How Women in the Digital World Enhance the Competitiveness of Businesses

Men are stronger, they are more resilient, more able to work. Business world is a world of men. The list of such stereotypes can be continued indefinitely. But will people stick to this opinion in 5, 10, 20 years? Is it worth weaving this thread of the Stone Age into the 21st century, which has already been exhausted and is about to break? Or is it worth taking an objective look at the changed roles of men and women in business through the prism of inclusiveness and advantages that are naturally inherent to each of the sexes?

Lose the masks

We, women, have been cultivating “necessary” qualities and wearing “men’s masks” for a long time. We were driven by the desire to be heard, to win a worthy place in the business community. At the same time we were breaking our nature, becoming more rigid. Only a few were able to find a harmonious combination of their natural features and knowledge on the one hand and the requirements of the business world on the other. In most cases, women still oppose their careers to family and purely “female” functions.

The role of women in business and in the family can be quite different. She is different at work, on vacation with friends. These are different spheres of life. However, quite often in our society one can hear discriminatory phrases against women. For example: “she is an iron lady, her poor husband”, or “with such a masculine approach she will never get married”, “we’ll look at her when the children appear”. Can you imagine such phrases in relation to any man?

The connection between kindergarten and women’s employment

We know that child care plays an important role in women’s economic decisions, including their participation in the labor market. A working paper from the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Gender Innovation Laboratory shows that improving access to child care services increases women’s labor force participation in Indonesia by 13 percent. This data also suggests that access to child care services can also affect women’s access to information and opportunities.

This is important for workers, as those who use informal channels to learn about opportunities to leave the country for work are more likely to migrate illegally. The risks of undocumented migration are higher than those of formal migration and relatively higher for women. Women are more likely than men to experience emotional and physical abuse as a result of informal migration and, like men, they also risk becoming victims of financial exploitation.

In the future – respect and collaboration

The epoch “or-or” has passed away. The world has changed. Trying to get into the car of the train, which is rapidly taking away into the future, we are carrying with us the remnants of the last century. Let’s stop for a few minutes and, realizing the changes that are taking place, let’s calmly get into the first car of the train, which is going to the country of efficiency, inclusiveness, respect and collaboration. Few will dispute the truth that women and men are different in nature (this has already been proven by many studies). I invite you to build successful businesses, projects and breakthrough ideas on this difference, using the talents and abilities of each sex.

It has long been scientifically proven that women have a stronger connection between analytical and intuitive abilities of information processing. For this reason, they have better developed social skills and ability to solve multi-tasks. Women switch more easily and faster from one task to another than men.

Strengths of female leaders

How can this be reflected in the business processes of a successful company? And is there any evidence of these scientific facts in the business survey of managers? Yes, there are.

In June 2018, KPMG International released the first global study Global Female Leaders Outlook, which presented the differences in competencies and business approaches between men and women. This report demonstrates women’s willingness to manage companies in a digital and technologically transforming environment, innovate and take responsibility.

New Technologies

In particular, 48% of managers have a sufficient level of competence to work with artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, augmented by reality and 3D printing. This is an invaluable skill for all companies in VUCA-world.

Multi-tasking

Things are changing so rapidly that adaptability, flexibility and multitasking are becoming a new currency. Here, women are becoming more successful and very effective. In my opinion, this means that any project team should include women whose opinion should be taken into account.

Customer focus

Customer service becomes an important and priority issue. It does not just transform into beautiful slogans, but often becomes a strong competitive advantage in highly competitive markets. Clients are becoming more and more demanding, expecting not only good service, but also elements of empathy and anticipation of their desires. In this business direction, women can also be successful, according to research data. By their nature, women are client-oriented, firmly believe in the productivity of personal relationships and collaboration: 66% do not see the risk of losing existing clients (because the processes are well established and work well), focus on attracting new clients, which in the future will be permanent for the company.

Facts, not intuition

Confirming scientific facts that women have a stronger connection between analytical and intuitive ability to process information, 77% of women believe that the use of predictive data models and analytics will increase. They are confident in making decisions based on data. While the Outlook 2018 CEO report, which was attended by 84 percent of men, reflects the fact that decisions are mostly based on intuition (67 percent).

If your company is thinking about transforming its business for strong growth, adapting to new technologies, improving customer service, look who is responsible for these areas. Are there women on your teams? Does your corporate culture promote the involvement of women in business process re-engineering? Perhaps today is the moment when it is important to take a step forward in gender equality to ensure the success and profitability of your company in a rapidly changing world.

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