dont pull up the ladder behind you
TRANSCRIPT
Don’t pull up the ladder behind you
• I have written before on the subject of women in business supporting each other, or not. Some women can still be ambivalent about supporting aspiring women, particularly when they succeed. Not all women leaders like to see other women in leadership positions.
• Which raises a question: Should we be ambivalent about those who pull the ladder up after them? Or should
we be quite frank in our condemnation?
• In a recent article published on The Guardian’s Women in Leadership pages, Cheryl Giovannoni, Chief Executive of Advertising, Ogilvy & Mather, quotes Madeleine Albright. And the former US Secretary of State couldn’t have been any clearer – “there is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women.”
• Whilst we might be tempted to agree, we should also consider the reasons why some women adopt what
appears to be an “I’m alright Jackie” attitude can be complex. It might be pettiness or a case of wanting to have it all for oneself, but it might also be a genuine, if in my view misguided, concern that initiatives designed to help women, even informal support, could reinforce that old chestnut that women can’t get to the top in a competitive environment without special help.
• So perhaps we should be condemning the sin rather than the sinners. Let’s remain focused on the positive things we believe in doing whilst being ready to put our case, calmly and clearly, to those who don’t think we should be doing it.
