Beate Chelette's Blog: The Women's Code, page 30

Is The Avalanche of Sexual Harassment Sweeping Through Your Office?

Every day we learn another man whom we perceived to be a leader has been called out for sexual harassment. Is it possible that women’s professional politeness can be blamed for being misread and misinterpreted?

Are the women at your company who are so grateful for being mentored by some of your leaders in danger of the same?

Three pitfalls that can be misread

Here are three pitfalls that can be easily misread if some simple training is not provided:

Pitfall 1: Professional politeness

Women are raised to be polite and we are told from a young age that nobody likes a difficult woman. We’ve come to realize that making it easy for others to like you will get us further faster. So then, why wouldn’t we be polite? Unfortunately, this signal can be misread as romantic interest. Men can easily assume that the reason we are being so nice is because we have a personal interest in them.

Pitfall 2: Flattery

We all know flattery goes a long way. It’s our go-to when we want someone to warm up to us. For our professional growth, we need to surround ourselves with teachers and mentors so we can gain knowledge and pearls of wisdom from them. And when we do we learn something valuable, we politely share our admiration as a way of thanking the person for their insights. In our minds, we are being mentored. But for a man, it can be difficult to differentiate whether our flattery and admiration is personal or professional. Most men I know (and most women) are often unsure of how to interpret this extra attention.

Pitfall 3: Others are doing it, why can’t you?

A former boyfriend worked at a Fortune 100 company and it was open knowledge that one of the VPs was having an affair with his secretary. This same VP also emailed sexual jokes to other company employees. Because he did his job well, this behavior went unchecked for years until that secretary realized he was never going to leave his wife and finally reported him. The VP was fired a few days later. When through tacit approval it is deemed okay for one person to behave like this, others can easily feel inspired to do the same or worse. Pack mentality can explain a lot of poor decisions.

What can YOU do about it?

It’s simple. You have two easy options:

Invite us to come and train your team, or to provide you with a train-the-trainer program to support you in providing this essential foundation for Balanced Leadership.
Have us create a customized training video that will support your efforts in curtailing sexual harassment and while providing tips on how to recognize what is professional and what is personal at work.

Please click here and let me know where to reach you. I’ll get in touch.

P.S. Let’s do everything we can to stop this avalanche of sexual harassment.

 

At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known ‘gender decoder’ who has appeared in over 60 radio shows, respected speaker, career coach, consummate creative entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!”

Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.

If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on New Leadership Balance or Creative Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect with me.

The post Is The Avalanche of Sexual Harassment Sweeping Through Your Office? appeared first on The Women's Code.

Why do men believe getting women to perform sexual acts puts the man in power?

You Can (bleep) My (bleep)

“Bing!”

That’s how the YouTube notification arrived to let me know someone had commented on one of my videos. It’s also the sound I imagined my eyes made when they exploded into the size of footballs once I read that message.

You guessed it—another uninvited, unwanted, and unnerving comment of a sexual nature. I wanted to hurt this jerk. But it seems he created a fake YouTube profile for the sole purpose of making anonymous comments. I see, so in addition to being a jerk, you’re also a coward.

The price for speaking up

Women are subjected to this kind of sex talk all the time. Frankly, I lost count long ago of how many (bleeps) I should (bleep). I’ve also lost my sense of humor about it and I’ve stopped brushing it off as “boys will be boys.” There really is no justification for this kind of behavior and I hope this guy rots in hell.

Why do men believe coercing women to perform sexual acts puts them into power?

This is the question that has been rattling around in my brain for far too long. What sick bastard could possibly find it arousing to force a woman to watch him masturbate? (Hey guys, in case you were wondering, we find it disgusting, gross, and demeaning.)

Why do men do this?

Let’s crack this topic wide open. Why do men believe getting women to perform sexual acts puts the man in power? Here are some theories:

Some men suffer from the “look at me!” syndrome and are narcissists who believe that everything they say or do is just astonishingly amazing. (Hint: Mostly the rest of the world feels mostly sorry for you and you are not amazing but annoying.)
There still exist “she made me do it” idiots who continue to live in the stone ages and have zero control over their own emotions or urges. (May I suggest Landmark education to start taking responsibility for yourself?)
Some people are just sick bastards who don’t see anything wrong with groping, touching, forcing women to kiss them, or even worse—raping or forcing oral sex. (If this describes you, feel free to check yourself into a 6×6 foot cell so you have ample time to think about why this is wrong on so many levels.)
And the simplest explanation of all… These men feel they are superior to women and that their sexual advances makes us feel good (they don’t) or put us firmly in our place as inferior. We are here for the pleasure of man and he can give it or take it away from us. Because when we are dominated, we live in fear and don’t dare to speak up. This type of jerk has been encouraged by our leadership to actually believe there is nothing wrong with this behavior. (Can you hear the sound of women everywhere collectively sighing in disgust?)

Please add your theories in the comments below! I’d love to hear them.

What women can do is simple

Stick together. Support each other. Speak up, speak out, and believe each other. Plus these 10 Demands Every Woman Should Make and Enforce.

As for me? I will fight to the nail against men who are trying to make decisions for women. The sooner we band together, the more powerful we will be. And that’s exactly what these men are most worried about.  And if you are one of the many, many good guys – will you PLEASE START TO SPEAK UP for us?

For the losers who are being called out now and are tumbling to the bottom of their careers in this avalanche of accusations why don’t we tell them all to just go (bleep) themselves? I can’t imagine anyone else would want to do it for them.

There, I feel better now

Leadership Qualities Should Be Unisex – But Are They?

Good leadership qualities should be applicable to both men and women. But when women lead like men they are called demanding and difficult, or worse.

Obviously, there is a difference in the way men and women lead.

The Numbers Says It All

In my Insights Paper I share the numbers that show women and men occupy entry-level positions at a 50-50 balance. So why then are only 17% of C-Suite positions and only 3% of CEO positions filled by women?

Do women become dumber as we advance? Or do our bosses just make poor decisions when handing out promotions?

If you’re not sure, let me inform you that study after study shows having more women in leadership positions means more profits, better engagement, and higher team intelligence. Given all that, I have one question…

Where are all the women leaders?

At every conference I’ve recently attended, conversations inevitably reach this conclusion: everybody is looking to hire more qualified women in leadership positions—especially in STEM industries where the discrepancy is the greatest.

The reason women are not represented in STEM and in leadership roles is actually very simple. It’s because women leadership is undefined.

And that’s what The Women’s Code sets out to accomplish. I’ve identified the three fundamental principles that men lead by and the three that women lead by. Surprise, surprise…they are not the same.

Would you like to find out what those fundamental principles are? Would you like to join me in defining women leadership so that we can educate the bosses?

Please contact me today and I’ll share compelling insights that you can put to use at your organization right away.

 

At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known ‘gender decoder’ who has appeared in over 60 radio shows, respected speaker, career coach, consummate creative entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!”

Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.

If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on New Leadership Balance or Creative Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect with me.

The post Leadership Qualities Should Be Unisex – But Are They? appeared first on The Women's Code.

Stop Feeling Good About the Progress of Equality

Isn’t the topic of women’s advancement and equality featured everywhere ad nauseam? Doesn’t it seem like there’s always another women’s conference, a summit, new book or article where a high-profile woman proclaims life’s not fair? What else could women possibly want? We are already getting ALL this attention. When will women stop being so demanding?

Do you feel the same?

When it comes to equality I’ve noticed many of us have become numb and disengaged.

The people making the statements above would have a point if the numbers had actually moved in the right direction over the past years. Truth is, you need to stop feeling good about the progress of equality because the numbers are doing the opposite of what we hoped. Globally, the numbers are reversing.

The latest news on the progress of equality

The latest numbers are out and they show that women globally WON’T see economic gender equality for 217 years, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum.

In all fairness, there are some countries making progress. But many are falling backward. 

Let me give you some reference points so you can judge these numbers for yourself.

According to the study, “The Global Gender Gap Index examines the gap between men and women in four fundamental categories (subindexes): Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment.” Each country is evaluated based on these four categories through a variety of sources that are detailed in the report.

Of the 142 countries that were included in the report both in 2016 and 2017, 82 countries have increased their overall gender gap scores compared to last year. Disturbingly, 60 countries scored lower than they did in 2016.

I’ve reviewed some of the most interesting portions of the study so that you can see how the numbers mesh together. To review the study, please go here and download the document.

Is there any good news?

Well, kinda. We know there has been progress in education, but it has NOT resulted in equivalent gains for women in earning opportunity, economic independence, or leadership. The Forum’s Closing the Gender Gap Project aims to accelerate the pace of change on gender parity through global dialogue and a national public-private cooperation model that is currently practiced in several future-ready countries.

While all world regions record a narrower gender gap than they did 11 years ago, more efforts will continue to be needed to accelerate progress. At the current rate of progress, the overall global gender gap can be closed in:

61 years in Western Europe
62 years in South Asia
79 years in Latin America and the Caribbean
102 years in Sub-Saharan Africa
128 years in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
157 years in the Middle East and North Africa
161 years in East Asia and the Pacific
168 years in North America

You tell me… Is it good news that we’ll be able to conquer this here in the United States 168 years from now?

Economic Gender Gap

The economic gender gap considers women’s labor force participation, wage equality, and professional leadership. Here, the gaps between women and men on economic participation and political empowerment remain wide: only 58% of the economic participation gap has been closed—a second consecutive year of reversed progress and the lowest value measured by the Index since 2008—and about 23% of the political gap unchanged since last year against a long-term trend of slow-but-steady improvement.

Now, it is important to look at this with the end goal in mind. And that goal is 100% equality. You can look 58% and think, well, that’s not so bad. But what 58% also represents is that in 2017 42% of women all over the world are not achieving equality in economic participation. That means funding for our businesses, equal pay, promotions, and advancing to leadership positions. That’s a HUGE number. It’s almost 1 out of 2 women. So, let’s hold off on the shoulder slapping for the 58% please.

Back to 2008

The report shows global advancements women have made in our economic participation are now back to 2008 levels. This is the average value including countries that advanced and countries that are falling back.

How is this even possible?

“The gender gaps at the industry level highlights that even though qualified women are coming out of the education system, many industries are failing to hire, retain and promote them, losing out on a wealth of capacity,” states The Global Gender Gap Report 2017. “As the world moves from capitalism into the era of talentism, competitiveness on a national and on a business level will be decided more than ever before by the innovative capacity of a country or a company. In this new context, the integration of women into the talent pool becomes a must.”

The numbers tell a compelling story

The Global Gender Gap Report 2017 says notable recent estimates suggest economic gender parity could add an additional $250 billion to the GDP of the United Kingdom, $1,750 billion to that of the United States, $550 billion to Japan’s GDP, $320 billion to France’s and $310 billion to the GDP of Germany. Other recent estimates suggest that China could see a $2.5 trillion GDP increase from gender parity and that the world as a whole could increase global GDP by $5.3 trillion by 2025 by closing the gender gap in economic participation by 25% over the same period. (All monetary figures in US dollars.)

What does this mean for you and your business? It means it’s go-time unless you can afford to lose out on the ideas and the extra revenue women can and will bring to your business. Supporting women is definitely one way to put your business growth on the fast track.

Call me, it’s time we talk. Here’s my cell number: 310 678 1343. I am serious. Are you?

 

At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known ‘gender decoder’ who has appeared in over 60 radio shows, respected speaker, career coach, consummate creative entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!”

Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.

If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on New Leadership Balance or Creative Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect with me.

The post Stop Feeling Good About the Progress of Equality appeared first on The Women's Code.

The Essential Checklist For Women Leadership

The movement of women speaking up and speaking out is only getting louder. Your organization is missing out if you are not actively engaging in the most important conversation we are having right now.

Women are rising

I’ve covered it extensively and I see a lot of struggle and time wasted with figuring out what you can do right now. So, I’m giving you the essential checklist for women leadership. Use these points to make an impact at your workplace:

Your organization needs to showcase at least one women’s initiative. It’s okay if you only focus on one, but you must put money behind it and make sure it gets noticed. If you are not willing to put dollars behind it, don’t waste your time.

Intention alone isn’t going to do anything—it has to be tangible.

The success of equality is viewed differently by men and women. An eye-opening study by McKinsey and LeanIn.org (see the portion: Men think women are doing better than they really are) shows that the majority of men believe one woman in a boardroom of ten is excellent progress! You must have the conversation with both genders and establish your baseline for comparison. Otherwise, there is no measure of success.






Don’t make any excuses or try to justify the current state of equality (or lack thereof) at your company. It will only get you bad press. Rather, take a bold step and declare you are now committed to making changes and are putting money behind it. And then follow through with those changes.






If you consider yourself an advocate for women leadership—this is your time! Please consider me your ally. If you need any numbers or help to pitch something, or someone to be on the advisory committee, or just about any other thing I can do to help, all you need to do is shoot me an email. I have every imaginable study about this topic at my fingertips. I can help you. Really, I mean this.






Point out those thousand little things that women notice. Simple things like “let her finish” or “I want to hear what the women have to say” go a long way. When you see something that is not equal, please say something right away. Do not hide behind the men’s code (i.e. mostly silence).



Women are moving

From where I stand, I see so much movement for women. I just facilitated an Entrepreneur Training at the Small Business Development Center in Long Beach (SBDC) and half the attendees were women. I recently spoke at the Duarte Chamber of Commerce women’s event and also at a World Financial event. All of the attendees were women with the exception of a handful of men. I’ve also been invited to keynote a Tech Talk for women venture funding.

And to top it all, I am going to be interviewed in the co-op opportunity of the U.S. State Department and the Indian Government on a Global Entrepreneur Summit that will be featured in the local media during the summit. And guess what? Yep, the focus is on women.

The time is now. We don’t have any more time to waste. Let’s Grow.

 

At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known ‘gender decoder’ who has appeared in over 60 radio shows, respected speaker, career coach, consummate creative entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!”

Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.

If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on New Leadership Balance or Creative Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect with me.

The post The Essential Checklist For Women Leadership appeared first on The Women's Code.

10 Demands Every Woman Should Make and Enforce

The story is repeated and repeated every day, every minute, everywhere in this world. Women are not speaking up enough, women are speaking up too much, or (my favorite) women have no right to attempt to get ahead by lying about all this harassment stuff done by successful and powerful men. (This wonderful new spin of the #METOO movement brought to you by Fox News and O’Reilly himself.)

Just when you thought you’d heard it all, yet another twisty turn appears in the road. Sometimes I feel really discouraged when I scroll through my news feed reading the headlines. Another sexual harassment claim toward a C-Level executive, a chef, a TV host. A notice from Google that addressing the company’s gender pay gap would be too difficult and simply cost prohibitive. And don’t even get me started with all the anti-women policy reversals that originate from the US government. I saw an interview on CNN yesterday where Chris Ruddy, the unlikable CEO of Newsmax, called out Rep. Wilson for wearing a cowboy hat and then attempted to insult Don Lemon for acting “hysterical,” which we know is a classic “like a girl” insult.

How Men & Women Perceive Progress on Women’s Equality

A new study from McKinsey highlights how differently men and women perceive the progress of women’s equality. For example, many men believe that one woman on a board of ten is proper and equal representation. Seriously? Compared to…? Oh, that’s right! When compared to ZILCH it is indeed a huge step.

Every time I post on LinkedIn about women’s issues, inevitably a white male shares how uncomfortable my overarching judgment of middle-aged, white, power-hungry men makes him feel. Just wait for the comments to follow this post—it will happen here, too. I’ve been called not-so-hot, an idiot, one of “those feminists,” and I received anonymous emails calling me much worse.

There are so many battlefields for women right now that I think I have whiplash. While on my stationary bike at the gym yesterday, I found myself gasping and possibly wildly gesticulating with my arms while watching CNN. Too bad that idiot from Newsmax couldn’t hear me. I was certainly trying.

Is anyone hearing us women? How much clearer must we be about how fed up we are with one of the main issues at the core of everything?

CAN WOMEN PLEASE SPEAK FOR OURSELVES WITHOUT RIDICULE?

Demands Women Should Enforce & Make

Here’s the list of ten demands every woman should be granted:

Women speak for themselves on issues that affect women. That is a non-negotiable condition for every issue surrounding women’s health, work, advancement, salaries, and benefits.
When a woman is asked for her opinion and she gives it to you, rest assured it is, in fact, her opinion.
When a woman says she’s been harassed or raped, believe her. Because very few of us would expose ourselves to the hatred this confession invokes and the nasty consequences of coming forward. Contrary to what some men may think, coming out with such an accusation has not proven to be a roadmap to success for women.
When a woman makes a suggestion but the credit goes to the loudmouth guy who says the same thing two minutes after her, you need to say something right then and there.
When a woman wants to wear a cowboy hat, a beret, a head scarf, or something pink, short, or long, or flat shoes or high heels, it is not a reflection of her intellectual capability. It is simply a reflection of her fashion taste.
A woman’s physical size has no relevance on her ability to do her job. Women don’t think that of men. If we did, we would wonder how the nutcase CEO of Newsmax could possibly do his job well in light of his rather extensive body size. Gluttony is a sin. And Rep. Wilson’s cowboy hat? Well, that’s just a hat (see #5). Ah, the double standards we come to accept.
Women are just as smart as men.
Women can lead, we just lead differently. Thank God.
Our bodily functions such as (gasp) menstrual periods and menopause are what they are. We didn’t exactly beg for these blessings, and they are often inconvenient for us. But, we deal with it—because we are women.
Our ability to give birth is an earth-shatteringly awesome thing we do and makes us so, so much superior to men. Imagine—giving LIFE!!! We need to be carried on silver platters and adored 24/7 for that fact alone.

Please share your thoughts on this list and add what I missed. Let’s keep the conversation going.

 

At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known ‘gender decoder’ who has appeared in over 60 radio shows, respected speaker, career coach, consummate creative entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!”

Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.

If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on New Leadership Balance or Creative Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect with me.

The post 10 Demands Every Woman Should Make and Enforce appeared first on The Women's Code.

How To Make Them Hear and See You

Today has been a very proud day! Diana, a 25-year-old hairstylist, gave me a great ‘do before my appearance on the TV show EXTRA (I’ll let you know when the segment will be airing, but it’s not going to be what you think it is). I’ve known Diana since she was three months old because she and my daughter went to the same daycare.

They hate me

Like so many of us, Diana started her career as an assistant and she has paid her dues. Diana worked with six other assistants in a fancy Los Angeles hair salon. It was during her time at this salon that I was, unfortunately, not surprised to receive a call from Diana. She was almost in tears because of the way she was being treated by the other assistants.

I’d heard it all before: jealousy, backstabbing, trash talking behind her back, making up stories, setting her up to fail, and singling her out to do more of the dirty work like cleaning the kitchen. This is much the same of what I frequently hear about workplaces where many women are together in close quarters.

Diana asked me why she was being singled out and made to be the target. What should she do?

Before I go on about Diana, let me share that if you have been subjected to this kind of bullying and harassment, it’s because you are a high potential. You are different. And “followers” don’t like people who are different. But guess who does? Bosses do.

Innovation and creativity need each other

First lesson is to understand that if you were a nobody, they wouldn’t care. They care because you are a threat. That means you must know what you are doing, and you probably do it better than your co-workers.

That is the very reason they try to keep you in your place.

They do not want you to rise above their mediocrity and pettiness. And guess what? They will stay where they are for a very long time because they are busy with infighting. Hardly the stuff that says PROMOTE ME!

Think like an owner

That’s what I told Diana. It’s your career. And ultimately, it’s your business. So you have to start speaking up for yourself. I told Diana to review her employee handbook very closely because more often than not, the answers are right there.

Next time Diana went to work, she walked in shaking like a leaf—but she was armed with information. She made sure they knew that she knew what was up. That’s when the manager of the salon (who had allowed all this bullying to go on unabated) got the memo. This girl means business.  And yes, Diana roared. I suggested she should. I know that women are more powerful than they believe.

Diana had to grow a thick skin and focus only on her work. She continued to communicate with the other women, but strictly on business and career issues.

Then they started to notice her, which is better than terrorizing her. And suddenly, there was an opportunity to shine…

During a routine showcase where the owner of the salon checks in on the progress of the assistants, Diana showed up in a BIG way. She was ready, she had prepared, and she put it all out there.

The result?

The owner (not the manager, not the other assistants) was so impressed that he offered Diana her own chair in his second salon that was about to open in only the most prestigious location you can possibly imagine. Her rate quadrupled overnight.

What is the lesson here?

You need to think like an owner and understand what their issues are. When you get that, you devise your strategy according to what they need. That’s how you get noticed in the workplace. And you’d better be prepared for that opportunity when it comes along because it may only come once. At that moment you have to be ready—not involved in petty infighting.

And that’s how I got to catch up with Diana from daycare to giving me my look for EXTRA. Oh, and my hairstyle? It was fabulous, of course!

 

At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known ‘gender decoder’ who has appeared in over 60 radio shows, respected speaker, career coach, consummate creative entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!”

Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.

If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on New Leadership Balance or Creative Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect with me.

The post How To Make Them Hear and See You appeared first on The Women's Code.

A Few Good Men Who Matter So Much

I often talk about what is wrong in the business world when it comes to women’s experiences and opportunities. But today, I am going to talk about what is right, thanks to a few good men who make such a difference.

Work is not the only thing we do at our workplaces. We have personal relationships with some of our coworkers and clients who are also our friends. We do business with PEOPLE, and every single person matters.

That’s why when an engineer working in the oil and petroleum industry on the East Coast picked up the phone to ask me why he hadn’t received my broadcast updates, it caused me to pause and remind myself that the work my team and I are doing is for the PEOPLE.

Mr. K, the engineer who called me, shared with me how much he loves getting emails from The Women’s Code because it gives him ideas on how to further his own cause. You see, Mr. K is an ally and he’s trying to get more women into engineering.

It Made My Day

In my personal experience, I have found the 80/20 applies also to men who support women advancement.

Eighty percent have their heads screwed on straight and are shocked when they hear or read what the rotten 20% say or do to women. It just feels like there are more than 20% rotten apples out there because they tend to command all the attention and are well documented.

See it for yourself just by reading the comments on some of my posts. It’s a real eye-opener when a man who is supposedly happily married with two daughters says some of the nastiest things to me. Clearly, more education is necessary.

Focus on the Few Great Men

First, let’s acknowledge there are more than just a few. I am happy to report that there are actually MANY great men out there.

If you are one of them, please share in the comments a #fewgoodmen. It just feels as if there are only a few because the 20% are so much louder. Shall we change that?

Support Women Advancement

Now, let’s take a look at what you can do if you are one of them and want to support and advance women’s causes.

SPEAK UP.

This is probably the most important aspect of advancing women’s issues. When in a meeting, a man can use his voice to give the women a voice. Evaluate our ideas with the same sincerity as you would a man’s idea. Of course, this “voice lending” isn’t meant to be a final solution. It is, however, a simple way to start to address the norms of today’s society that hold women back.

 

MENTOR & SUPPORT WOMEN.

Make a point to mentor and support women by asking them to make presentations during meetings (or where appropriate) so that our voices are heard. Be clear to articulate that team intelligence is at its highest when women and men have a 50%-50% balance. (If you need those numbers and more, download the Insights Paper.)

 

WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING – SAY SOMETHING.

This can be in the form of taking the bully aside for a private chat after you watch him belittle a woman, or standing up for her when amid a group of 10 men. Either way, it is imperative that you say SOMETHING.

I have learned a few things about the pack mentality just by reading the comments that follow my posts about controversial topics. I’ve noticed that once one man makes a nasty comment, other men feel entitled to let out their frustrations as well, irrespective of whether or not those opinions are warranted. It’s as though I am the stand-in woman on the receiving end of many years of pent up anger toward women in general. And I’ll take that role on so that we can be more aware of the rotten ones and how they act, but no woman should be a punching bag for a man’s frustrations. Make sure they don’t pick on a woman in your circles because it’s easy.

 

ENCOURAGE & BE HONEST.

You’d be surprised the difference it can make for us. And a little goes a long way. Like when Mr.K called me today to tell me that what I do matters. Please, tell the women around you that they matter, too. It makes all the difference in the world and it keeps us going.

Finally, if you feel that you are one of these good men and I just spoke to you—I did. I thank you, the many good men, from the bottom of my heart.

 

At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known ‘gender decoder’ who has appeared in over 60 radio shows, respected speaker, career coach, consummate creative entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!”

Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.

If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on New Leadership Balance or Creative Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect with me.

The post A Few Good Men Who Matter So Much appeared first on The Women's Code.

#METOO and What That Really Means

Harvey Weinstein is on everyone’s mind. From the colleagues who benefited from his power and kinda-sorta knew but didn’t say anything, to the women subjected to his unwanted advances and aggressive behavior, to the associates who kept everything hush-hush and paid what needed to be paid to keep things quiet. It’s just business, after all. And the man seemed to be gifted at his job of picking the most promising talent and scripts and creating Oscar and Golden Globe winners without end.

The Ends Justifies the Means

Does it really?

My Facebook feed is a horror show. Not only are many women (and a few men) posting #METOO, but many of them are sharing their stories in excruciating detail.

What does this have to do with supply diversity and balanced leadership training?

Everything. The behavior is an epidemic in our workplaces and far beyond. And I have a pretty good idea why it has perpetuated as long as it has: Power is a mighty aphrodisiac.

Not a Leader, But a Dictator

It’s easy and so very tempting to use my power to make other people do what I want. Especially if I am the kind of leader who believes that only I know best, or think that I got into this position because all my ideas are great. (Just so we’re clear, that is NOT the definition of a leader. That is the definition of a dictator.)

Weinstein shows us that when there is abuse of power or an overinflated sense of self, the fall will be short and hard. Nobody, NOBODY but Woody Allen, a controversial figure in his own right when it comes to women and sex, came to Weinstein’s rescue. The truth is that those who knew couldn’t wait for this day to come—and it’s payback time.

Bad for Business

The business aspects of sexual misconduct can truly cost you your career or your entire business. Weinstein Company is on the block to be sold in a matter of weeks with hopes of salvaging what little is left.

You are reading this because your business is about balance. Your aim is to create balance in opportunities, balance in the way things are distributed, and balance in your organization’s approach to things. Creating this balance is a challenge, and your actions are constantly weighed against your words.

We must resist faltering and going the easy road. We must continue to fight for minorities, for women, for everybody who is not a white male. And if you are a white male reading this, I congratulate and thank you. You are one of a few good men and we need you.

The True Meaning of #METOO

My message to you today is simple.

#METOO stands for women who feel powerless to speak up against what happens at work every single day.

Please help us all put an end to it. Empower women wherever you do business. Your mother, your daughter, your sister, your aunt, and I—we thank you for making a difference.

 

At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known ‘gender decoder’ who has appeared in over 60 radio shows, respected speaker, career coach, consummate creative entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!”

Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.

If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on New Leadership Balance or Creative Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect with me.

The post #METOO and What That Really Means appeared first on The Women's Code.

You Are Powerful… Now More Than Ever

A few weeks ago, I returned from WBENC West. It’s an annual conference attended by approximately 500 women, most of whom are Supplier Diversity professionals. Attending events like this always reminds me of one thing: YOU ARE POWERFUL.

It’s not always easy in the Supplier Diversity chain. Many diversity professionals I have spoken to wish they had more leverage in how contracts are distributed. They often feel their suggestions are not taken as seriously as they’d like. On the other side, I’ve heard a few business owners wonder aloud how much “pull” a diversity department really has.

Forgive me for bringing up this tender topic. But let’s talk about it anyway—because I believe that you are powerful. I’d bet you are much more powerful than you think you are.

What’s happening on the corporate side?

There are government rules that must be followed. The onus placed on a company is one more thing to deal with. Or, it can be a great opportunity to ensure a company does what it says it does.

Under the current government it is very possible that minority, diversity, and equality initiatives are going to be dismantled. I’ve been through this before and I expect it to happen again.

However, what is happening on the corporate side is nothing short of miraculous. This time, the companies are the ones standing up and making commitments to equality, diversity, and inclusion. All on their own.

Why they do this?

Because they know it is the right thing to do. Because they know Millennials won’t buy from any organization that doesn’t follow through on the core beliefs Millennials hold.

We should be grateful Millenials uphold the beliefs that we are powerful, that we all matter, that we are all equal, and that diversity is just a way of life.

Take that a step further. Can you wrap your head around the idea that diversity shouldn’t even be called diversity anymore? Differences between individuals should be an accepted norm that is deeply engrained in our cultures and in our personal and corporate belief systems. After all, we are all equal at heart.

What a shift!

You Are Powerful

I encourage you to shake off whatever experiences you had in your career as a diversity professional that made you surrender to the system, or left you feeling frustrated, even powerless.

This is your time now. You are powerful because you are driving change and you know more about it than anyone else.

I am here to support you, and so are all of my fellow women-, minority-, veteran-, disabled-, and LGBT-owned businesses. We are ready to roar so that your message is heard.

The world needs YOU now more than ever. Thank you for what you do. Please stay the course.

Because you are more powerful than you might think.

 

At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known ‘gender decoder’ who has appeared in over 60 radio shows, respected speaker, career coach, consummate creative entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!”

Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.

If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on New Leadership Balance or Creative Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect with me.

The post You Are Powerful… Now More Than Ever appeared first on The Women's Code.