If you think this is the last word on the workplace war between men and women, think again. Just a few days later, The New York Times chimed in with an interview with Carol Smith, senior vice president and chief brand officer at the Elle Group. Smith does not mince words when it comes to proclaiming the superiority of women, a victory she affirms, "Hands down."
"Female bosses tend to be better managers, better advisors, mentors, rational thinkers," Smith continues. "Men love to hear themselves talk."
In addition to a gift for logorrhea, Smith does give men props for their skill at not caring. "They're better at the 'whatever' side. Things tend to roll off their backs."
Thank goodness! After being pilloried in the press, the ability to let these painful attacks "roll off our backs" could be a critical evolutionary aspect of our survival as a gender, or, for that matter, as a gander.
Still, I do not want to go all male and negative on the Elle SVP, because I am 100 percent behind her policy on hiring. She insists on meeting job candidates at least three times, and one of those occasions "must be a meal."
It is a very female way to make critical decisions, I think. A man would simply challenge the applicant to a duel, or, at least, a bout of thumb wrestling. But this woman executive wants to see "How you order? What you order? How are they going to give instructions to the waiter? Are they sending the meal back eight times?"
I know I would fail the meal test miserably, ordering a steak blood rare and then sending it back two or eight times before I was served a manly degree of bloody rawness. But I don't care. I don't want to be hired for a high-paying job, which will only deprive my wife of the opportunity to feel superior to me. All I want is a free lunch.
