Last week I asked you to re-imagine your image of what a leader is—they're not just men in high level positions, but can be anyone who makes an effort to be vulnerable, live aligned with their values, build trust and knows when take a break & rest. Go here for a refresher! Now I want to present you with this riddle:
A father is about to bring his son to a job interview… applying for a position at a large stockbrokers company in the city. Just as they arrive at the company’s parking lot, the son’s phone rings. He looks at his father who says… ‘Go ahead, answer it’. The caller is the trading company’s CEO who says… ‘Good luck son, you’ve got this.’ The son ends the call and once again looks at his father who is still next to him in their car. How is this possible?
This same riddle was posed to 22 participants in the 3 minute video below as part of an experiment by Mindspace, but you can participate too and try to crack it!
The contestants answered that the CEO could be his grandfather or that the son has 2 fathers—although all plausible answers, in order to follow the aim of the experiment: the CEO was his mother. And while the contestants reacted with face palms and "of course!" or "I should've thought of that," what's surprising here is that none of the contestants' (even the woman CEO's) first guess was that the CEO was a women and mother. This experiment was not meant to shame those who didn't crack the riddle, but to explore the human mind & offer insight into the internal bias we may not be aware of. This year's International Women's Day theme is #BreakTheBias—a hashtag you may have seen all over the internet on March 8th. We can choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias & discrimination, and celebrate the achievements of women. Every one of us can help create a diverse, equitable, inclusive and gender-equal world. An equal world is an enabled world where business, economies and communities can thrive. According to the United Nations: "Gender equality, besides being a fundamental human right, is essential to achieve peaceful societies, with full human potential and sustainable development. Moreover, it has been shown that empowering women spurs productivity and economic growth." At The Empowered Women's Circle, we're proud that our business was built by women and for women. We will continue to stand for our mission of expanding women's leadership and unleashing the full potential of midlife women in the workforce and the world.