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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>If Portia fails.</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Henley Morgan
Thursday, September 14, 2006
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=88 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Henley Morgan</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>The political fortunes of Portia Simpson Miller since taking on the mantle of prime minister mirror those of another woman head of state, Michelle Bachelet of Chile. At the end of her first 100 days as president, Ms Bachelet's approval rating had lost almost 10 percentage points.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Interestingly, while the Chilean president's approval rating is still running comfortably over 50 per cent, support for her Cabinet has plummeted. According to a recent poll, 74 per cent of Chileans think there should be a reshuffle. A similar analysis by our local Stone Poll team may have helped explain why the prime minister's personal popularity is not translating to a wider margin of support for the PNP over the JLP.<P class=StoryText align=justify>As with Ms Bachelet, political pundits and opinion makers may be too quick in throwing in the towel on Mrs Portia Simpson Miller's prospects as a leader. Whatever else one can say about a political leader's first 100 days in office, it is not rational for people who wholeheartedly supported the leader during the campaigning to have a complete change of opinion after so short a period of time. I am cautious about being too easily swayed by such persons in any discussion concerning the performance of a woman in what is widely thought to be a man's job. Such debates are usually governed by a strong dose of male chauvinism and negative stereotyping of women.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I would like to see a pollster measure how many parents prefer to have a boy rather than a girl baby. I will wager a bet that in Jamaica boys are preferred by a factor of three to one. The reason for this is simple. Boys are seen as a greater blessing because of the prospect of them being better providers for their parents in their old age.<P class=StoryText align=justify>This long-held but discredited myth of male superiority in economic matters carries over into our choice of business leaders. Women account for only seven per cent of directors on the world's corporate boards. In Jamaica, the situation is especially worrisome. Although women make up 51.2 per cent of the population, over 35 per cent of the labour force and close to 70 per cent of university graduates, half of the listed companies on the Jamaica Stock Exchange have no more than one director belonging to that gender.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The myths and prejudices that make women have to be twice as good as men just to be considered their equal extend to almost every area of leadership, including prime minister.
This bias is out of line with modern research findings on the attributes required for leadership in our globalised and complex world. Daniel Coleman of Emotional Intelligence fame, writing in a Harvard Business Review article entitled, Leadership That Gets Results, and Robert Goffe and Gareth Jonas in another entitled, Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?, explore this fascinating subject.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Based on their study of inspirational leaders from various cultures, they came to the following conclusions: 1) Inspirational leaders are not afraid to reveal and even admit to weaknesses. Appearing vulnerable has proved effective in building solidarity with followers who want to see the leader as human just like they are. 2) Inspirational leaders are good at sensing shifts in climate, emotions and the dynamics of a situation. They are good at projecting how far they
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Henley Morgan
Thursday, September 14, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=88 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Henley Morgan</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>The political fortunes of Portia Simpson Miller since taking on the mantle of prime minister mirror those of another woman head of state, Michelle Bachelet of Chile. At the end of her first 100 days as president, Ms Bachelet's approval rating had lost almost 10 percentage points.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Interestingly, while the Chilean president's approval rating is still running comfortably over 50 per cent, support for her Cabinet has plummeted. According to a recent poll, 74 per cent of Chileans think there should be a reshuffle. A similar analysis by our local Stone Poll team may have helped explain why the prime minister's personal popularity is not translating to a wider margin of support for the PNP over the JLP.<P class=StoryText align=justify>As with Ms Bachelet, political pundits and opinion makers may be too quick in throwing in the towel on Mrs Portia Simpson Miller's prospects as a leader. Whatever else one can say about a political leader's first 100 days in office, it is not rational for people who wholeheartedly supported the leader during the campaigning to have a complete change of opinion after so short a period of time. I am cautious about being too easily swayed by such persons in any discussion concerning the performance of a woman in what is widely thought to be a man's job. Such debates are usually governed by a strong dose of male chauvinism and negative stereotyping of women.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I would like to see a pollster measure how many parents prefer to have a boy rather than a girl baby. I will wager a bet that in Jamaica boys are preferred by a factor of three to one. The reason for this is simple. Boys are seen as a greater blessing because of the prospect of them being better providers for their parents in their old age.<P class=StoryText align=justify>This long-held but discredited myth of male superiority in economic matters carries over into our choice of business leaders. Women account for only seven per cent of directors on the world's corporate boards. In Jamaica, the situation is especially worrisome. Although women make up 51.2 per cent of the population, over 35 per cent of the labour force and close to 70 per cent of university graduates, half of the listed companies on the Jamaica Stock Exchange have no more than one director belonging to that gender.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The myths and prejudices that make women have to be twice as good as men just to be considered their equal extend to almost every area of leadership, including prime minister. This bias is out of line with modern research findings on the attributes required for leadership in our globalised and complex world. Daniel Coleman of Emotional Intelligence fame, writing in a Harvard Business Review article entitled, Leadership That Gets Results, and Robert Goffe and Gareth Jonas in another entitled, Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?, explore this fascinating subject.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Based on their study of inspirational leaders from various cultures, they came to the following conclusions: 1) Inspirational leaders are not afraid to reveal and even admit to weaknesses. Appearing vulnerable has proved effective in building solidarity with followers who want to see the leader as human just like they are. 2) Inspirational leaders are good at sensing shifts in climate, emotions and the dynamics of a situation. They are good at projecting how far they
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