No, this isn’t one of those “birds and bees” talks unless we are talking about how nature, the environment AND business will benefit from traits long known as “feminine.” In her article, Gender and the Sustainable Brain, Andrea Learned explains that traits like empathy, a focus on communication and social connections also seem to be at the root of sustainable personal and organizational behavior.
In fact, Learned says, “Empathy may be key to promoting sustainability. When a person is in the habit of considering the well-being of others as she makes her own decisions, she is more likely to anticipate the longer term and broader implications of each choice or opportunity.”
Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface Inc., a global leader in sustainable business, writes in his book, Mid-Course Correction, “Caring for human capital and natural capital (Earth) as much as we have traditionally cared for financial capital will give social equity and environmental stewardship their rightful places alongside economic progress, and move society to reinvent the means for achieving economic progress itself.”
I knew there was (another) good reason we needed more women in politics:-)
Gender, gender everywhere! Now that we’re finally acknowledging the feminine features associated with sustainability–both for good & for bad–we’ve just got to figure out how to get the majority of men on board! This article states: “Clearly sustainability marketing needs its Marlboro Man moment” and gives an interesting perspective of how men relate/don’t relate to sustainability: http://ow.ly/4HryY. Thanks for sharing this, Nancy.