It is a logical consequence - the more women opt for MBA courses, the more they will influence the business sector. When Dr Sionade Robinson, Associate Dean of MBA Programme and Director, Full Time MBA, Cass Business School, City University London, visited the Dubai campus of Cass Business School for their graduation ceremony and she came across an interesting phenomenon - an overview of the MBA course here revealed that nearly 25 per cent of the students were women. Commenting on the mullticulural mix of Emirati and Asian women for the MBA courses, she says, “Considering our student’s cultural backgrounds, we have always been very impressed by both their aspirations and their achievements.”
She spoke to Education about how the influx of women in greater numbers in MBA courses will have an impact on the business sector as well as lead to more of them turning into independent entreprenuers.
1) Even today women juggle time between home, children and work placing them at a disadvantage in business compared to men. How do you see them overcoming these hurdles while being successful as an entrepreneur?
It’s very important that women find the right partners, both professionally and in their personal life. It’s important for women to invest in their families as well as their businesses. The other advice I would give to women is to understand that they don’t have to take it all on themselves. It’s important women feel empowered to outsource tasks they don’t have the time or the ability to do – a lot of women believe they must do everything themselves.
2) Do women make better business people than men? What’s the truth about the thir higher emotional quotient?
Women tend to have a different style of communicating and this can contribute to better outcomes in some situations. Our Faculty report that more issues surface and are discussed from more angles prior to reaching a decision when there are more women in an MBA class. Women’s conversation style tends to be more exploratory for a longer period. They feel more comfortable with ambiguity and discussing ambiguity for longer. This can be very helpful during the decision-making process.
3) Women often encounter gender and cultural biasesat the workplace. How do you think they are handling this these days?
As more women gain positions of power in the workplace (albeit too slowly!), women ‘at the top’ becomes an acceptable norm. This helps inspire more women to take an MBA to help them take their career to another level or to gain the tools they need to start their own business.
4) Is there still a glass ceiling?
Sadly, there is. There’s evidence that women are still paid less than men in many industries. This is disappointing for developed economies in the 21st century.
5) What is your advice to Emirati women looking to embark on their business careers?
They need to invest in good education and get support from mentors. Networking is also vital to business in the region. They should take every opportunity to build strong networks.
6) What are your top five business strategies you would recommend women to adopt at the workplace?
1. Listen – welcome good advice.
2. Take your space – be aware of your body language. It’s important that women project confidence in their stance and speech.
3. Ask for help – women should not feel that they need to ‘go it alone’ without support. That applies to both business and the home.
4. Don’t smile too much – according to research women smile more than men and this puts them at a disadvantage as it communicates a need to be liked, so they appear less confident.
5. Don’t sweat the small stuff – some things will invariably go wrong but don’t beat yourself up or expect to be able to do everything perfectly.
7) What are the typical fears that female students of business studies come to you with?
I see a lot of women (as well as some men) who suffer with ‘imposter syndrome’ – they find themselves in good positions and don’t believe that they deserve to be, rather than accepting it’s their own abilities and hard work paying off. For example in one cohort, the first MBA to secure a job told me she’d been ‘really lucky’ to get hired. This was after 6 interviews plus tests and presentations – it definitely wasn’t luck! Women need to recognise their success isn’t arbitrary.
8) Any statistics on how many leading businesses in the world are run by women today?
There are many examples of women leading successful businesses. For example Joanna Shields, CEO and Chair of Tech City Investment Organization, which was established by UK Trade & Investment to support the phenomenal growth of the technical cluster in East London. Joanna recently spoke at a Cass Dubai Centre-organised Women in Business networking event at the Capital Club. She stressed the need for women to support each other in order to do well in business, and to embrace who they are and what they stand for.
Other examples of leading business women include Ginni Rometty, President and CEO at IBM; Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO at PepsiCo; Meg Whitman, President and CEO at Hewlett-Packard and Marissa Mayer who has made some very difficult decisions since taking over as CEO of Yahoo.
9) If women continue to be successful with their EQ and other unorthodox approaches, will it be important to rewrite the rule book on success to business?
I don’t think considering EQ important is unorthodox. Humans are emotional beings and companies are made up of humans so considering EQ makes sense. Women tend to be more aware of how people are feeling about things. If you want your employees to be successful, it’s important to be aware of their responses. This is particularly important in handling generation Y workers (those born from the early 1980s until the early 2000s) – the fast growing segment of the workforce. Gen Y-ers tend to expect a more nurturing environment in which to fulfil their ambitions. They respond best to managers who have a high EQ as well as a high IQ.
