Citibank & Business Professionalism

Yesterday the web exploded with this:

So, I know that a lot of people have found this release to be very offensive. I, for one, do not. Actually, I pretty much agree with everything that is said. All of the points listed seem to be pretty accurate to me. My one point of contention is that I think it should say people instead of women-not out of some misguided feminist notion, but because I genuinely think that a lot of these characteristics are perpetuated by men as well. Take number one, for instance, speak softly-I have known many men who were disregarded and left out of the “inner circle” because they spoke softly, hunched over, and generally did not present themselves with confidence. Or take # 4- how many men have you known that have not spoken up in meetings and been passed over for promotions? Even # 7-wasn’t George Bush accused of doing that? I find it interesting that very few comments have been made about the validity of this post. I have always felt that women tried to be manly in order to succeed in the business world, but did so in the wrong way by cutting their hair or dressing in a more masculine way. I do not think that this post is mandating that women be masculine in order to survive-I think it is saying that in order to be a successful business person, you need to act like a business person. To me, the traits listed are not necessarily womanly, just inappropriate for business.

What do you think? Send me your thoughts at jdanner@peoplelease.com