Following my recent article, I’ve found an excellent article on the HBS Working Knowledge website which discusses the tendencies of women who are finding it easier to move jobs and maintain their star profile.
This article shares the results of research that shows that females are generally more apt at switching jobs and preserving their ‘shine’, when compared to their male counterparts. Rather interestingly, the research shows that females focus more on their external relationships with clients, industry peers and other connections than males, so their reputation is less tied to their current organization. This maybe because that males focus on their internal relationships because they are nurtured more there, whereas females must seek coaching and mentorship outside of their organization. More internal investment in males has possibly meant that males are more dependent on the internal development structure and are less capable of working it out for themselves. Females have had it tough if you look back at history, but this has created a kind of resilience and self-confidence, for those that have come through it.
The other reason the research discusses is that women do much more research on potential employers than men, therefore being more selective about the opportunities they pursue against their own needs. In the first article on this subject, I described how to perform research into potential organizations using social media such as LinkedIn. An awareness of organizational behavior and context, such as the Product Life-Cycle, are other indicators to use (as is simply Googling the organization) but there is nothing like connecting with the employees and hearing it from them.
The question that remains unanswered for me is whether there are biological reasons for this, or is this the legacy of the past coming back to bite males? Nature or Nurture?
