Men might have greater sympathy for women`s problems in the workplace than you`d think. And as women go about chipping down the walls built by the Old Boy`s networks, there just might be some men willing to help.
At least, that`s the indication from a group of men-a health-insurance executive, a telecommunications salesman, a Lutheran minister and an early-childhood education expert-who offered their opinions of their female colleagues recently.
The west suburban Chicago chapter of the National Association of Women in Careers recently brought four men together for a forum in Schaumburg on the topic, ”What do men really think of women in the workplace?”
Some 60 women listened as the male panelists answered questions in a free-flowing, two-hour exchange. Here is a sampling of the questions and answers, along with the viewpoint of a management expert:
– What do men say to other men who are making sexist remarks?
Larry Hough, a vice president for administrative services at Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Illinois, said if an inappropriate comment is made in front of a large group, he will wait to reprimand the employee in private.
Hough, who is 51 and has been with the company 32 years, said he will take the employee aside and inform him such behavior is unacceptable. ”I tell them `Do you really realize what you just did? Someone is going to pick up on it and you will be labeled a chauvinist pig.”`
Mike Neville, 30, an account executive with Illinois Bell Communications, told the group that among members of his 10-person sales team ”everybody laughs (the harassing comments) off and the women feel free to come back and make a statement” to someone who is making sexist comments.
Neville said the sales group is split evenly between men and women and that their average age is 25. ”Nobody in the group was raised with a sexist attitude,” Neville said.
Management expert Margaret Neale said both men appear to have been
”sensitized to the issue” of sexism in the workplace despite their varying backgrounds.
”You have the younger man saying that nobody puts up with this anymore and that people are so incredulous they laugh it off to show it was completely unacceptable,” says Neale, who holds a distinguished professorship in organizational behavior at the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
She said Hough`s solution represents ”a much more subtle attempt to change” the behavior, perhaps indicating his environment is older and male-dominated.
– ”Why is it when a man makes a tough decision he`s considered aggressive but when a woman makes a tough decision she`s considered a bitch?” Hough responded, ”If I go to a meeting and make a point and they call me aggressive and you go in there and because you are female you`re called a
`bitch,` then you are playing the right game. It`s the first sign you are making progress.”
Richard Wilson, a childhood-education consultant, said that the ”use and connotation of the word (`bitch`) aggravates me. It establishes a pattern of behavior toward women that is inappropriate.”
Neale says some women have responded to the label as a badge of courage.
”Companies want aggressive, risk-seeking individuals who are willing to state their opinions and stand by them. Those are descriptions consistent with how we describe men.”
– ”What are the differences between working for a man and working for a woman?”
Michael Fish, pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Algonquin, Ill., said he was hired by a woman for his first teaching job. ”Women are more concerned with fairness than men. They are more positive, affirmative and nurturing,” he said.
Wilson said his first boss, who was a woman, was also a mentor. But he added that other females he had worked for ”showed favoritism” toward other women and that some of them ”automatically assumed that because I was big and strong” that he would also do heavy lifting chores around the school where he worked.
Hough said he ”learned more, was promoted more and received more credit for what I did from female bosses.”
Neale said research shows ”subordinates are more likely to be empowered by female bosses.”
Credit management
The Chicago Midwest Credit Management Association offers seminars and a resume-referral service to professionals in credit-management fields. Annual dues: $50 to $250, depending on position. Call Chuck Pugh, 708-696-3000.
Business consultants
The Institute of Certified Professional Business Consultants is open to experienced management and business consultants to the medical and dental professions who pass a certification exam. Annual dues: $130. 312-922-6222.
Investment analysts
The Investment Analysts Society of Chicago offers weekly lunch meetings, programs and a job-listing service to investment professionals. Dues: $175 to $250 a year, depending on certification. 312-922-6222.
Women in careers
The National Association of Women in Careers, a skills-building network for more than 500 members in the Chicago area, helps women identify, pursue and enhance their careers. Call 312-938-7662.
Worker`s bookshelf
”The 1992 What Color Is Your Parachute?,” by Richard Nelson Bolles (Ten Speed Press, $12.95); ”Giving Away Success,” by Susan Schenkel
(HarperPerennial, $10).
