Hillary Rodham Clinton (born in 1947) always considered herself an independent political player. That attitude earned her limitless admiration and intense disapproval in equal measure. For millions of women around the world, she is an example of how one woman’s achievements, strength of will, thirst for knowledge, and discipline can take her to the very pinnacle of world politics and enable her to assert herself there, overcoming all obstacles strewn in her path.
The present U.S. Secretary of State studied at Wellesley College and Yale. As a successful attorney she drew attention to herself in the late 1980s, her name figuring twice in the list of the 100 most influential lawyers in the United States. In 1983 she made her first appearance on the political stage, drafting a school reform plan for her husband, who was governor of Arkansas at the time, though her concept drew plaudits way beyond the boundary of that state. While Bill Clinton was U.S. President, from 1993 to 2001, she was the most active First Lady the United States had ever seen, supporting her husband on social policy issues in particular. She was very popular with many voters and in 2000 launched her own political career, successfully securing election as a senator from New York State and then engineering her reelection in 2006. In 2007, when the Democrats decided to nominate not her, but Barack Obama, as their presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton vigorously backed him and his running mate, Joe Biden, in the final stages of the presidential campaign.
You are bound to have noticed by now that far too many of the icons figuring in this book are men. This is not because there is any shortage of women who set excellent examples. On the contrary, many of the issues featured could have been covered perfectly well with reference to the biographies and achievements of women: Clara Schumann, the pianist and composer who was also one of the leading musicians of the nineteenth century, could have provided numerous examples. Then there is Steffi Graf, winner of 22 grand slam titles, seven of them at Wimbledon, who topped the world rankings for 377 weeks, longer than any tennis professional before her. Or Marie Curie, the Polish-French chemist and physicist, the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize, or rather two: in 1903 the Prize for Physics together with her husband, Pierre Curie and teacher Antoine Henri Becquerel, and in 1911 the Prize for Chemistry by herself. Another great woman was Maria Theresa, archduchess of Austria, queen of Hungary and Bohemia, who in 1746, in the face of stiff opposition, embarked on a series of domestic reforms to restructure her empire, updating the school system, among other things, giving her subjects access to a general school education, and founding the University of Vienna. Anita Roddick, too, the exceptional entrepreneur and founder of the cosmetics company The Body Shop, was way ahead of her time, not just because of her shrewd strategy, but because of her marketing concepts, which were based primarily on word-of-mouth advertising. And how about Simone Young, one of the most celebrated conductors of our age, winner of numerous awards and honors, who in 1993 became the first woman in history to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic, which at the time was an all-male orchestra? Last, but not least, much of what was achieved by the French author Simone de Beauvoir, reputed to be one of the leading theoreticians on women’s issues and a figurehead of women’s emancipation, could be said to reflect a sound grasp of what are now recognized as key management principles. If anyone can be said to be the driving force behind innovations in the domain of gender equality, then surely it is she and no other. Her groundbreaking book The Second Sex was published in 1949, no less. Her views on sexuality, motherhood, and abortion unleashed a storm of indignation, and the Vatican placed The Second Sex on the Index of Forbidden Books. But the book was rediscovered by the women’s movement in the 1970s, sold millions of copies around the world, and is today considered one of the most important feminist works. All these examples could have perfectly served to illustrate key aspects of effective management. Yet our society still has a great deal of catching up to do when it comes to appointing women to top jobs.
In view of the large number of possible examples, it could be said, while on the subject, that the choice of Hillary Clinton was somewhat arbitrary. If that is how you choose to see it, then yes, other exceptional women could easily have been selected; but I opted to showcase her because at the time of writing this book she was probably the most famous woman fulfilling a leadership role.
Anyway, this book quite intentionally reflects the disproportional representation of women in leading positions, compared with men. One look at the list of contents of this book is enough to see how sobering an effect such inequality can have. The proportion of women covered in the book is under 10 percent, just about as dramatically low as in top jobs in business. This is totally unacceptable! In terms of performance and results, the key criteria for management, this state of affairs is neither explicable nor justifiable. Moreover, leaving such valuable potential unexploited entails adopting a non-results-oriented and less efficient approach that clashes with the notion of effective management.
The fact that the actual proportion of female managers varies from study to study, depending on how large the company is and on different descriptions of what constitutes a “senior” management post, does nothing to alter the overall picture and the fact that there are simply too few of them.
To avoid any misunderstandings in this connection, let me state quite unequivocally that the political imposition of a mandatory quota would probably be the wrong path to follow. People decisions should be made in the interests of the company, not to fill quotas stipulated by politicians. Instead, it is in the best interest of the company itself that the responsible executives in its management constitute a structure that matches the realities of its market and customers. So let me reiterate: the responsibility for the shaping of the company’s management structure lies with its top managers and its supervisory bodies. No company can be managed in a sensible, truly sustainable manner if it is run in the interests of particular groups of people: it must be managed in the company’s own interests.
Perhaps you, too, will be amazed by the fact that some of the best companies, including many less well-known world market leaders, have a disproportionally high ratio of women in their top management posts.1 Do you believe that this is mere coincidence? Perhaps it is. Good performance is not dependent on race, gender, religion, nationality, or marital status. But even if these achievements by unknown world market leaders (or “hidden champions” as Hermann Simon calls them) are deemed unconvincing or coincidental, the difference in gender distribution certainly remains striking.
Around half of the working population in the United States and Europe is female, including many highly qualified knowledge workers, whose know-how makes them mobile. They will go to work for organizations where women are given equal opportunities, where the best people in a country will gather as a result. No deep understanding of management is required to realize that in a knowledge society having the best people constitutes a major competitive edge.
If this prognosis regarding organizations’ attractiveness to intelligent women seems too speculative for you, just take a look at the Internet. Over the last few years, use of the World Wide Web has changed significantly. Every conceivable kind of interest group has become organized on the Web, including women interested in achievement; indeed, this trend started a considerable while ago. Good people will go where they have opportunities, and this kind of information can be swiftly obtained and passed on via the Internet. Those organizations that ensure that intelligent, achievement-oriented women want to work for them will have a clear competitive advantage. This will come about of its own accord—precisely because the best people get themselves organized. The know-how and skills of the best women will guarantee such organizations a decisive edge over their rivals. Indeed, the opportunity beckoning for a society that succeeds in drawing on the largely unused potential of women cannot be overemphasized. Every step is valuable, and fundamental changes are never easy; they take time and require a steadfast approach by the relevant decision makers.
It speaks very much in favor of Hillary Clinton that she agreed to serve in Barack Obama’s administration. The example she is setting is just as inspirational to millions of women all over the world as the examples set by other competent female heads of government and business leaders. Today, in these top corporate jobs and at the summit of government they are still pioneers, but they are changing people’s views about what is possible.
When the Italian Reinhold Messner scaled Mount Everest in 1978 without supplemental oxygen, it caused a sensation around the world, while for today’s leading mountaineers it is a perfectly normal scenario. The pioneering achievements of women like Hillary Clinton and other leading politicians and business people in the highest offices and posts today are—and will remain—of inestimable value for reshaping society as we know it.
What specific joint action can you take in your organization to ensure that more women occupy management posts?
If you are a women intent on achieving professional success, what exactly can you do to make headway together with like-minded individuals?