Learning to Network: Organized Study vs. Winging It

Many women wrote of feeling undervalued, intimidated, ignored, overshadowed or patronized. Others told of sexual harassment. Some men also had negative things to say about women they had met and worked with. But most men gave positive responses, as did some women. Some men said they enjoyed working with women, and some women even expressed a preference for working with men. However, almost all of the respondents—even those who made positive comments—told us how differently they felt men and women approach the art of networking. Most seemed to agree that in networking situations, men were more focused on business and women, more on relationships. In their comments, men often cited the different networking styles of men and women, but on the whole, they felt women were as effective at networking as men and sometimes even better. Their difficulties with women had mostly to do with not wanting to appear sexist. Why did the opportunity to comment about the gender differences unleash a number of negative comments? In a phrase, the exception becomes the perception. Most women don’t put up sexy photos on their websites. Most men don’t behave like frat boys. But it’s the few who do who stand out. Such people create the impression that there’s a lot of that sort of thing going on out there.