Written by: Jo Oogarah, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I hear a lot of women’s stories in my line of work. Tales of feeling frustrated, not being able to progress in their careers, feelings of being thwarted, ignored or too frequently, bullied. And what’s the common denominator?
A lack of voice.
It comes up again and again.
Horrific tales of being shouted down in meetings, being told they’re too “gobby” when they do speak up or being locked out of the room altogether are unfortunately still common behaviours in our masculine built corporate workspaces. Even when parity and equality seemingly exist, at least on paper, the day to day reality is often much different for many women in their day to day dealings at the office.
When faced with these types of behaviours women who don’t feel comfortable confronting or challenging these displays of power often just learn to stay quiet. To sit back and accept that there’s no place for them to be heard and they continue to plough on, churning out excellent work, staying in their place and silently fuming at the injustice of it all.
So how have we got here?
The world of work has been built on masculine structures, with energy that strives to achieve, get results and with very little time for patience to listen to emotion. Traditionally built corporate entities have survived for years in this productivity-focused environment where its bottom line is about delivering the goods. End of.
So no wonder there’s less room for manoeuvre when it comes to debate, discussion and a collaborative approach. Doesn’t that just take up wasted air space? Much more efficient to cut through the fluff and make a clear decision and move on.
That’s the way things have been done in so many organisations for so long that this overly masculine approach has become the dominant one. When women were invited to join men in corporate pursuits around 60 or so years ago the expectation has been that they would just slot in, work out how to play the game and adapt themselves to fit into the world of work.
But that’s just not cutting it anymore. Post pandemic women have had an awakening. Many of them have reached breaking point and the world of work has been turned on its head. Women are starting to speak out and raise their voices. Enough is enough.
So in this woke era, what are women asking for?
Well, they don’t want equality anymore. They want equity. They want to be recognised for who they are, their styles, their preferences and their needs. They can see now that it’s not them who should be adapting their behaviours to marry men and women in the workplace together but rather the organisations who need to change and adapt. Those in the top positions (usually white middle-aged men) need to sit up and listen because women’s voices are getting louder, day by day.
And how are they doing it?
Women these days are seeing the power in the collective. They are forming strong, often all-female networks, where it feels safe to voice their concerns and gain the support they need. They are seeking out strategic alliances to build stronger relationships built on empathy and collaboration as a base to self promote and explore the remit of their skills. They are investing in coaching to help them seek out purpose in the work that they do and searching out organisations to work for that truly are making a difference to the world around them.
Unlike the Women’s lib movement in the late 60s, they’re not shouting to match men’s voices. They know now that doesn’t work. They’re changing things conversation by conversation, sharing ideas and knowledge, leading by example and rejecting (often politely) outdated practices.
And if none of those strategies works then they’re walking. Re-evaluating what they do want and leaving behind them talent gaps in organisations that didn’t know a good thing when they saw one.
And how do I know this?
Because these women are my clients. The women who approach me day in and day out, asking for more. Asking how they can make things better, taking that first step to raise their voice.
This is a quiet revolution. One where voices are starting out as whispers but as the voices grow so too will the sound and impact.
Women today want more. They don’t want it all. And this time they’re not willing to settle.
So listen up. If you head up an organisation and you have so far have paid lip service to those female voices around you, start to tune in because they have something to say, and if you don’t listen then somebody with more emotional intelligence and understanding of what’s truly valuable will.
And if you’re a woman feeling like a lone voice or feeling unheard, there are tools you can employ to elevate your voice and which allow you to feel more comfortable speaking out one to one, in meetings and on centre stage. I’ll be speaking more about these and looking at just what can be done to raise your voice and in the process make more of an impact in your career in my free webinar on Thursday 3rd March at 1 pm.
Jo Oogarah, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jo Oogarah is a specialist women’s Career Empowerment Coach and has been a qualified career coach for the last 16 years, after making a significant career change as a lawyer. Since experiencing first hand the masculine dominated landscapes of law, the challenges of working motherhood and supporting many women in her own practice, she now focuses on developing Feminine Leadership tools in the corporate space to enable women to find their authentic voices and grow in confidence to effect the changes they want to see. She is passionate about keeping women supported and thriving in their chosen careers to enable talented professional women flourish and develop their full potential through the work that they do.
