A Call to Leadership - Transforming Your STEM Career Through Leadership and Innovation - page 6

According to the article, the following quote by Ms. Rometty is taken from
a Fortune magazine conference on women and careers:
Early in my career, I can remember being offered a big job. I right away said, “You know
what? I'm not ready for this job. I need more time, I need more experience and then I could
really do it well.” And so I said to him, “I need to go home and think about it.” … And my
husband at the time, as usual, I'm blah-blah-blahing, and he's just sitting there. And as I'm
telling him about this, I told him I would get back to them tomorrow. And he said to me, he
looked at me, and he just looked at me and he said, “Do you think a man would have ever
answered that question that way?” And I sort of sat there - and it taught me a lesson [8] .
This was indeed an opportunity for a powerful lesson and Ms Rometty
learned it well. Mr Rometty's question, “… do you think a man would ever
answer the question that way?” highlights an important difference between men
and women; while we are in no way trying to “be” men, we can learn a lot from
how they approach many situations. This is one of those situations. In other
words, be eager to accept new opportunities and, if a leadership position has
been presented to you, strongly consider the reasons that you can do the job and
do it well, rather than immediately questioning your ability.
As the CEO of IBM, Virginia Rometty has broken a major glass ceiling in
this outstanding leadership role. Unfortunately, she seems to be a rare case, as
we don't see many female leaders like her in the highest levels of the largest
corporations. Various CEOs have voiced their thoughts and concerns on the
struggles women face to get to the top and the ensuing fight to stay on top.
Dr Glenda Stone, CEO of Aurora says,
There is still a lack of critical mass regarding women leaders at the top of corporations,
so to get there, women need to be highly visible and quite persuasive about their ability.
The collaborative leadership style of women leaders is valuable for retaining employees
and widely considering issues and business decisions so the best economic results can
be obtained [9] .
Similarly, Herb Greenberg, CEO of Caliper, says,
Women in senior positions have usually been very determined about getting where they
are. Their persuasiveness, flexibility and assertiveness enable them to listen, learn, reflect,
and then implement a plan that incorporates the best of everyone's ideas. This approach
ideally positions them for great leadership in today's business environment [10] .
It is highly reassuring to know that the struggles women face on a day-to-day
basis are noticed and acknowledged. Our efforts are not going to waste. How-
ever, considering that the corporate world is becoming increasingly competitive,
companies need to use the best management talent available not only to stay
ahead but for basic survival. Unfortunately, the “glass ceiling” precludes the uti-
lization of a large and highly talented pool of management expertise. The glass
ceiling does exist, and, even though cracks have begun to appear in it, it is a
reality in the lives of many female corporate leaders. Women must be allowed to