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Gender Differences in Career Planning, Learned While Eavesdropping
Recently I was at a Chicago White Sox (go Sox!) baseball game. It was a last minute decision. The weather was nice. I was able to get really good seats at a fair price through a ticket exchange. Oh, and they won, so all in all, it was a great event. Early in the second inning, two guys ending up sitting in front of me. One of them must have been near 7 feet tall. I couldn't see a thing, so I introduced myself and asked if we could change seats. I think it must be a common request, because he obliged with no hesitation. Plus, I'm just average tall, so I'm easy to see over! Anyway, we all chatted during a pitching change. One of the guys was Bob and the other was introduced as "Wall Street". They were childhood BFF's and enjoyed catching up on adult life at the ball park.
The Differences A few innings into the game, Wall Street was talking to Bob about the team he managed at work. He said that they were young and that he preferred managing the women over the men because: The men:
The women:
This conversation caught my attention as I spend a lot of time helping women with their career planning and leadership development. It made me wonder... Is Wall Street's observation on gender differences typical of what others see? Remember, he qualified (as much as one can when the conversation is being eavesdropped) that his team was young. Does that imply that women are late bloomers in defining and pursuing their career aspirations? As managers, is this your experience? As employees, does this story sound true to you, even if you don't want it to be? Sound off below in the comments section. blog comments powered by Disqus |