They also believed their promotions were due not to their ability but to luck and timing. Women carefully calculated every move, including how they expressed themselves, fearing that others would realize they had given them too much credit.
Throughout the 70s and 80s, women who chose to work often felt they had to emulate men in order to achieve success and be accepted into the corporate world. They wore traditional, dark-skirted suits with shoulder pads.
Women also adopted a masculine communication style, getting into verbal arguments and discussing sports. Women who have a drive for success still deal with stressful situations related to their careers, but their needs have evolved.
They seek challenges to show off their skills and to avoid boredom. They also want to establish clear career paths, and they want the ability to communicate in a manner that will ensure others take them and their ideas seriously.
Women feel entitled to receive job satisfaction and opportunities; they will move on if the current organization does not support their needs. One should not mistake this sense of entitlement for laziness.
High-achieving women work hard to attain their desires. There are five drivers of both success and difficulty for modern, high-achieving women:
1. Extreme confidence. This positive attitude compels women to work hard for what they want; however, it may lead them to work too hard and to take on projects that are too difficult.
2. Constant need for new challenges. Women seek to meet their needs with successive accomplishments, possibly leading to frequent job changes without careful planning.
3. A strong drive for recognition based on performance, not gender. Women are more concerned with proving their own unique abilities, rather than those of females in general. This attitude may cause others to perceive them as harsh and insensitive.
4. Work is their life's blood. High-achieving women might only feel pleasure from their accomplishments in the working world. They might lose sight of the big picture and become disconnected from the rest of the world.
5. Experience is the best teacher. Learning comes easily and quickly, but this ability could lead women to believe they are self-sufficient, rejecting the advice and support of others.
Since the mid-80s there has been a profound change in working women, particularly those who are high-achieving. They no longer leave their professional personas at work; they are stronger as individuals, and their careers define who they are.
While this is a significant advancement from working simply to cover financial obligations, it has left many ambitious women unable to separate themselves from their work. This change can be attributed to four major shifts in society.
The first is the widespread teaching of self-esteem. From the time they are toddlers, women have been taught they can do anything and their opinions matter.
Not only are they instructed not to rely on others, but they are frequently told they are better than their peers. This teaching has resulted in a generation of mentally strong women who are so obsessed with their quest for excellence they push themselves too hard.
The increase in competitive sports for women has also been significant. Sports have taught women to fend for themselves, both mentally and physically.
Another factor is the growing number of women holding advanced degrees, which increases their earning potential and available job opportunities. The final factor is the positive support women now receive.
Their predecessors were not expected to excel in the work environment. Now, people believe that women can work and also be good at it.
This article is based on the book "Wander Woman." The book summary is available online at Business Book Summaries.
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