Acting male to earn more

Josephine Grierson says it's still a male-dominated business world with a double standard. Photo / Martin Sykes

Research women who act like men in the workplace earn more than their more feminine colleagues doesn't surprise investment magnate Josephine Grierson. She once lost out on a pay rise because she wouldn't cut her long red hair and dye it brown.

Looking at her former colleagues - "bald, fat and with gravy stains all over their ties" - Grierson decided they'd have to get used to having a woman around, but admitted acting like a man until she became senior enough to start changing things.

A new study entitled Does It Pay to be Nice? by Guido Heineck of the Institute for Employment Research in Germany, said that to be successful, women had to "adapt to more alpha male-like behaviour".

The research found agreeable people were too passive and poorer wage negotiators, while "alpha females" earned, on average, 4 per cent more than their quieter co-workers.

Wool Partners chairwoman Theresa Gattung said being passive and easier to get on with - qualities seen as feminine - could be a barrier to having your worth recognised in the marketplace.

Figures from the Department of Statistics show men's average total hourly earnings are $25.04, while women's are $21.91.

Gattung said women tended to be backward in coming forward in negotiating remuneration. Grierson agreed women were less assertive, because assertive women were labelled as aggressive.

Entrepreneur Diane Foreman said high-flying women took on masculine traits when workplaces were male dominated, because "a male-dominated workplace isn't an environment for a soft, feminine person".

Grierson tried to be "as asexual as possible" at work until a Commerce Commission appointment gave her the security to be more feminine.

"You have to pretend to be like them - you have to be tougher and smarter or you get eaten up and spat out."

Rachel Gardner, one of the country's most influential film and television producers, said women tended to be more emotional in the workplace and took things personally.

Taking emotion out of situations was a better approach, Gardner said, but ultimately, "being successful is about drive, energy, ambition and determination".

"There are lots of men who don't have those traits and lots of women who do".

WOMEN AT THE TOP

Josephine Grierson
"It's still a male-dominated business world with a double standard. As soon as you insist men listen, you get labelled strident, difficult and bolshie. I never start a fight, but I'll finish it."

Diane Foreman
"To be a successful businesswoman you have to be tough."

Theresa Gattung
"I've got a strong personality, but my management style is inclusive."