Should women rule the world? Former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers thinks so.
Why? Because more women in leadership positions “do in fact change things and it does in fact make the world better across virtually every sector that you could think of,”
Myers told 150 guests who came to hear her speak about her book, “Why Women Should Rule the World” at The View on the Hudson in Piermont on Sept. 18. The event was sponsored by KeyBank.
That”™s not to say women can do everything that men can do, and “it”™s not because of the ways that we”™re the same it”™s because of the ways we”™re different.”
According to Myers, acknowledging those differences is the key.
Myers said women have different biology, life experience and perspectives on approaches to conflict, and the addition of women”™s opinions gives more options for solving problems.
“I understand the dangers of talking about differences,” Myers said. “If you are saying that women and men are different and that women are better at some things, which I believe, it still implies that men are better at other things, like physics or math. Is that why there are so few women in the hard sciences? And those are hard questions and questions that I was not able to completely answer.”
Myers said the alternative to acknowledging difference is worse, because “if you say that men and women are the same then male behavior becomes the norm as it has been I think for much of our history.
“Men are always going to be better at being men than we are. Unless we create a new norm that values the way women are, we”™ll always be at a disadvantage,” she said.
“In businesses large to small there have been a number of studies that show that companies with the most women on their boards and in senior management are substantially more profitable than those with the fewest.”
And for those women in business, the pay gap still exists.
“There are a lot of reasons why women don”™t make as much as men do, but one reason is we don”™t ask,” Myers said.
Myers said men are more likely to negotiate salaries and ask for promotions and raises than women are.
Myers said she thinks the biggest obstacle to women”™s achievements is motherhood.
“Managing small kids and a big job is still really hard,” Myers said. “I think that”™s not something that”™s going to change. I just think that women are always going to take more responsibility for kids than men. I think it”™s been true about every culture and every era. It doesn”™t mean men can”™t do more. I think most women will always do more than most men. I do think that we are starting to look at motherhood differently.”
Myers said workplaces have to be more flexible to accommodate the needs of working mothers.
She said raising children gives women leadership training, teaches them how to manage time more effectively and forces them to learn to solve conflicts. “This is not a detour to the corner office, this is an important step on the way to the corner office.”
The Key4Women Forum raised $8,125 for Rockland Family Shelter, a nonprofit organization serving domestic violence and sexual assault victims and their families.
