sphinxx blog

I don’t know about you, but if some goal-setting guru tells me one more time to stretch myself just a little bit more, I think I might just snap! We live in a world which is constantly raising the bar on our measure of success so that only the most audacious and ambitious goals are now considered worthy of pursuit.

We’re encouraged to network at ballroom breakfasts filled with hundreds of women who won’t even ask who we are and what we do. At the same time we work longer hours back in the office late at night, chasing stretch targets with fewer resources. Our houses and cars have never been bigger – and neither have our mortgages. And our self esteem has never been lower. Is there any link here?

Well sphinxx is speaking out! We think that little is the new big – and as a community – it’s time we celebrated the little things in life that are important to us. Like the little win that comes with freely speaking our minds. Like networking events with 20 participants instead of 200. And like supporting other each other in the challenges we face.

If you feel the same way you’ll love our new membership program which I’ll be launching on International Women’s Day. And to thank you for your support I’m giving you the early scoop now.

I’m sure you’ll agree – that within our little community of women leaders we’re achieving some pretty amazing things.

I’m in the throes of research for a new keynote I’m delivering to women leaders around Australia in the coming months. As you might imagine, academics and commentators around the world have tackled the issue of female representation in the workplace and specifically in leadership ranks. Which would be good news for us, if it was resulting in more women at the top.

But according to EOWA Director, Anna McPhee, and the EOWA Gender Income Distribution study, the increase in women leaders across our top companies is “glacial”. It makes you wonder: with all this focus by companies on diversity strategies and affirmative action, why aren’t there more women executives and board members?

An interesting theory I’ve uncovered in my research goes some way to explaining the great divide between men and women in the workplace. The research-based theory was developed by Dr Catherine Hakim – a Senior Research Fellow in the London School of Economics – to explain and predict women’s choices between the competing demands of work and family and it introduces some interesting – if controversial – thinking.

Termed ‘preference theory*’, Hakim’s approach examined the evidence of working patterns adopted by women today and, most significantly, looked behind the snapshot of employment figures to find out why these working patterns remain so different from those practiced by men. From an exhaustive analysis of the available research evidence on women’s work histories and life goals from the 1970s onwards, Hakim concluded that, contrary to feminist assumptions, women do not operate as a homogenous group, held back by sex discrimination from pursuing their ambitions.

Rather, Hakim reports that analysis of women’s preferences shows that women fall into three categories:
• ‘work-centred’ women, giving highest priority to their careers (15 to 20% of the population);
• ‘family-centred’ women, whose lives are devoted to home and family (also 15 to 20% of the population);
• ‘adaptive’ women, whose lives encompass both work and family (60 to 70% of the population).

This largest group, the ‘adaptive’ women tend to express their life-choice by working reduced hours at certain stages of their lives, and/or combining part-time work with child care, or taking career breaks in their children’s early years.

Hakim’s research indicates that the gender mix in the workplace may well be perfectly normal and explainable after all and, indeed, what women want. If this resonates with you – or not – please reply! Do you think female representation in the workplace in fact reflects our preferences, or are we influenced more by external factors?

Jen Dalitz, sheEO

* C Hakim, Work-Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century – Preference Theory, Oxford University Press, 2000.

I was at the Thoughtleaders summer conference on Friday to hear Janine Allis speak about the Boost Juice success story. You’ve probably heard about Janine or if you are lucky, perhaps your paths have crossed already.

Janine Allis personifies sphinxx: she is unashamedly feminine; and what an amazing role model and leader. After what can only be described as a diverse and colorful career history, Janine saw a gap in the market and went for it. Founding Boost Juice Bars in 2000 – and averaging a growth platform of 28 new stores a year – Janine confidently oversees more than 200 retail stores in the Boost chain. Yet she has retained an earthy, matter of fact and almost humble persona which was evident as she generously shared her entrepreneurial advice with the audience.

Hearing Janine describe the development and growth of her business empire, the “courses” she took along the way (her words for describing the mistakes she made and lessons she learned from them) and her approach for building a corporate culture that has people knocking on her door for jobs, I was suitably impressed. But there was one piece of advice Janine gave that took me by surprise.

According to Janine Allis, the key to her success has been a determination to make everything that goes wrong “her fault”. Sounds odd when you consider that she now employs hundreds of people, doesn’t it? Yet she explained that when she thinks of issues as her fault (no matter what the root cause), it gives her the power to fix it and move on with the next challenge.

Seeing that level of accountability, it’s no wonder Boost receives 20 requests every week from people wanting to become Boost franchisees. It sounds like a great place to work.  I wonder if there’s a job there’s a job going for a sheEO…..