Women Business Leaders Are Risk-Takers: Survey Debunks Gender Myth

Simmons School of Management Advises Women to Capture Credit for Risk-taking

BOSTON, April 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Contrary to popular belief, women
business leaders don't shy from taking risks, but partake in opportunities
considered to be "high-risk" on a regular basis, according to a survey by the
Simmons School of Management in Boston.

Existing empirical research on gender and risk suggest women are risk-averse,
particularly assessments that measure risk through financial resource
allocation, and health and safety precautions. But a survey of more than 650
women managers polled during the 2008 Simmons School of Management national
leadership conference in Boston revealed that businesswomen are highly likely
to take risks related to business or professional opportunities.

The survey analysis showed that by expanding the definition of risk-taking
from hypothetical financial allocation scenarios to include business and
professional opportunities taken, women do take risks - a lot of them. The
School of Management and HP, a lead conference sponsor, conducted the survey.

(For the complete article, "Risky Business: Busting the Myth of Women as Risk
Averse," go to www.simmons.edu/som/cgo)

"When you actually unpack the research, the finding that women avoid risk is
based on very specific contexts and a limited concept of risk-taking actions,"
said article co-author Sylvia Maxfield, a professor at the School of
Management. "By including contexts in which significant investments of time
and money are placed in projects which require learning-by-doing, and where
the likelihood of success is very hard to predict, we found women engaged in a
lot of risk-taking actions."

When women were asked about business/professional opportunities taken, such as
new jobs, assignments, programs, or change initiatives, all of which involved
the investment of personal capital and carried unknown outcomes for both the
business and for person/career development:
-- 80% reported pursuing a major change initiative "sometimes" or
"often"
-- 79% reported pursuing a new program
-- 77% reported pursuing a new job
-- 56% reported pursuing a major business development opportunity

The survey findings show that although businesswomen do indeed embrace risk,
they are largely viewed by the business world and mass media as being
risk-averse. Survey authors attribute this "invisible" risk-taking to a number
of factors, including societal expectations that do not view women as
risk-takers and do not recognize when women take risks; that women do not seek
more visible measures of successful risk-taking found in most organizations,
such as a promotion to high-status position; and a lack of self-promotion by
women about the risk they've taken and their achieved success.

The survey authors recommend that women take steps to make their risk-taking
more visible in order to enhance their career potential. This requires
capturing credit for their efforts in ways that signal their success to those
around them.
-- Using language of risk: Name the risk and articulate the cost-benefit
calculation.
-- Promoting accomplishments: Communicate to senior decision-makers about
risk-taking and efforts, including uncertainty surrounding some
decisions, challenges overcome, and accomplishments achieved.
-- Aligning with other risk-takers in organization: This helps to enhance
one's reputation as risk-taker but puts it in proximity of
risk-taking activities.

In exploring the factors that influenced their decision to take risks, the
women surveyed indicated that several motivations are common among men and
women. The desire for "the power to make an impact," for example, made women
take opportunistic risks. "Women embraced risk believing this would help them
gain influence, higher compensation, and career rewards," Maxfield said.

The study authors were Maxfield, Vipin Gupta, Mary Shapiro, and Susan Hass,
all on the faculty of the Simmons School of Management.

The Simmons School of Management (www.simmons.edu/som), the nation's only
business school designed for principled leadership for women, is the leading
authority on women, leadership and management. The Center for Gender in
Organizations (CGO), the school's research arm, works to reform organizational
effectiveness by strengthening gender equity in the workplace. HP (www.hp.com)
is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses, and institutions
globally.

SOURCE Simmons College

Kalimah Knight of Simmons College, +1-617-521-2369,
Kalimah.knight@simmons.edu