Extract from Why Men Win At Work by Gill Whitty-Collins

why men win at work
see the evidence that proves that there is no competence or
intelligence gap between men and women. There is no logical
reason for one gender to have a disproportionate share of key
positions in business and society.
So why do men win at work and have most of the top jobs?
Once all the questions and doubts about the gender equality
cause have been addressed and everyone is fully on board, I will
go beyond the facts and figures and delve into the underlying,
unwitting and unconscious reasons that cause and perpetuate
gender inequality. This includes ‘The invisible power of culture
(and other forces)’, ‘The science bit’, ‘The confidence vs
competence equation’ and ‘Giving good meeting’.
It also includes ‘The umbrella theory’ where we will see
how too many women believe in the myth of meritocracy and
don’t understand the need to invest in networking and selfmarketing.
We will also discuss the impact of unpaid labour
(housework, childcare, etc) on women’s ability to do this on
top of a good job.
At this point, you may be asking yourself what about ‘The
women who win at work?’. Over 90% of the big jobs are held
by men, but not 100%. I will introduce you to some exceptional
women, the ‘Super 7%’, who have reached the highest levels in
business. We’ll explore their attitudes to work, men, family,
childcare, dress codes and more, so you can understand what
sets them apart.
When discussing gender inequality there is a lot of talk about
‘sisterhood’. It’s so important that women support each other
and that, when they succeed, they put the ladder down for
women to follow in their success. But there are not enough
examples of this happening – ‘Sisters are (not) doing it for
themselves’. I will discuss why this is and how we all can and
need to do more to remedy this.
Why can’t women look at why men win at work and
apply this to make them successful? In ‘The cruel bit’ we will
look at why this just doesn’t work and how there needs to be
another way.
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