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Mentorship December 12, 2017
Studies show that women shy away from competition while men embrace it openly, perhaps even aggressively. Historically, competition has been constructed as a gender specific word that belongs on the male side of business. But if the concept of competition is not being embraced by women, then they are not entering themselves into competitive situations. Without entering into competitive situations, how are women supposed to be given the chance to win?
Perhaps the issue with the idea of competition is in the direct definition of the word “compete.” Various synonyms include rivalry, superiority and defeat. These are all hyper-aggressive words, which can be argued lend themselves toward the male spectrum of societal attributes and attractive characteristics.
The Department of Economics at the University of Pittsburgh published an academic article on the differences between gender and competition. Their data supports the notion that women shy away from competition while men are more eager to compete.
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One of the more notable concepts from the academic study reads, “From a societal view, it is disconcerting that high-ability women opt not to enter competitions that they are likely to win. The cost associated with not having the best talent among the applicants may be substantial.”
Clearly, women are needed and capable. But what happens when women enter the workforce together?
According to Joyce Beneson, a researcher at Emmanuel College in Boston, “high-achieving women have little incentive to invest in other women, so most women benefit from punishing striving peers.” Additional women trying to make their way up the ladder are perceived as threats. It’s as if there is an unspoken rule that there isn’t enough room up there in that big bad business world for more than one female.
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There is no – and should be no – quota on how many women can hang at the top with the “big boys.” One woman is not another woman’s competition. We are not interchangeable and replaceable because of our gender. This structure of cattiness and female competition as a threat is playing into a systemic social structure set up to work against women. Why are we playing into it?
Helping women in the work place helps all women in the workplace. The only way we get out of this alive and on top is if we work together. But what if we redefined competition? What if competition was not a mark of superiority or of threat but a mark of healthy progress?
What if the word “compete” was defined as a healthy structure that promotes internal and group growth? Would we all be willing to compete in a positive way? Would we stand together in an effort to better ourselves and our businesses?
Competition shouldn’t push us farther apart; it is not a dirty feature if used internally and cohesively.
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