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 Women want influenceResearch into politics in the workplace has shown time and again that women are far more interested in politics than their male counterparts. Not only is the academic literature clearly demonstrating this, seminars and conferences that I have presented to over the years have had a significantly higher number of female attendees . Indeed, many have been women's networking groups all keen to hear about politics in the workplace. However it is wrong to conclude that this is a gender bias. In fact my research has revealed that this extra interest is stimulated by membership of a minority group. Those in the minority have to focus much more on their influencing skills and tactics to be able to get a fair hearing. A man in a female dominated world is going to have to work hard to gain influence as the group dynamic conspires (naturally) against him. Find out more about this research at www.siccg.com/articles/ps-men.php Put another way, if you are an outsider, you will have to be able to use the most effective influencing skills to prevail. Have you experienced this? It would be great if you could spare a moment to share your thoughts here! Posted by Colin Gautrey on 29-Jun-2010 23:03:49 BST
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 Colin what you've said is so true. My first senior management role was in a male dominated environment. I was marginalised when decisions were made and felt I had little or no influence at all. At the time I decided to conform to their norms and matched their behaviours and methods - little realising that my greatest strength is my ability to be feminine and think differently... Being who I am, rather than conforming to others styles, has allowed me to be highly influential even when I am in the minority group! And best of all I am authentic now and my thinking and values are congruent to my behaviours. Posted by Maureen Atkins on 30-Jun-2010 10:33:55 BST | I appreciate the clarification as to the intention behind the interest in politics and influence. Let's not assume all politics are necessarily evil. Knowing an organization's politics is like knowing the rules of engagement. You have to understand how things work if you have a chance at being effective in your role. There are more progressive organizations that are attuned enough to capitalize on the diversity of its workforce while others are still quite entrenched in their old traditions. How we can have influence in either situation depends on the sets of "rules" for each... Posted by Kopitzee Parra-Thornton on 30-Jun-2010 23:12:20 BST | I appreciate that you brought this up. I can see why women have a heightened interest regarding
politices as they must navigate through these to reach their goals at a higher level then men may
have to. We all know politics exist in the workplace, however we may not be aware as to what extent.
As the reality of politics exists, and as women increase their awareness, they may be at an
advantage in the future. Posted by Anon on 02-Jul-2010 20:14:23 BST |  Following on from Maureen Atkins' comment: As someone in a minority group (including being a woman in a male dominated environment), I think that once you have crossed the Rubicon of realising that you don't have to conform to the norm - and once you've established your credentials in the majority group's terms - you have an advantage. You are then very much freer to express your opinion and be yourself than you would be if you were one of the majority group. It's rather like being a foreigner - the indigineous population make allowances for your strange ways. The key learning - and the difficult bit - is 1) being bold enough not to conform 2) establishing your credentials, and 3) demonstrating and maintaing your position. Which brings us back to personal branding and strengthening your presence. Posted by Melanie Allen on 18-Aug-2010 11:46:48 BST |
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