Posts - 20 Articles - 0 Comments - 81 Trackbacks - 0
Timothy Maurice Webster
'The Brand Woman should be Hunting'
BOOKMARKS
Timothy Maurice Webster writes... Do men or women for that matter understand the 'Brand Woman'? it’s important that you know that my sincerest contribution to this space will be anchored in my passion for relevant questions.  I certainly don’t have all the answers, however, I do believe that my global experience coupled with my relentless pursuit of research and strategy as it relates to you achieving your dreams, will be very profitable to the bottom line of your personal brand.

Over my career I’ve been completely engulfed by the plight of ‘Brand Woman’.  I’ve literally immersed myself in your struggle to penetrate the male dominated world of entrepreneurship and that old boys club called senior executive management.  The findings from my research on both a quantitative and qualitative angle have proved spine tingling.
In 1966 Mignon McLaughlin who wrote ‘The Second Neurotic’s Notebook said, “Men enjoy being thought of as hunters, but are generally too lazy to hunt.  Women, on the other hand, love to hunt, but would rather nobody knew it.”.   When I read this, I had an explosive light bulb moment where my background in branding and my passion for understanding the brand woman culminated in a revelation about her sluggish growth. 

Since 1796 when a few women from France who tired of being overlooked and misunderstood decided to launch the women’s equality movement and seek first to have the right to vote, their efforts have given platform to every female head of state and budding entrepreneur throughout the world.  Although this 212years of successful struggle have paved the way for the likes of our first female deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and successful business leaders such as Wendy Luhabe, the fact remains that the ‘Brand Woman’ represents a paltry 7% at key decision making positions in the South African board room.  
So here are the the first couple of questions that I would like to put on the virtual table of dialogue-

Is it possible that throughout this 212year struggle, the labels of nurturer and homemaker has dominated the ‘brand woman’ to such an extent that women have hid their ability to hunt in fear of being ostracized by both their female counterparts as well as men?

Could it also be possible that while the 7% who have broken through into the old boys club is remarkable… the remaining 93% are not on the same page with regards to the relevance of getting into this club?

My goal for this platform is for us to interrogate some of the most pressing issues facing the brand woman and do so with passion, research and visionary input from all perspectives.
In the Spirit of Possibility,

p.s. contact me on my www.twitter.com/timothymaurice or facebook to continue the personal branding conversation!
Back to top
Please add 6 and 5 and type the answer here:
Comments
To comment, please login or click here to register.
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Thank you for your introduction, very relevant comments and as a woman entrepreneur I appreciate your point and support in the challenges women face.

Keep it up!

Shana
 
Posted by Shana Kassiem on 20 October 2008 @ 07:12PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Thanks Shana!
 
Posted by Timothy Maurice Webster on 28 October 2008 @ 08:07AM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Nurterer, caregiver, mother, homemaker, warm, fuzzy and potentially hazardous to a professional/corporate environment ... such labels are given to 'woman' not only by her male counterparts of the 'boys club' and beyond. But sadly by others in that 'woman' demographic. The picture of a 'superwoman' has thus been created she must epitomiee professional excellence and at home impeccable domesticity. There isn't supposed to be a balance if you are to be the ultimate successful woman that this era demands. The standards are almost unattainable. Its my suggestion that so long as social welfare relies solely on women a large majority of that 97% won't have the time to break the glass cieling and penetrate that boys' club. So long as women feel the need to conceal their social lives in a professional environment because of the fear of how that might be interpreted as 'unstable' or 'risky' then we have a long way to go.

But I commend your initiative of going into this Tim :) And I can't wait to read your research results - as usual you're asking the questions that matter!
 
Posted by lin on 28 October 2008 @ 10:13AM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' you are a leading light TIM,thanks
 
Posted by jabulile on 28 October 2008 @ 11:29AM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' I love Mignon McLaughlin's “Men enjoy being thought of as hunters, but are generally too lazy to hunt. Women, on the other hand, love to hunt, but would rather nobody knew it.”. Reminds me of the cartoon movie lion king 2, where Simba's mother returns with the hunting pride (the females) and Scar demands why no food has been brought, as he lazes on in all his Kingly glory;-)...My response to your qn however woud be: the 7% who have managed to penetrate have allowed themselves to forget the petty remarks they get from the "Old boys" and have developed a rather thick skin...That's the trick;-) My thought..
 
Posted by Rumbi on 28 October 2008 @ 04:42PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' I agree with the above statement made by Timothy Webster. Many woman have the potential to be board members and have a word when necessary but they are always thinking of societal pressures or stereotypes. We have to break through those stereotypes for us to move ahead and conquer our fears.
 
Posted by Molatela on 29 October 2008 @ 09:43AM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' "Brand Women", I would like to pose a few question myself:


1. Who defines the "Brand Women"?, is it the men or the women who take upon themselves to define the Women's territory or boundaries

2. If only 7% have joined the boys club in the 212 years, do you think women are comfortable in the zone? If not, what is it the The Brand Women is doing to enter the boys club

3. Have you as a Brand Woman identifed your importance, your relevance in the "boys club"

some women are not hunting for what they really want because they are sure of who they are and they are allowing others to define The Brand Woman.
 
Posted by Mmatsatsi on 29 October 2008 @ 03:21PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' " some women are not hunting for what they really want because they are not sure of who they are and they are allowing others to define The Brand Woman"- correcting myself
 
Posted by Mmatsatsi on 29 October 2008 @ 03:25PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' In comment to Mmatsatsi, "1. Who defines the Brand Women?". I remember watching a movie were a man was speaking to a female saying that she's as driven as a man, the woman replied that if that was the case she would be setting her standards too low. It's true, as woman we are "Nurturer, caregiver, mother, homemaker etc" but somehow we still manage the boardroom. I don't think we should be setting our sights on the "boys club" but rather a "girls club" were we can define what it means to succeed as a woman who is multi faceted and able to pursue “professional excellence” whilst maintaining “impeccable domesticity”.
 
Posted by Siphokazi on 03 November 2008 @ 01:20PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' I think even though most women, have the desire to be part of the "boys club", which I really don't see there's a fuss, it's important to understand what Siphokazi is saying. We should'nt be setting our sights on the "boys club" but rather a "girls club" were we can define what it means to succeed as a woman who is multi faceted and able to pursue “professional excellence” whilst maintaining “impeccable domesticity”. Men have done their part for themselves. It's time that women do the same on their part and I think part of that will be to allow women to do it themselves and no one else.
 
Posted by Mamokonare on 03 November 2008 @ 04:03PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' i agree with the one that says the 93% of woman are still finding themselves.With the pressures from both their female counterparts(pull her down syndrome) and the big boys, branding themselves is not an easy task. To be a superwoman can be intimidating. Yet i find it empowering to know that we are capable. To balance professional excellence and impecable domesticity is realising our potential and unleashing the hunter within us.
 
Posted by Tthato on 03 November 2008 @ 04:44PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Keep it burning....that's the way to go.
 
Posted by Asanda on 04 November 2008 @ 06:50PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' "Women should contribute their specific female gifts rather than waste their energy in the pursuit of surrogate masculinity" -Brainsex p7

I was made aware of this quote when my partner decided to use this as his stated update of FB.
and when I read it for the 1st time,I was taken aback and didnt understand what he was on about until I read the page7 of brainsex

We must just accept that Women and men are different thus I agree with Mamokanare, we as women must stop trying to be like men. and we grow to know the brand women better.

"Could it also be possible that while the 7% who have broken through into the old boys club is remarkable… the remaining 93% are not on the same page with regards to the relevance of getting into this club?" ~ this is so, I think, because WOMEN HAVE ONLY FAILED TO BE LIKE MEN, AND THE 7%, MAYBE OR MAYBE NOT, THEY HAVE SUCCEEDED IN BEING AND EMBRACING THE BRAND WOMAN.



 
Posted by Mmatsatsi Phadime on 05 November 2008 @ 07:04AM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' I fully agree with you, a lot of women are still trying to find themselves and that might take forever, especially if one doesn't know what it is exactly that they are looking for in life. At tomes, pressures from other women and the society in general does tend to cause a lot of confusion and one ends up not knowing what they want in life, their focus (if there was any) gets shifted to the wrong direction.
 
Posted by Lindi on 06 November 2008 @ 05:49PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' It shouldn't be so surprising that there's only 7% of woman who broke into the 'boys zone', because woman themselves don't support each other as much as they should, i mean how many are there who are prepared to share information? talk about their success?
 
Posted by Audrey on 07 November 2008 @ 01:45PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' i'm glad that you introduced this discussion, a lot of women out there still believe success equals male, i.e personality, management style etc. it is time that we women, find our own identity of what a successful women is, without trying to be men's clones.
 
Posted by teboho modise on 10 November 2008 @ 07:07PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Women should be encouraged to be the best they can be. As a man I love it when I see 'sisters doing it for themselves' Women have unique talents that are essential in the corporate world.They do not however need to be part of 'the boys' They should celebrate and succeed in their uniqueness.
 
Posted by Tumelo Gaitate on 11 November 2008 @ 08:01PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Yes I agree,women should be empowering themselves and excelling in their abilities as women but not competing or striving to be men but ensuring that we excel in our abilities as women,yes we can conquer the corporate boardroom wolrd but we dont have to be men and masculine about it,we need to undestand that we can never be the same breed as men ,we need to identify how do we define a successful woman.Ofcourse we need to follow suit when it comes to equality amongst all races and genders but it does not necessarly equals to that we are the same
 
Posted by Noxolo on 12 November 2008 @ 09:45AM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' I have just now had the opportunity to read your blog. My belief is that woman are more than there histoy and the lables of being nuturers and homemakers. We as woman are human beings with skills that have evolved over time. We are now turning to skills that we as woman typically stayed away from because they were skills needed for men in a mans world. This is changing rapidly. Old boys clubs I beleive are fast becoming part of history. The younger more innovative business generation of man and woman, are looking for a more laid back way of life. A balance between what 'I' love doing as a career and family. So I ask you, should The Brand Woman be hunting in a mans world that is fast becoming a thing of the past or should 'she' be leading this new movement of human potential to have it all. 'She' has the skills to do it!
 
Posted by Aurablue on 12 November 2008 @ 10:17AM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' I agree with Noxolo that whilst we are striving to excel the same way as our counterpart we should not lose our femininity because that is what makes us unique and sets us apart from our male counterparts. We are nurturers and so we should set examples and be role models to both our girl children as well as our boy children after all we are trying to have a balanced healthier society
 
Posted by Mpho on 24 November 2008 @ 05:41PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Is it possible that throughout this 212year struggle, the labels of nurturer and homemaker has dominated the ‘brand woman’ to such an extent that women have hid their ability to hunt in fear of being ostracized by both their female counterparts as well as men?


So true. Also there seems to be a reluctance for men to accept that women can be feminine and assertive at the same time. When you are in the boardroom in stilletos and a pencil skirt, somehow men don't expect you to drive a hard bargain.
 
Posted by Thandiwe on 25 November 2008 @ 03:18PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Wow im even hasitent to leave my comment her what can i say this is another level of commitment i hope to learn from you all that i can and i hope that you can teach me all that you can through this blog and other means thank you very much GOD bless you
 
Posted by thozama on 20 January 2009 @ 09:58AM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' As woman we need to be proud to be able to excel in both the boardroom and the home. Its not easy but its something the opposite sex is not immune to. We can become what we want to be and we must stop allowing the opposite sex to intermidate us in the boardroom we might not be equal but we are just as capable. Who knew America would have a Black President just as this man had a dream and implemented it we females must fight for ours and not let society dictate our our future and choices. We can do it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Posted by colsturf on 02 February 2009 @ 01:03PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Wow! I have read all that has been written and being a number person, I can see why this discussion is important (as far as I am concerned numbers don't lie). Much as pull her down syndrome has been mentioned, I feel our inability as women to support each other is not the only barrier to increasing the number of women in the corporate world. I think a large problem lies in the most dreaded word... b-i-t-c-h. For example, to be assertive is linked to this word and because many of us are yet to embrace the concept of a bitch as something flattering, we reign in our ambitions and stick with the 'nice girl' routine. I stand to be corrected but it is my believe that once we make peace with the idea of being seen as a bitch more and more women would break free from the stereotypical labels such as nurturer. And yes once I am done with my studies I hope I will have the courage to break free from the inhibiting labels ;-)
 
Posted by mathe on 03 February 2009 @ 03:13PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Thank you Tim !
and to Mathe I totally concur with you it is fellow woman that are intimidated by (go getters; achievers and ladies who would not allow society or any other issue hold them back )successful woman and brand these ladies as b-I-t-c-h .The moment a sister steps up on the corporate ladder they think that she must have slept with somebody(and most times these bodies are not even appealing).So sisters lets support each other please !
 
Posted by bosch on 26 February 2009 @ 01:13PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Yes we can! I think as women we can be as competent and 'ruthless' as much as men are in the boardroom, BUT we dont have to. Going back to what many of you have said we as females dont need to be in the 'boys club'. Why not as women create our own 'girlsclub' and our way to play the ballgame. As the saying goes: 'there are many ways to skin a cat'
 
Posted by soso2010 on 21 March 2009 @ 08:54PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' It is truly inspiring to see Mr Maurice contribute so much to the blog,because for once on destiny connect we get to have our role models give us the 411.From an inspired young woman I say blog on Mr Maurice,we of eager and hungry minds have a lot to learn from you.
 
Posted by nxumalompho on 06 April 2009 @ 12:29PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' I find there are two ways of getting to the top - be the b-i-t-c-h or be the seductress. Why is that when women are at the top they don't support and grow their female counterparts? You will find that men at the top will grow and nurture upcoming female talent. What is it with us that we are so untolerable of each other - no sympathy, no support - just waiting for our sisters to fall so that we walk over them? I want to ask how many of you have support and grow another female counterpart or are we also to scared to do so - scare that she will outshine me? I must say Mr Maurice if you can solve this dilemma, for us women - you will deserve the Noble prize.
 
Posted by doret on 22 April 2009 @ 06:08PM
 
# re: 'The Brand Woman should be Hunting' Thanks for the incisive topic. Unfortunately the patriarchal society has been dorminant fior years and it crossed cultural and racial lines. Looking at the history of the country you find that even white women never got a chance to crack into the old boys club during the dark days of apartheid as it was considered it not their turf. Prof. Jonathan Jansen's book, Knowledge in the blood says when he became the first black dean at the university of Pretoria he found a culture where White males were moving up the ladder whilst the women stood on the sidelines applauding. The mindsets need to change and the stereotypes that women are the weaker sex. Given a chance and getting the total support from everyone will help increase percentage to the mid 50s or more.
 
Posted by nmz3297 on 19 October 2009 @ 10:40AM
 DETAILS
 ARCHIVES
 SYNDICATION

 

Copyright © Blog Author