When All Else Fails, Hire a Female CEO
This article in a recent Sunday Boston Globe got me thinking. Not all new thoughts. I remember when Obama was first elected and thinking, “Right, when the country is falling apart, bring in the person of color to clean up! Things can’t get any worse.” Shirley Leung’s piece makes the case that women CEOs are more likely to be hired when companies are in severe distress and when they don’t turn things around in record time, they get fired. She also mentions that most of these women are hired from the outside, which is not the best formula for success.
This raises questions I don’t have answers for. Does this mean that women are viewed as a last resort or a potential savior? Does this mean that all the viable internal male candidates wouldn’t dare take on the role when things are in the crapper? Is this like that old Life cereal commercial when everyone thinks something will taste awful and they declare “Let Mikey do it’? Are women seen as a needed new perspective because the old ways haven’t worked? Why isn’t more done to ensure their success? Why aren’t they given more time to turn around very long standing problems? Is “other” most attractive when things are shitty?
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.
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