The physiological disadvantage that prevents women from being movers and shakers

Many women^[1] unknowingly suffer from a major disadvantage: their brain! Its wiring is not compatible with the culture of organizations where competition, political games and/or other characteristics generally associated with machismo prevail. As there are many organizations with these shortcomings, it is a real problem...

Women's brains are wired differently

Our colleagues at the University of Zurich have indeed shown^[2] that, statistically, in women, prosocial behaviors activate the reward zone of the brain; whereas in men, it is selfish behaviors that activate it. This difference in wiring is probably a result of education. And since it has been shown that, over time, prosocial behaviors lead to increased performance, it would be better to rewire men than women. But as things stand now, women are most often subjected to an organizational culture that does not suit them.

This explains why some women do not have a sense of belonging in professional environments whose culture is not sufficiently pro-social. Some even give up climbing the hierarchy when they see that political games, competition and/or boy's clubs play too important a role. This cultural incompatibility can thus be a "handicap" that prevents a certain number of women from developing professionally. Without the psychological safety associated with a pro-social culture, they cannot perform at their best and be shakers and movers. This undermines collective success.

The antidote exists. Fortunately!

Until the macho brain is better programmed, there are only two pragmatic options for dealing with this difference: teaching women to appreciate selfish behavior or changing the organizational culture towards a model that values prosocial behavior. In the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Responsible Leadership at the University of Geneva, we have obviously chosen the second option. In this modular program, which also allows students to pursue an Executive MBA on the job, we have long taught fair and caring leadership, which enables women (and most men) to thrive in a rewarding prosocial culture. Those who do not like that are usually the “killers” (men or women) whose teeth of ambition scratch the floor. But what company still wants a culture of crushing others?

Far from falling into the naivety of a world where performance is forgotten, we have relied on numerous studies that have shown that engaged employees are performing much better than those who are not. By reconciling fairness, caring and optimal performance, our prosocial and high-performance fair and caring leadership alleviates the “handicap” that prevents women (and most men) from being shakers and movers.

This article was originally published in French on UN Today.