Are women competitive?

Standing in a group of people, I noticed that for once ( this being media-land) there were more women than men. One of the guys joked this is because men only outnumber women in positions of power. Thanks for that.

It made me think again about how we compete. Scroll around this blog and you will see plenty of competitiveness, winners and women who want to fulfill their potential. It's the same in politics and business so why do we lose out in the final numbers game?

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Somewhere along the line, we seem to develop a feeling that winning isn't all that. It's just not something good girls are supposed to do. If you think I'm being simplistic, read this great article from Dawn Redd titled "Women Warriors, What is the secret to making women competitive?"

She argues that we don't like to stand out alone, so working in teams is more productive and it's vital for competitive women to be in a competitive environment. She says where a man (to generalise) may do just as well being the sole achiever in a team of wasters that a woman would sink to the level in order to fit in. She works on creating a team ethic of success which encourages individuals to succeed. It's the kind of thinking that makes the hackles rise at first, then you stop and go - woah.

Many of the women on this blog, and women I've interviewed for other outlets speak about their sporting accomplishments in terms of  individual success but always refer to the great team they have supporting them, how everyone works together and really it's a team-game behind all the glitz. Maybe that is what we need to do to rationalise success - make like it's not all our own work anyhow?