- Email: [email protected]
Women managers at work
Gender, though certainly an issue on the European scene, is set aside for those showing the proper qualifications and the willingness to perform as a professional.’ This director also reports that she has had a number of female programmer/analysts work for her in Italy and the UK, but no female managers. In residential division’s information services department, the manager of systems and programming attended the University of Minnesota for a yearand-a-half, and has also attended many classes and seminars, off and on work hours. ‘I feel education is critical, but I don’t think the lack of a degree has hindered my career,’ she says. Starting in a clerical position 20 years ago with Honeywell, she has held 11 different jobs, has ‘never consciously turned down an opportunity to show what I could do, and I’ve consciously sought high-risk situations where I could demonstrate my capabilities.’ A business system analyst at solid state electronics division begs to differ. She has had college-level electrical engineering courses, though she acquired no formal academic degree, but has ‘continued attending classes and seminars to expand my knowledge in the field to include database technology, TP, and to keep up to date on hardware and software innovations.’ After 17 years in DP and 26 with Honeywell, she doesn’t feel there is much future for her in the division. ‘Management is very degree-oriented’. But, she adds, ‘I don’t believe I would enjoy being strictly a supervisor with no technical outlet.’
Womenmanagers atwork by MARY LEE SLETTEHAUGH
S
ixteen per cent of those in professional, engineering and administrative jobs at Honeywell are women. Although internal data processing departments exist within most of the company’s forty-plus divisions, operations, and centres, the information systems business segment, by its very nature, employs more people for internal and external data processing and computer-related work than do the other operating units (control products, control systems and aerospace and defense). In fact, the highest-ranking woman in Honeywell, now vice president of corporate information management, began her 25year career in the infant data processing and computer world of information systems division. (She has a degree in engineering with an applied mathematics major.) ‘At that time, there were no computer courses, and no computers for that matter, but my
Abstract: Formal education, in termsof degrees, is not always the main factor enabling women to take up management positionsin data processing. Determination, dedication and, for married women with children, overcoming the obstacleof childcare, are other importantfactors thatshould be considered. The paper is based on interviewszvithfemale DP managers in Honeywell Inc. Keywords: women, management, employment. Mary Lee Slettehaugh is assistant editor of Scientific Honeyweller.
20
0011~84x/83/060020-02$03.00
0
area of study was the best possible background for what I was to do,’ she says. ‘I am an only child and a stubborn soul. My desires to get into engineering were reinforced by objections from everyone - my mother, the dean of women, the dean of engineering. When the faculty of the engineering school threatened to fail me because I was female, I knew I was on the right track.’ Does education equate with opportunity? While many women came into the DP field (at various levels) with maths, computer science or engineering degrees, it appears that on-the-job training is not uncommon. Yet, perceptions vary on whether an academic degree of any sort improves one’s chances for promotion. The director of management information systems for Honeywell in the UK, whose previous position was director of internal business systems in Milan, Italy pointed out that most of her recruits in Italy had studied finance, economics or engineering. A degree in computer science was virtually nonexistent. ‘The Italian DP market is exploding. Anyone with a bachelor’s or master’s degree can name his or her own ticket. The same explosion is occuring in the metropolitan areas of the UK,’ she says. ‘In the more economically depressed areas, opportunities are more limited. Still the competition for talent is very tough.
1983 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd.
The pros and cons of management Moving from the ranks into management has its joys and sorrows, according to those who have done it. Opportunities for power, influence, mentoring, and personal growth may be some of the attractions of management. However, long hours, stress, heavy responsibility, company politics and fac-
data processing
ing the risks of moving into a traditionally male role may discourage many women from that career path. One woman, after 24 years with Honeywell, is now manager of enduser facilities and database development in applied software products. She ‘particularly enjoyed the maintenance aspect of programming, i.e., finding and fixing ‘bugs”. After 11 years she became a first-level supervisor, managing programmers working on design and development projects. Two years later, she was promoted to a department manager position : ‘It was a first time, I believe, that a woman rose through the ranks of that division into a management job. The man who decided to offer me the job told me at the that he had ‘only lost one night’s sleep’ over his decision. I was very apprehensive about the responsibility, but I accepted the job and enjoyed it.’ Her most enjoyable experiences as a manager have been ‘to give challenging assignments to individuals who have worked for me, and to watch them grow and advance in their careers as a result’. Getting there Women who have reached middle to upper management levels seem to share common characteristics. As far as family background, some mentioned being the eldest or only daughter; having strong female role models; absorbing and practising a strict work ethic. They feel ‘luck’ and ‘being in the right place at the right time’ played a part in their success. Many also mentioned support and encouragement from their managers to move ahead. ‘The man who promoted me has been a great help in training me, rather than telling me how he would do the job,’ says one such woman. ‘He’s been supportive and didn’t back away from promoting a woman - me’. Another agrees: ‘I have found that when a man promotes a woman, he
~0125no 6
july/august 1983
supports her extremely well and in the early stages of the new job builds up her confidence’, she said. ‘On the other hand, I have found secretaries in general are more helpful to male bosses than to females, which causes a few problems to women first entering management’. Besides those factors mentioned above, others described by other Honeywell women in data processing as relevant in the profession include: personal qualities such as determination, patience and persistence in achieving career goals and overcoming career blockades: communications skills, humour and professionalism; and dedication to the job. Honeywell women interviewed feel the DP vocation offers opportunity, creativity, independence, flexibility, and growth as much or as little as one may desire, or be capable of. Few women recognized any job discrimination against them because they are female; yet the number of women in management positions ranges from O-30% among those Honeywell divisions which could provide such information. Obstacles to the promotion of women into management positions include political situations on the job; a need to prove oneself constantly, and careers interrupted by child-bearing and child-rearing. Juggling traditional roles or choosing new ones? Some of the women interviewed have remained single or childless in pursuit of their careers, while others made deliberate, thoughtful choices along the way regarding career, marriage and motherhood. ‘After two years of college, I married at age 19’, said one interviewee. ‘In the following three years I had two children and continued to take night courses towards my degree’. She chose mathematics because its study seemed flexible and consistent with her commitment to her family. She did not want to work fulltime while her chil-
dren were of preschool age, and her husband’s mobile military career limited her job and educational opportunities somewhat. The woman obtained a master’s degree in computer science and has been at Honeywell for five years. She’s found, as a technical specialist, that her skills in DP are portable and in great demand. But, she cautions, ‘Whenever the opportunities are open and the work plentiful, there is a tendency to think you can have it all, without recognizing that trade-offs and hard decisions must be made. When a woman has a family and is combining a career, even if there is solid spouse support, as I have had, everything you do affects the others’. She has chosen to work close to home and to avoid job opportunities which require a lot of travel. The woman who managed DP functions in Milan says, ‘In Italy, family obligations still play a significant role in limiting career growth for women professionally. I predict a dramatic change in this over the next five to ten years. Young female professionals are increasingly approaching their careers fairly aggressively, and it seems the Italian nuclear family bonds may be loosening a bit’. Con4Ausion It is hard to estimate exactly how many among Honeywell’s approximately 15 000 women in ‘professional’ job categories work in data processing. As has been noted, because of Honeywell’s computer business, there are a number of women in programmer, analyst, applications and support jobs. Some who have worked and waited for years are now in management positions. Others, young and assertive and strongly career-oriented, have moved more rapidly into management. Overall, the ratio of men to women managers is low, and growing only slowly, 0 Scientific MN12-2243, Honeyweller, Honeywell Inc, PO Box 524, MN 55440, USA. Tel: 612-870 5200.
21
Womenmanagers atwork by MARY LEE SLETTEHAUGH
S
ixteen per cent of those in professional, engineering and administrative jobs at Honeywell are women. Although internal data processing departments exist within most of the company’s forty-plus divisions, operations, and centres, the information systems business segment, by its very nature, employs more people for internal and external data processing and computer-related work than do the other operating units (control products, control systems and aerospace and defense). In fact, the highest-ranking woman in Honeywell, now vice president of corporate information management, began her 25year career in the infant data processing and computer world of information systems division. (She has a degree in engineering with an applied mathematics major.) ‘At that time, there were no computer courses, and no computers for that matter, but my
Abstract: Formal education, in termsof degrees, is not always the main factor enabling women to take up management positionsin data processing. Determination, dedication and, for married women with children, overcoming the obstacleof childcare, are other importantfactors thatshould be considered. The paper is based on interviewszvithfemale DP managers in Honeywell Inc. Keywords: women, management, employment. Mary Lee Slettehaugh is assistant editor of Scientific Honeyweller.
20
0011~84x/83/060020-02$03.00
0
area of study was the best possible background for what I was to do,’ she says. ‘I am an only child and a stubborn soul. My desires to get into engineering were reinforced by objections from everyone - my mother, the dean of women, the dean of engineering. When the faculty of the engineering school threatened to fail me because I was female, I knew I was on the right track.’ Does education equate with opportunity? While many women came into the DP field (at various levels) with maths, computer science or engineering degrees, it appears that on-the-job training is not uncommon. Yet, perceptions vary on whether an academic degree of any sort improves one’s chances for promotion. The director of management information systems for Honeywell in the UK, whose previous position was director of internal business systems in Milan, Italy pointed out that most of her recruits in Italy had studied finance, economics or engineering. A degree in computer science was virtually nonexistent. ‘The Italian DP market is exploding. Anyone with a bachelor’s or master’s degree can name his or her own ticket. The same explosion is occuring in the metropolitan areas of the UK,’ she says. ‘In the more economically depressed areas, opportunities are more limited. Still the competition for talent is very tough.
1983 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd.
The pros and cons of management Moving from the ranks into management has its joys and sorrows, according to those who have done it. Opportunities for power, influence, mentoring, and personal growth may be some of the attractions of management. However, long hours, stress, heavy responsibility, company politics and fac-
data processing
ing the risks of moving into a traditionally male role may discourage many women from that career path. One woman, after 24 years with Honeywell, is now manager of enduser facilities and database development in applied software products. She ‘particularly enjoyed the maintenance aspect of programming, i.e., finding and fixing ‘bugs”. After 11 years she became a first-level supervisor, managing programmers working on design and development projects. Two years later, she was promoted to a department manager position : ‘It was a first time, I believe, that a woman rose through the ranks of that division into a management job. The man who decided to offer me the job told me at the that he had ‘only lost one night’s sleep’ over his decision. I was very apprehensive about the responsibility, but I accepted the job and enjoyed it.’ Her most enjoyable experiences as a manager have been ‘to give challenging assignments to individuals who have worked for me, and to watch them grow and advance in their careers as a result’. Getting there Women who have reached middle to upper management levels seem to share common characteristics. As far as family background, some mentioned being the eldest or only daughter; having strong female role models; absorbing and practising a strict work ethic. They feel ‘luck’ and ‘being in the right place at the right time’ played a part in their success. Many also mentioned support and encouragement from their managers to move ahead. ‘The man who promoted me has been a great help in training me, rather than telling me how he would do the job,’ says one such woman. ‘He’s been supportive and didn’t back away from promoting a woman - me’. Another agrees: ‘I have found that when a man promotes a woman, he
~0125no 6
july/august 1983
supports her extremely well and in the early stages of the new job builds up her confidence’, she said. ‘On the other hand, I have found secretaries in general are more helpful to male bosses than to females, which causes a few problems to women first entering management’. Besides those factors mentioned above, others described by other Honeywell women in data processing as relevant in the profession include: personal qualities such as determination, patience and persistence in achieving career goals and overcoming career blockades: communications skills, humour and professionalism; and dedication to the job. Honeywell women interviewed feel the DP vocation offers opportunity, creativity, independence, flexibility, and growth as much or as little as one may desire, or be capable of. Few women recognized any job discrimination against them because they are female; yet the number of women in management positions ranges from O-30% among those Honeywell divisions which could provide such information. Obstacles to the promotion of women into management positions include political situations on the job; a need to prove oneself constantly, and careers interrupted by child-bearing and child-rearing. Juggling traditional roles or choosing new ones? Some of the women interviewed have remained single or childless in pursuit of their careers, while others made deliberate, thoughtful choices along the way regarding career, marriage and motherhood. ‘After two years of college, I married at age 19’, said one interviewee. ‘In the following three years I had two children and continued to take night courses towards my degree’. She chose mathematics because its study seemed flexible and consistent with her commitment to her family. She did not want to work fulltime while her chil-
dren were of preschool age, and her husband’s mobile military career limited her job and educational opportunities somewhat. The woman obtained a master’s degree in computer science and has been at Honeywell for five years. She’s found, as a technical specialist, that her skills in DP are portable and in great demand. But, she cautions, ‘Whenever the opportunities are open and the work plentiful, there is a tendency to think you can have it all, without recognizing that trade-offs and hard decisions must be made. When a woman has a family and is combining a career, even if there is solid spouse support, as I have had, everything you do affects the others’. She has chosen to work close to home and to avoid job opportunities which require a lot of travel. The woman who managed DP functions in Milan says, ‘In Italy, family obligations still play a significant role in limiting career growth for women professionally. I predict a dramatic change in this over the next five to ten years. Young female professionals are increasingly approaching their careers fairly aggressively, and it seems the Italian nuclear family bonds may be loosening a bit’. Con4Ausion It is hard to estimate exactly how many among Honeywell’s approximately 15 000 women in ‘professional’ job categories work in data processing. As has been noted, because of Honeywell’s computer business, there are a number of women in programmer, analyst, applications and support jobs. Some who have worked and waited for years are now in management positions. Others, young and assertive and strongly career-oriented, have moved more rapidly into management. Overall, the ratio of men to women managers is low, and growing only slowly, 0 Scientific MN12-2243, Honeyweller, Honeywell Inc, PO Box 524, MN 55440, USA. Tel: 612-870 5200.
21