Why It’s Great to Be a Woman (in business)

When I was a little girl, I wore a dress or a skirt every day. Literally, every day.

High maintenance didn’t stop there.

Before approving an outfit, I would conduct the twirl test to ensure that my skirt would float through the room as if I were Cinderella at the ball. I successfully exercised my veto power until one stormy day in kindergarten. My mother forced me to wear a pair of black/white gingham slacks (with suspenders, ugh!) to school. All practical reasons aside (cold, rainy weather and an outfit that had probably spent months in the closet with the tags still on), I’ll never forget the pangs of jealousy that I felt when one of my classmates showed up in a flowy dress adorned with a gigantic bow in the back. Like I said, I’m a girly girl. I’ve always been this way.

Albert Ciuksza wants to know why it is so great to be a girl. I would have thought that the three years that he spent as my work husband listening to me yammer on about how Bad Gal Lash mascara brings my smoky eye experience to a whole new level would have been enough.

Just kidding.

Truth be told, it is a hard question to answer. As he said, most of us would “check the box” for the gender that we were born with if we had the choice to make. The thing is, I’ve never been one of those women who have even for a second thought, “if only I were a man…” I like being a woman. I also appreciate men for the strengths and perspectives that they bring to the table.

As a young professional woman in 2010, I have it really good. Women have more options than ever before, and although some studies have shown that we might not be as happy, our lives are undoubtedly more interesting. Sure, there are still some significant gaps out there, but generally we have the freedom to make our lives what we’d like them to be.

• We can wear the big shoes and have the big jobs. Sometimes the big shoes help us get the big jobs. No longer are we limited in our career prospects due to our gender. In fact, women now outnumber men in every high growth profession except computer engineering and janitorial services.
• We have our pick of mentors (male and female). Gen Y women have access to traditionalists, baby boomers and Gen X professionals with knowledge and experience to share. Professional women who spent their careers shattering glass ceilings can offer wisdom regarding the female experience.
• Society doesn’t pressure us. Although a certain level of pressures are inevitable, a woman can generally choose the path she wants, whether work, family, or both.  It is not yet acceptable for men to freely make this choice.

All this, and ruffles are back in style.

Life is good, but I’m a little worried about the men. I worry that this shift will create a situation that limits their opportunities.  I don’t want that to happen. We’ve worked way too hard for equality to allow the balance of power to limit either party.