Women's networks not as effective as men's

Just read an interesting article about why women's networks are not as effective as men's by Kevin Fogarty on www.TheLadders.com.  The problem:  women's networks are horizontal, while men's are vertical.  In other words, men are still at the top of the ladder; men still tend to hang out with men; and men still tend to pass job leads onto other men.  Can't argue with that logic which is perhaps, the simplest and clearest explanation I've heard.

And, this is not an anti-woman thing, it just happens to be the way things are in male-dominated environments.  Want to experience the reverse?  Try being a stay-at-home dad attempting to infiltrate the PSO.  Generally, they're not in the same lines of communication as the moms. 

This doesn't mean it can't be done.  Here's some advice from Fogarty's article:

If women want to equal the effectiveness of male social networks, they need to emulate the men in those networks, said Torres. If male-dominated professional networks are passing jobs leads to other men before women, women should put themselves in the path of those leads, Bielby said. Women must add more men — especially high-status men — to their professional networks. Furthermore, they need to make their interests and competencies as clear as possible, he said.

Does this mean there's no need for a women's network?  It's a good question for someone like me who runs a women's business network.  My answer - yes, there is a place for women's networks, but it's not the end-all be-all.  At the Downtown Women's Club, we provide a community where you can learn the skills you need to build vertical networks.  Here are a few ways to use the DWC or other women's community to build a vertical network that includes both men and women.

Use a women's network to:

• Find a networking buddy.  The most success I have had going vertical was whenever I partnered with a friend who had a similar goal. (In fact, that was one of the reasons we founded the DWC in the first place.)
• Practice mingling, networking and sales.  These are not the same things, and best to practice with your peers before trying it further up the vertical chain.
• Market to other women.  Some of us may have women as our target market.  Even if your target market is both men and women, women's networks are a great way to reach half your market.
• Learn the skills you need to make a vertical leap. Just last week, we had a fabulous DWC+ teleclass by Fiona Walsh on "How to sell to men."  I hope you tuned in because many of the tips could apply to networking.  

DWC+ Premium members (only $49/year) can download DWC+ Teleclasses for free ("How to sell to men" should be up by next week, and we also have over $1500 worth of other teleclasses available too.  Click here to see more about our weekly teleclasses.) 

Diane K. Danielson is the ceo of www.DowntownWomensClub.com and the author of The Downtown Women's Club Beginners Guide to Facebook.

Comments

[Nance L. Schick]

This is an interesting view, but I can't help but wonder what defines an "effective" network. Although it seems from this article that women network "horizontally," I'm not convinced there is a direct correlation between our supposed style of networking and our positions (which I presume are positions in corporate entities). However, I do believe women need to think about why they are networking in individual settings. I have been involved in more than one networking, professional or entrepreneurs' group that seemed to be more interested in spa days, shopping, weddings, babies, or what men tend to views "silly women things." This is why I left most of them. I have girlfriends I can talk to about "women things," and I want my time in business networking to be focused on perfecting my salesmanship or otherwise building my career.

You give good advice. If we're not talking about business or issues that interest both genders when we're networking, there will probably be limitations on the career benefits. This is not to say that men don't talk about "men's things" when they are networking--with other men. We both have to be: open to discussing other topics, present to the circumstances of the moment, and confident in our abilities to contribute. We have to meet in the middle, and I've found that men and women like the middle.

Meet you there!
Nance :)

[Kevin Fogarty]

Nance, Diane,
Just a quick note that much of the story was based on a study (co-authored by Lisa Torres, a Ph.D. sociologist quoted in the story) that defined an "effective" network as one that delivered job contacts. In this case she and her co-author measured the seniority level of the job information being passed along by both men and women and found that men's networks tend to have a higher percentage of the high-status job leads. Part of the reason for THAT is that women's networks include both women and men in equal measure, but men's networks typically include a very small number of women, Torres found. The study looked at professional networks -- including formal organizations like DWC as well as informal contacts -- rather than mixed-function networks that are more personal than professional in nature.

Glad you liked the article, particularly that you realized it wasn't anti-woman in nature. The intent was to highlight for women some ways to improve their professional networks, and to highlight for men that they may not have as many women in their networks as they think they do.

Thanks for reading.

Kevin Fogarty

[Diane Danielson/CEO, Downtown Women's Club]

Kevin - Thanks for writing in. Your background info was interesting because women's groups often get slammed for not including men. Yet, like many women's groups, the DWC is open to men and encourages them to attend. Hopefully we'll see more gender neutrality in the future!