Women are the new men
July 12, 2007 | By Rebecca Thorman |This post was also published at Damsels in Success.
I know a lot of awesome Gen X and Gen Y women. In fact, the city of Madison, WI ranks in the top ten of both female creative class, and female super-creative class percentages in the nation (Charlottesville, VA and Bakersville, CA, rank first).Generation Y women, Hannah Seligson argues, are “making one of the fastest and unprecedented career ladder ascents in history.” Here are some observations about one of the most powerful groups of women in history:
Women are more business-minded than men… Springboard Enterprises reports that “women in the United States have an ownership stake of 50 percent or more in nearly half of all privately held businesses.” In fact, women are starting businesses at a rate of twice that of men, attracted to the flexible lifestyle of being your own boss.
And we’re successful at it. The gross sales of women-led companies grew 39 percent compared to 34 percent for all firms. Barron’s predicts that by 2010 a woman has a one in seven chance of having a powerful job post. In Australia, studies show that “women-led companies on average outperform those where there is no female leadership at the top,” while “law firms with more female partners have a higher per partner income than those with fewer.”
… but women don’t always want a man, or children. While men in leadership positions often have a family to support them, Gen X and Gen Y women put careers ahead of settling down. While this can be a lonely proposition, many Gen X and Gen Y women are not in a huge rush to find a man, get married and start popping out children.
In relationships, the men increasingly stay at home or hold a less stressful position. If we’re even in a relationship. Many of us are doing just fine without a man as a result of our highly independent lifestyle.
A lot of us aren’t even sure we want to have kids. And if we do, we want to adopt (anything to avoid having a foreign object pop out of our fitness-club bodies). The vast majority of women that do plan on having kids also plan on staying in the workforce.
Women are natural leaders. The millennial woman brand of leadership is more about changing the world than our own egos. Moreover, we’re change makers willing to defy the traditional structures of “command and control” leadership for a more collaborative and inclusive model.
Anna Quindlen writes, “by its very nature women’s leadership is about redefinition, while men’s leadership has been about maintaining the status quo… You’re less wedded to the shape of the table if you haven’t been permitted to sit at it.”
I’m not surprised to learn that women and men are switching roles. I see examples all around me of women embracing the power of now to lead the next generation. The more young women that get others to not only look past their age, but also any perceived inequities, the better off our world will be.
One last note. Over in the UK, academics have dubbed young women leaders as “’the Monstrous Army on the March’, women who cannot, will not be stopped.”
Well then. March on ladies.
Rebecca,
I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way, but why should this be newsworthy? Sure the media needs something to write about but weren’t the ultimate goals of the women’s rights movement equality and easily interchanging rolls?
I think the real question should be why are men so much more likely to fall at the ends of work/success spectrum (either uber successful leaders or unsuccessful and under-educated) while women are more likely to dominate the middle to upper-middle levels (i.e. typical corporate jobs, vp, family breadwinner, nine-to-fiver). Is it a matter of psychology, expected social norms, school structure, genetic predisposition, or what?
-Brad
Comment by Brad Maier — July 12, 2007 #
Brad,
Thank you for your comments, I appreciate a differing perspective. I think this post is absolutely newsworthy- we need to celebrate the successes of moving forward.
Is it your experience that men fall at either ends of the success continuum? I think that is true to some extent. But I looked for some information briefly and don’t know why that is.. My initial guess would be it’s a matter of how boys have been raised compared to girls. If you find anything, I’d be happy to post it.
Others? What do you think?
Comment by Rebecca Thorman — July 13, 2007 #
[…] My “Women are the new men” post just got published on Damsels in Success. I’ve joined Damsels in Success as one of their fifty Forum women and will be writing a monthly post for their site. A big thank you to Damsel’s founder, Harleen Kahlon, for this wonderful opportunity. […]
Pingback by Modite - Engagement for the next generation — August 1, 2007 #
[…] As a result, our roles are changing. Women are becoming the leaders, and men the supporters. Even in relationships where children are the priority, and the woman chooses or is able to stay at home, women take on the dominant role, commanding a deeper respect than any time in history. […]
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The servant knows the master better than the master knows the servant. The servant listens to what the master says and sees what the master does; hypocrisy is the revealer of our weaknesses. Today’s TV and your examples are an expression of women’s egos as it inflates like a balloon. As more men learn to listen to what women say and watch what women do, they are gaining power. A power they had lost to they own egos many years ago. Yes, women are the new men; god help them!
Comment by Dabid — March 29, 2009 #
I do believe women are going to have to step up and take charge of their relationships, families and lives weather they want to or not. The notion that a woman can rely on a man to support her and her family needs to be eliminated. The fact is women are forced more than ever to take charge of their families because their husband walks out on them or he lacks the education, job skills, or ambition that you have, to support your family. The number of single mother households is the highest it’s ever been, and this is forcing women to rely on themselves more than ever. With women better educated than most men, I believe women will in a way be forced to take over, weather they really want to or not.
Comment by Robin — May 9, 2009 #
[…] is your name. However much of it you want to use or keep or change. There’s nothing to fear in embracing it. Now, or […]
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