Are we still playing boys vs. girls?

Gene Marks’ Forbes article Why Most Women Will Never Become CEO pins men against women in a battle for office domination—but is it really men vs. women?  We asked our very own Susan MacKenty Brady, who is Senior Vice President of Global Programs here at Linkage and a mother of two to get her firsthand take on Marks’ harsh words about women in leadership. Below, she shares her thoughts on what she thinks it will take for this discussion to no longer be about male vs. female advancement, but instead to focus on promoting the best leader to a role.

Susan: Being raised by a single father, and with three brothers—I have a somewhat different perspective on the “male vs. female” conversation. I have long felt that framing any conversation about the acceleration and development or advancement of women leaders in any way competitive with men is a big mistake. In fact, I’m interested in talking with and working with men to help figure out how best to solve for the absence of women in management. If patriarchy was about “shut up and sit down” and feminism in part was about “stand up and shout out”—both served to alienate the opposite gender. How about a post-feminist paradigm that is about thinking together—and supporting one another—in an inclusive and non-combative way. I look to the millennial generation to help with this, as they tend not to carry the “us against them” gene. I suspect thinking about all of this in an inclusive way will further our ability to work, grow, lead, manage, coach and even live with the opposite sex in a whole new way.

About Susan MacKenty Brady:

Susan is an expert in driving revenue for organizations through the implementation and execution of strategic business development and marketing activities. She is an engaging speaker, coach and teacher, and has deep experience working with executives in a variety of contexts. Prior to re-joining Linkage as Senior Vice President, Susan worked with Mobius Executive Leadership, a premier leadership development consultancy and spinoff of the Harvard Negotiation Project. While in this role, she coached executives and led strategic marketing and business development activities.