Clean up on the Banking Aisle...

The "meek" may not be inheriting the earth, but it looks like we are inheriting the mess.

The Washington Post askedand answered the question that perhaps the financial world would be a better place if women were running things. At the very least, it suggested that enough women should be on boards to balance out the testosterone, as high risk taking is was got us into this mess. (seriously) It's an interesting article that's worth pondering.

Meanwhile, last week in downtown LA, I was privileged to address a newly formed group of Senior Executive women in commercial real estate. The members consisted of loan officers, lawyers, title companies... anyone tied to commercial properties. They wanted to know more about social media and being able to link and network their ideas and talents at a very high level.

This was the second meeting for this "invitation only" group. The presentation was on how to use Linked In for a net working tool, but the questions quickly centered on the communication issues between men and women.

Guys reading this post. If you have any insights into how you do networking differently than women, I'd be happy to let the ladies know.

Comments

[Christine Scaman]

Hi, Mary Clare,

What I think caused the problem is not so much men as the male model of business success. That world runs on one mantra : PUSH. If that doesn't work, what do you do? Push HARDER.
That's it. That's all they have. The system requires them to swagger and posture because that's how they assure themselves that they're busy, important, and successful.
Women don't fit in. We look around for something we can relate to and can't see it, but nobody wants to reinvent a system we all think is working (because look at the cars those guys are driving!). We just adapt the best we can and go home at the end of the day.
Some women (and men) are seeing that it really can be how you want it to be. You don't need to work 18 hours, have 2 pagers and a phone on your belt, that money can be soft-earned, and everybody even likes you better. But you have to be brave. You have to pull out completely and get off that wheel. Then you can step far enough away to see it for what it really is.
It seems to me that incorporating women into certain sectors of business can only be a good thing (and more realistic than segregating) because we bring a different mindset. In some businesses that are so male-traditional, like banking or farming, it's interesting that those businesses are in trouble and that women have the most trouble fitting in.