About management, women and future

Müjgan Suver will moderate the Managemert, Women and the Future session at 2 pm today in Istanbul.

Müjgan Suver, head of social policies studies at the Marmara Group, responds to questions on women’s issues and the business world.

You are the organizer of the Management, Woman and the Future forum at the 15th Eurasian Economic Summit. What are your thoughts about the future?

Science and technology are improving with dizzying speed today. People’s social, cultural and individual lives, as well as structures in the business world and paradigms, are also changing in parallel.

Contemporary writer George Friedman shares his forecasts on trends in the 21st century, as well as possible economic, technological and cultural changes and political developments in his book “The Next 100 Years.” John Brockman, a world-renowned popular scientist, looks at how science – and thus our lives – will change in his study, which gathers together 25 valuable scientists.

According to these forecasts, we will experience a revolution in terms of the development of the brain and its evolution in the next 50 years.

Human-machine integration will increase across the world and engage with the virtual world.
In short, many things that are done by humans’ power today will be realized by machines [tomorrow].
Both corporations and public institutions will restructure and change in the next 10 years; they will alter their corporate cultures and paradigms, developing new behavioral standards.

The business world requires sympathy, compromise, good listening, demand for concrete results, innovation, sensibility about nature and the family – all characteristics that are usually attributed to women – for leadership and competition.

As the new leaders of the business world, will women be indispensable in the change in attitudes and values?

Here we are talking about a change in the future. Once you observe women around you, you will notice that they are usually stronger than men. First of all, they are more tolerant and patient. They don’t feel obliged to win every debate. After every defeat, they can look at what is missing, make adjustments and move on to new targets with new strategies.

They have a multi-target mentality. Women who think differently are the greatest source for management teams.

Do you think the number of female executives will increase?

Yes, because more humane characteristics will be required. Thus, the number of female executives will increase. Besides, research shows that women can combine men’s leadership qualities with theirs.

Do you think men and women are equal today?

We know that equality between men and women cannot be sustained today. I can say this both as a citizen and woman. And I believe that women, who are half the world, should get a deserved place. We have also seen that the policies of political parties haven’t been able to achieve a solution. Still, some movements gathering to reach solutions on particular problems are creating the policies for the 21st century. Among these, the women’s movement, the strongest of all oppositional movements, cannot be disregarded.

A number of findings show that men and women’s equality will top the agenda in the business world of the future.

Companies with female board members achieve higher performances while companies that lack a healthy gender balance make fewer profits.

So you mean that talented women will be the rising value?

A number of reports on women show that they are the rising value. The Gender Equality report from the World Economic Forum and the World Bank’s Gender Equality and Development reports are good examples.

Is it possible to integrate women into the business world? Will they not face difficulties in fitting in with companies’ methods?

The goal here is not getting women to adapt to the business world but getting companies to adapt to women’s needs. But you have a point. Women active in business life also shoulder children and the family. This is why companies should go through a success-focused program of change.