We first saw this item (titled What NOT to do - What women do to sabotage their careers. Top 10 things to remember) on dealbreaker.
Although the website says that the instructions 'can apparently be found on the desk of every female HR employee' at Citi, we understand that the creed does not actually represent company policy.
Anyway, here's the Top 10 things women shouldn't do if they want to get on:
1. Women tend to speak softly - you are not heard
2. Women groom in public - emphasizes your femininity and deemphasizes your capability
3. Women sit demurely - the power position when seated at a table is forearms resting on a table and resting forward
4. Speak last in meetings - early speakers are seen as more assertive and knowledgeable than late speakers
5. Women ask permission - children are taught to ask permission. Men don't ask permission, they inform
6. Apologize - women apologize for the for the smallest error which erodes your self-confidence. Men tend to move into problem solving mode
7. Women tend to smile inappropriately when delivering a message, therefore you are not taken seriously
8. Play fair - women tend to be more naive. A woman might assume the rules have to be obeyed, whereas a man will figure out a way to stretch the rules and not be punished
9. Being invisible - women tend to operate behind the scenes and end up handing the credit over to a competitor
10. Offer a limp handshake - one good pump and a concise greeting combined with solid eye contact will do the trick
In other words, to get on, women should behave like MEN!
Reader Comments
1. 'Was this written by a man by chance ?'
2. 'Clearly penned by The National Association of Chauvinist Pigs!'
3. 'Any female HR person that has this on her desk needs to be sent home to do the ironing!'.
4. 'Surely those Citi HR folks have this on their desks as a joke ? Then again, HR people don't tend to have much of a sense of humour, do they ?'.
5. ' Call me a sexist pig, but all these comments are spot on. Generally speaking, women want (or need) to be liked, and men just don't care'.
6. 'Sexist pig!'
7. 'Ignoring the 'Act like a guy part', the only sexist thing is the assumption that this applies only to women. Guys could learn a lot from this too'.
8. 'A dose of testosterone for breakfast won't help anyone's career!'.
9. 'Thank God, women are polite, civilized and multi-tasking....and when a woman doesn't 'get on', it's generally because she doesn't want to'.
The above actually features in the book 'Nice Girls Don't Get The Corner Office' by Lois Frankel
The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire
Hubris: How HBOS Wrecked the Best Bank in Britain
