Mind Yo' Business

Beyonce could have been on to something with the lead single off her last album. Although the current percentage of men in powerful positions is greater than that of women, the tides are slowly turning as more women are churning out graduate degrees. Almost every relevant business magazine has a yearly issue dedicated to women. As the years pass, females will continue to rise in the ranks. Just four years ago, our country could have elected a female vice president—wouldn’t that have been fun?
    All jokes aside, our country will definitely elect a female leader in due time. Magazines like Forbes, Time, and Fortune all commemorate our world’s females, and in recent times, Virginia Rometty, CEO and chairman of IBM, has garnered attention. She is the first female head of the long withstanding firm and has helped continue its legacy of sustainability. Other prominent women heads include Meg Whitman of HP, Indra Nooyi of Pepsi, and Marissa Mayer of Yahoo. Like many of these CEOs, Rometty attributes her life success to a fellow woman—her mother. “Mom taught us by her actions. What she taught us she never said. Actions speak louder than words and to this day I think about that. Also, I learned that nothing’s insurmountable. I will be forever grateful to her,” she said. Women were long hailed for their motherly nature and secluded from the work force so they could instill proper values in their children. Yet nowadays, they have mastered the art of balancing a family and a career, and are a true threat to every male-dominated industry. Unfortunately, there are still organizations that are hesitant to embrace the modern day’s girl power. Augusta National Golf Club has not extended an invitation to Rometty to join the exclusive club, despite its close relations with all previous CEOs. Perhaps they are afraid of women extending their reign in the office to the golf course.

    Wall Street and the financial world is not the only industry experiencing a surge of female domination. Let’s take a look at the music market. Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber are all arguably the biggest names in modern popular music—that’s four females and one male. Furthermore, not to poke fun at Bieber, but, he is not exactly the epitome of masculinity. So, it is important to ask ourselves why women are suddenly rising in the ranks, and in some cases, passing their male counterparts. A large reason is the tolerance and acceptance of contemporary society—we are all encouraged to chase our dreams and be whoever we want to be. Bias and, on many occasions, tradition, are both looked down upon and deemed illogical and counterproductive. Yet there has to be some other driving factor. I am convinced that the sheer approachability of the stereotypical woman in business is a huge asset to the female workforce. Let’s face it—looks and presentation count. If I am looking to hire an executive officer, I may be more inclined to choose the candidate with a bit more presentation and communication skills—areas where educated women generally excel. And whether they are feigning it or not, women are generally much more dynamic and outwardly passionate about their jobs—precious qualities of service organizations.

    Boston College has a quite popular club called “Women in Business,” appealing to female students in every school. Since we are not in the 1980s anymore, I do not see the need for such a gender-restricted club. From my perspective, such an organization only emphasizes and recognizes a slight inequality that will be obsolete in a decade. Frankly, I think that the club holds many worthwhile events that I would love to attend. Last year, it hosted a conference with Diane von Furstenberg—I vividly remember sulking in my room as I learned that the event was unofficially restricted to its female members. The distinctions between the capabilities of men and women are rapidly disappearing—as a University, it is our duty to recognize this.