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the members of my professional “sister circle.” This Sister Circle is comprised
of like-minded women or as one sister calls us “Diverse women.” We're diverse
in that we focus on multiple factors including careers, family, being there for
each other, and supporting other women professionally.
I followed the career of the new CEO and as her difficulties became pub-
lic I happened to be at a technical conference in my home town, Orlando,
Florida. As I entered the lunch event, I hurried to the first available seat that
was nearest to the door to get back to my office and get some work done after
participating in the meeting. I quickly introduced myself to my luncheon com-
panions and learned one of them was from HP, and she was a woman! I was
sure we'd have a great conversation about how exciting it was that she had a
powerful, female CEO in this major technical company. I wondered how it had
changed things, if the level of innovation was thriving even more, and how it
was impacting the corporate culture. Well, the slice of “corporate culture” that
I interacted with was woefully disappointing as this HP employee began to
openly describe her dissatisfaction with her new CEO; she went on to say how
bad “Carly” was as a CEO. I was feeling uncomfortable and almost taking it
personally as this HP employee freely lamented about the failings of her new
CEO. It is a major mistake to talk like this in public with people you really
don't know - not only was it her company and the leadership, but she was talk-
ing about the first female CEO of HP! I was trying to respond to everything
she said with a deflecting positive comment while making overt efforts to
redirect the conversation; however, she continued. My discomfort, irritation,
and surprise continued as she persisted in sharing her thoughts of the dismal
job Carly was doing - not only was she saying this to me but there was a
table
full of men
! I was thinking to myself, “Doesn't she know
we're
not supposed
to do this?” “Does she realize what she's doing to herself? To other women?
To Carly?” Didn't she read Gail Evans' topics?!! I wanted to reach across the
table and grab her by the shoulder and then shake her and yell “No matter how
bad Carly is -
we
don't talk about her in front of these men!!” That was my
“authentic self” of course, but my social self maintained my composure and
fortunately we were able to strike up another topic among this lunch crowd
and finally move on to another subject.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Referring back to the story of my experience with my luncheon companion who
“ran down” Carly Fiorina, my disappointment that this woman didn't seem to real-
ize that what she was doing was “bad” for all women. Research has revealed a per-
sistent stereotyping of women that negatively impacts perceptions of leadership
and access to opportunities. These stereotypic beliefs spill over from the popular
press, entertaining reality shows, and personal experiences to create perceptions
of women as leaders in the workplace. The perceptions pose an invisible and
powerful threat to women leaders. Gender stereotypes portray women as lacking
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