Heidi and Howard
The Heidi/Howard case study says it all.
The study describes the work of a powerful, prudent and well-connected venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. When MBA students are presented with Heidi, they routinely characterize her as ruthless, cruel and self-centred. Rename her Howard, though, and things change: Both male and female MBA students give Howard top marks as a savvy star-maker — even though Heidi and Howard are identical but for their names. “That’s why a program like the Judy Project is necessary, because women still face those stereotypes,” says Elizabeth Tropea, 44, Montreal-based vice-president of consumer experience for Bell Canada, who learned about Heidi and Howard when she participated in the one-week leadership forum.
Tropea is one of 120 or so female execs from across Canada who have participated in the Judy Project since this innovative program was launched in 2003. What stereotypes is it fighting? Act like a woman, and people think you can’t lead. Act like a leader, and people think you’re a bitch. You’d think we’d be past those views by now, after almost half a century of women’s whole-scale participation in the workforce. But we’re not: Last year, a U.S. and European study of more than 1,200 senior executives’ perceptions of men and women leaders by Catalyst (a non-profit research organization focused on women and business) found that both men and women are overwhelmingly tougher on women leaders than they are on men in similar positions. Women leaders are viewed as either too tough or too soft, but never “just right.” They face higher standards than men and are rewarded with less. Even those women viewed as competent leaders can’t win — being viewed as a good leader generally goes hand in hand with being disliked, and being liked means being viewed as not having leadership qualities. Male leaders, on the other hand, were more likely to be viewed by men and women as both competent and likeable.
It’s enough to make a gal want to cry — or to figure out a way to change things.
Plan B
Judy Elder likely would have opted for plan B: Do something to change the situation. Elder reached the top ranks of Microsoft Canada, IBM Canada, Ogilvy One and the Canadian Marketing Association, and was a mentor to many women, known for urging colleagues to be proud of their ambitions. When she died of a progressive blood disease at age 47 in 2002, friends worked with the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management to create a program that would honour Elder’s legacy. Thus the Judy Project was born. It’s geared to women identified by their companies as having “corner office” potential. These companies pay a one-time minimum $25,000 sponsorship fee to join the program and then another $7,500 for each participant they send to the annual five-day residential session at the 114-acre Kingbridge Centre just outside Toronto.
Obviously, the Judy Project is an exclusive club; alumna members include Denise Pickett, 42, recently promoted to CEO of American Express Canada Inc. Pickett is one of the first alumni to make it to that coveted corner office, but many others have spoken of the positive impact of the program on their careers, says Beatrix Dart, a professor for strategic management and the executive director for the initiatives for women in business at the Rotman School. The program’s key? “This isn’t about ghettoizing women,” says Dart in her Swiss-accented English as she leans across a meeting table in her own sunny corner office at the downtown U of T campus. Instead, she says, it’s about creating an atmosphere where women can honestly share the challenges they face and equip themselves with the tools to advance.
