The Networker: Untying the Gender Bind

Catalyst: the nonprofit for women who mean business

By Courtney E. Martin
Published: Dec 05, 2007

Is this shirt too low cut for a board meeting? Are these high heels too high? Did I ask for that report with too much male aggression? Too much feminine coyness?

These kinds of workplace etiquette questions are all too common, and let’s be honest, often lead to paralysis instead of promotion.

Catalyst, an international nonprofit that researches such issues, confirmed all of our sinking suspicions with their recent report, “Damned if You Do, Doomed if You Don’t.” In it, they surveyed 1,231 senior executives from the United States and Europe and found that women who act in ways that are consistent with gender stereotypes—focusing on relationships, valuing multiple perspectives—are considered less competent. But if they act in ways that are seen as manly—assertive, work-focused, outwardly ambitious—they are seen as bitchy and overbearing. So here we are, stuck between a rock and a soft place.

But before you give your two week’s notice, rest assured—Catalyst is the cubicle buddy you didn’t know you had. From their offices in New York, San Jose, Toronto and, most recently, Zug, Switzerland, they target complex workplace issues affecting women. They study them, publicize them and recommend solutions in three core areas: women in leadership, women of color and organizational change. In “Damned if You Do, Doomed if You Don’t,” for example, they provide nine pages of personal and organizational strategies for overcoming the gender double bind, like “acknowledging the elephant in the room” (You got a problem with me?) and “minimizing the issue” (Shall we move on?).

Catalyst also works with their 340 member companies—including heavy hitters like McDonalds, Mattel and Nike—to improve workplace practice, policy and climate. And, of course, they give props to those who are getting it right; every year they honor businesses that promote women’s leadership with a Catalyst Award. This year’s went to The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., PepsiCo, Inc., PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Scotiabank.

Catalyst was founded in 1962 by work/family advocate Felice N. Schwartz—the gal who coined the term “mommy track.” She recruited presidents from women’s colleges like Lawrence, Mills, Sarah Lawrence, Smith and Wellesley to sit on the board and brainstorm ways to expand options for women in the workplace. The idea was hot; Betty Friedan’s groundbreaking The Feminist Mystique, legitimizing the frustration of women who were confined to homemaking, was published the very next year.

But so much has changed since those apron days. Why do we still need Catalyst looking out for us? A quick glance at the statistics proves that we haven’t outgrown the need for a big sister setting business bullies straight. Since 1995, they’ve been tracking the number of female corporate officers in America’s largest companies. Women are an astoundingly low 1% of the Fortune 500 CEOs. And women across the board still only receive 75 cents to every dollar a man makes. So what gives?

Deborah Siegel, author of Sisterhood Interrupted and previous editorial consultant for Catalyst explains, "When you talk about 'flex time' for working moms, it's a put-off for companies. But when you talk about the need for companies to adjust to the needs of a twenty-first century workforce, then few people can object. It's a shift in thinking, and these kind of shifts take time."

Susan Nierenberg, Senior Director of Global Communications for Catalyst agrees, “There are still stereotypes that must be rooted out. There are companies that still need to be convinced that they have much to gain from hiring and promoting women.”

Catalyst’s next report, part of its Bottom Line series, holds some statistics that could certainly show companies the benefits of promoting female managerial staff. In their study, they found that Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women on their boards outperformed the companies with the lowest representation (the return on sales was 42% higher, the return on equities 53% higher and the return on investment capital 56% higher).

Who could argue with that?

For more information visit www.catalystwomen.org

Courtney E. Martin is a writer, teacher, and chick pea enthusiast who lives in Brooklyn. She is also the author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body (Simon &Schuster, 2007). You can read more about her work at www.courtneyemartin.com.

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