Research shows women have a series of natural advantages over their male counterparts they can leverage to give them a boost up the corporate ladder.
"For a long time, women felt and were told: 'To be successful, you need to act like men in the workplace,' and at one point we even tried to dress like men with padded shoulders, dark suits and briefcases," said Catherine Kaputa, founder and president of SelfBrand and author of The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business.
"That's a mistake because you should build your career identity based on something authentic. Part of our identity is our gender, and that's an advantage."
In fact, women quickly realized that "acting like a man" generally backfires because behaviors that are considered leadership qualities in men - such as assertiveness and aggressiveness - are often viewed negatively when displayed by women.
Kaputa outlined several traits the typical woman possesses that can help her stand out among her competitors:
"For a long time, women felt and were told: 'To be successful, you need to act like men in the workplace,' and at one point we even tried to dress like men with padded shoulders, dark suits and briefcases," said Catherine Kaputa, founder and president of SelfBrand and author of The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business.
"That's a mistake because you should build your career identity based on something authentic. Part of our identity is our gender, and that's an advantage."
In fact, women quickly realized that "acting like a man" generally backfires because behaviors that are considered leadership qualities in men - such as assertiveness and aggressiveness - are often viewed negatively when displayed by women.
Kaputa outlined several traits the typical woman possesses that can help her stand out among her competitors:
- Strong social perception skills.
"Women are very good at picking up subtle emotions that men have difficulty reading," Kaputa said.
This empathy - as she describes it - can be a tangible advantage when leveraged in the workplace.
"Having empathy is a good tool for managing employees, understanding what client needs are, [carefully navigating] office politics, making personnel decisions and taking a more personal approach to assessing a situation," she said. - Strong verbal and communication skills.
Research has shown that girls as young as two years old have a larger vocabulary and started speaking earlier than their twin brothers. Even in grade school, girls tend to outshine boys when it comes to speaking, reading, writing and listening skills - and strength continues through their adult lives, Kaputa said.
"In the business world, possessing verbal and written communication is a very important thing - being able to communicate ideas, participate in meetings, write reports, etc.," she said. - Strong people power.
"Women are good at building strong relationships; connecting with and nurturing other people; and in business, they build strong and supportive work relationships, networks and teams," Kaputa said. - Collaborative team-oriented leadership style.
A hierarchical business model existed several decades ago - and even though it exists to some extent today, the global nature of business raises the need to create ad hoc teams that don't necessarily report to a single source, Kaputa explained.
"This kind of collaborative, team-oriented [atmosphere] empowers people rather than seeks to have power over them and is associated with the female leadership style," she said. - More "Appearance Tools".
"A big part of success is looking the part - and women have more appearance tools at their disposal," Kaputa said. "Compared to men, who kind of wear a uniform to work, women have more visual identity tools - hairstyle, makeup, clothing, color, accessories - and they can create an image that, from a branding perspective, that can make them stand out."