women's leadership through

1. Women’s leadership in 21st
century
2012-08-31 www.huawei.com
Norway Representative Office
prepared by Mirjana J. Bohlin
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 1

2. Computer definition
A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are
designated as either masculine or feminine.
'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.'
'Pencil,„ is masculine: 'el lapiz.'
A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?„
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into
two groups, male and female,
and asked them to decide for themselves whether computer' should be a masculine or
a feminine noun.
Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 2

3. “ La computadora “ –> male group findings
The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the Feminine -> 'la computadora',
because:
1. No one but their creators understands their internal logic
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone
else
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval
and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on
accessories for it.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 3

4. “El computador “– female group findings
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine -'el computador',
because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to switch them on
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem
and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have got a
better model.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 4

5. The 10 Worst Stereotypes About Women Leaders
• Women are being judged more, even by other women
While male leaders are allowed to have complex personalities, women leaders are often
•
summed up by stereotypes that undermine them and their power or position
• The following represent the 10 most pervasive stereotypes.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 5

6. No. 1: Ice Queen
Women on power are considered as
unsympathetic power – mongers ( petty person) !
...while women are often in “Catch 22” situation:
–> If a woman shows emotions in a workplace she will be considered too fragile or
unstable
 she shows no emotions and keeps it hyper- professional , she is said to be icy
If
and unfeminine
What about situational leadership ?
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 6

7. No. 2: Single and Lonely
There is a strong perception that powerful women are intimidating to men and will
need to sacrifice their personal lives for power – which may stop women from
going after power.
Even those women who aren‟t interested in marrying, face harsh judgments.
• Older single women are reduced to “spinsters” and “old-maids.”
• Older , single men are “ a good catch” .
A WOMAN‟S LIFE IN 3 PICTURES
SINGLE MARRIED DIVORCED
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 7

8. No. 3: Tough
Despite female complexities, most of the time women need to be contend with
being called “tough” and “brusque”.
Sometimes women need to live up to that expectations ... )
...but sometimes women do say ....
“I have “three boys” at home ( meaning a husband + 2 kids )”
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 8

9. No. 4: Weak
Stereotype that women are “weak “comes as women have greater desire then men to build a consensus.
Women understand success not as the result of just one person work but as the result of a team effort and
work.
It‟s a different way of dealing with power that is misunderstood as a kind of weakness.
Now lets take some time to build consensus, shall we  ?
)
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 9

10. No. 5 : Masculine
There is the notion that powerful women must be, lead and look like a man to be
( more) trusted and supported by men in decision execution.
Women do feel pressure to look “the right way “ .
..but they do try not to be overly businesslike .
and he still looks “right”
..... good and trustful? )
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 10

11. No.6: Conspire / cooperate secretly
The idea is that a woman can only be successful because she somehow
engineered her rise.
In other words, that she could not rise simply because she was too good to be
denied a leadership position.
What about talent, hard work, knowledge, creativity, persistence,
Humanity, etc )
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 11

12. No. 7: Emotional
This is the most dangerous stereotypes for female leaders, where it is thought that women are prone to
emotional outbursts.
At the same time.....watch people‟s emotional reactions....
Words can fool us but not so the emotions. They rarely lie.
Paradox: IQ. contributes 20% to the factors that determine life's success, which leaves 80% to other
forces - Emotional Intelligence.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 12

13. No.8: Anger
Anger is a sign of status in men, but when women show anger
they are viewed as less competent.
..and is it really so ?
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 13

14. No.9: A “ proof “
Women hold just 16% of corporate board seats.
But instead of focusing on balancing things out, they are often devalued as being a “proof” of diversity
rather than having earned the post.
While companies take their diversity goals seriously, they are not going to settle for less than the best
person for the job.
Women are hired because of their education and experience and what they can do for the company.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 14

15. No.10: Cheerleader
Sometimes prominent women who are considered feminine and warm
are dismissed as “cheerleaders” rather than the strong leaders that they are.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 15

16. Women and men in (leadership) positions, both have complex personalities.
Lets not stereotype each other !
..........but rather have fun and use of our (complementary ) differences.......
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 16

17. THANK YOU !
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Page 17