Written by Michael Hoffman, MBA, de la Femme CFO.
I’d like to expand on why I’m taking special (professional) time out for women and why I chose de la Femme. With many years of experience interacting with women from different vantage points – as colleagues, classmates, subordinates and bosses – I am struck by a strange situation. I actually find women in general to be more competent, more effective and more enjoyable to work with than men, again in general. Yet it’s men who almost always are entrusted positions of leadership. Men enjoy the hunt, are good launching things and with our healthy (?) egos like to lead with authority. Yet it’s women, again in general, who can lead for the long-term, as stewards who can nurture and lead organizations with compassionate intelligence. It is this large divide, the gender gap, that keeps the upcoming competent woman from rising the ranks quickly and from getting her deserved opportunities, that needs to be addressed. The wiser organizations understand that when both men and women have ample opportunities for leadership and responsibilities, the best things happen. I view de la Femme as one healthy initiative to get us there.
