A Myth in a Myth in a Myth...

In "The Myth of Male Decline", there is a discussion about how males are feeling a little.. well, down-trodden. Maybe a little like second class citizens. Women have been making gains in wages, education, leadership positions. However, it's really a relative game, isn't it?

Women may have been making gains in wages, but its because we have a lot more to make up for-- a lot more opportunity to "make up ground". But why does this matter? I mean, in this brave new world of voice-activated phones and vacuum cleaners that clean by themselves, do we really still need to be harping on and on about the rights of women and how we're really "fighting for our rights"? Are the blogs and articles covering the "progress" of women still needed-- this new-age form of bra-burning?

The short answer is yes.

When Marissa Mayer of Yahoo gets public uproar and an internet-wide controversy for deciding to  continue working throughout her pregnancy, there is still a worthwhile reason to keep the conversation going.

As a person who's currently going to a business school with an overwhelming majority of men, after being a consultant (another male-dominated society), sometimes its a little disheartening. If you're too aggressive, trying to compete in an atmosphere that's mostly men being ultra-competitive and aggressive, then sometimes you're just seen as "mean", "unproductive", "uncooperative", "not a team player". If you're more friendly, trying to make sure that you still retain a bit of yourself in the hurricane of what you're "supposed to be", you're seen as "weak", people take advantage of you, question your ability to lead. In the middle of all of this, everyone keeps telling you to "be yourself", "stay true to what you believe". Well, it's hard!

Especially during this recruiting season, when you're doing so much questioning about who you are, and what you potentially want to do for the next large chunk of your life this strange balance of character traits can begin to weigh on you. Despite what they say, I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed in the lies of the companies that are most interested in us-- potentially, the incoming ranks of their company. All companies say that they want you to be yourself. But some industries, some firms are definitely looking for a specific type of person-- they call it "cultural fit". I understand that, coming from consulting, where the fit is the difference between a successful project or a failure. But where is this line drawn?

Be yourself, but have the following characteristics. Everyone goes through it, but for women the added layer of "how to be a successful business woman", it gets a little more complicated. It's usually easier to make decisions when you can look at how it's been done in the past. With women, we don't have a lot of options to do that. Until we have more examples, more representations, it's worthwhile for us to keep the conversation going.