don't rock the boat or change the curtains. Fit in
Simple really
When I wrote a month ago about the CareerWise program for women in engineering and hard sciences, 
I was struck by how it turned left-brain thinking to help advance women in these male-dominated professions. Instead of trying to neutralize the quants, CareerWise director Bianca L. Bernstein, Ph.D., analyzes their approach and advises women on how to succeed in that environment.
Engineers pride themselves on being fantastic problem-solvers. But women get so discouraged by being isolated that they get worn down and quit. So Bernstein approached the problem, and presented the solutions, in the sort of technical case study beloved by engineers. “Our approach is to take a language that they know and the common steps they know, but extend them to interpersonal issues,” she said in an interview.
Turns out this approach can work for other industries as well. Some examples:
- In math-based professions, follow the numbers. Moss Adams, the Seattle accounting firm, has the most comprehensive and transparent report in the profession about advancing women. Anyone at Moss Adams can see the numerical progress of the firm’s Forum_W initiative. Accountants love numbers. They got numbers.
- Working in tech-related industries? Think virtually. A telecommunications company can equip call center employees to work from home using its technology. If it’s good enough for business customers, it should be good enough for the employee, right? That’s just what Cox Communications figured out. A couple of years ago, its Phoenix office pioneered virtual call centers. Not only does Cox now save $3,000 per employee by not having to create space for them in its cavernous suburban call center, but its reps’ work-from-home stories become testimonials for consumers. How often do you actually tell the person on the other end of the line that you’d like to apply for their job so you could work from home? That actually happens to Cox customer service reps.
What about your industry? What core strengths does your company have that could be used to help women workers advance?
