, or a combination of both?