22 Apr Owning your “feminine” strengths

Three traits that are considered “conventionally feminine” by the world at large and how to ‘own’ them to build up your career.

Disclaimer: In this post I will be making some generalizations about people based on gender. I am not saying all women exhibit the below-mentioned traits or that the below-mentioned traits are not exhibited by people of other genders. The post will talk about the general perception that I personally have come across and chose to address so that the women who do have the following traits or have heard the confidence shattering words mentioned below, know, that these traits are not weakness but rather strengths that they can be proud of.

Working at the top management level in a medium-sized business in India, there were many instances where I saw ‘only females’ or ‘only males’ being preferred for particular job positions. One of the most common one being the choice of a female employee for the post of a receptionist. Upon making some discrete (and not so discreet) inquiries, the most common reason I got was that females were politer, more patient, more empathetic, more responsible and most importantly softer spoken than males. All of which, apparently, were very important qualities for a level one receptionist. This led me to think about the other “qualities” that women apparently possess, that make them either desirable or undesirable for particular jobs. These are the qualities that men are often ridiculed for, despite the more recent studies suggesting that some of these qualities are very necessary for any person holding a leadership position, regardless of their gender. While there is increasing recognition of women in the workplace, there are still many people who stereotype women at work.  Let’s look at some of the common traits that are considered to be conventionally feminine and how many people still perceive them.

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