We live in a changing world. It feels like we have to adjust ourselves everyday to new situations. Although some find this exciting and take change as an opportunity to do things differently or better, this can be threatening for others, especially those ‘in control’. After all, change probably means losing some of the control.
Being ‘in control’ has to do with being able to shape your own life and give direction to the organisation that you work for, for example. In short having control often means being ‘in power’.
The workforce has always been ‘a men’s world’, created by men for men: they own it! But the world is changing and changing quickly. Telecom companies are under threat as people start using Skype and energy companies are breaking their heads about the global need to reduce energy consumption. New innovative and smart ideas are needed. People are needed that can think outside-the-power-box.
Over the past decades, women have entered the job market and adjusted to the business environment. To do so, women –as a whole- had to adapt to this men’s world. Slowly men have understood that this movement is changing the work place. And just like in the energy or telecom business, some men will embrace this, while others see it as a threat.
Up till now, women were never in power or ‘in control’ in public life, which means they have less to lose and everything to gain from a changing world. Women – as well as other groups in society not belonging to the dominant group (men in power) – had to practice every day for the past decades to adjust to a world that wasn’t theirs.
Therefore, I wonder if women are indeed better equipped for the 21st century? Are we moving to a brand new world, one that is no longer a men’s world?