I’ve been writing about the physical and psychological differences between women’s and men’s bodies for years.* Especially because this is a subject that the leadership industry continues strenuously to avoid. Leadership experts do not ask, at least not out loud, if these enormous differences have any impact whatsoever on women and leadership. On why even now, compared to men, very few women are in positions of power.
The most recent women’s movement is more than a half century old. But despite what have been countless efforts to correct inequities between the genders, the number of women in leadership roles remains low. This applies in every sector. And it applies in every place – even in countries that have tried hard to level the playing field. (Notably those in Scandinavia.)
I do not dispute the conventional reasons for the imbalance in leadership roles, such as implicit and explicit biases against women, the motherhood penalty, and women’s relative lack of networks, mentorships, and sponsorships. What I’ve tried is to add to the discussion the suggestion that the physical and psychological differences between the genders must also pertain.
There are signs that the studious avoidance of this off-limit topic is starting to give way. Specifically, increasing attention is given to an experience that men do not have, certainly not in the same way, menopause. In the United States there is growing willingness publicly to discuss menopause and increasing understanding of how much it affects many if not most women in middle age. We know, for example, because research has repeatedly confirmed it, that women aged 50 to 65 – prime time for ascending to the top of the leadership ladder – are more likely to leave the workforce than men. Now we are poised finally to acknowledge that this might be not only because of women’s preferences, or only because of their greater caregiving responsibilities. In fact, it might mainly be because of their overall health. Because, for example, menopausal symptoms are impinging on their well-being.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand recently called for the first-ever congressional hearing on menopause. By drawing attention to a subject that Washington has never openly addressed, she is advocating for more federal funding for related research. A similar recent development was the announcement by Tufts University that it had received a $4 million gift to establish the Tufts Women’s Health and Menopause Initiative. The money will fund a university wide program that combines clinical care, research, nutrition science and medical education to alleviate what is neither a disease nor a medical condition, but that nevertheless effects countless women, in some cases for many years.
Inconceivable that the physical and psychological differences between women and men are totally irrelevant to who has power. Past time we faced facts. Such as, for example, women menstruate, men don’t.
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*To read some of my previous writings on this general subject click on these links.