Woman Matter

Posted by Sheila Redick on March 12, 2006

Our recent study on the Young and Restless in a Knowledge Economy found that college-educated women now outnumber college-educated men.  So cities that want to build their talent pool will need to find ways to appeal to women.

USA Today's Haya El Nassar visited Dubuque, Iowa to find out what one city was doing to attract women.  Find her article here.  USA Today recommended, in part based on interviews with CEOs for Cities officials, that cities should show women in leadership, create strong neighborhoods, make it easy for women to meet others, and invest in arts and culture.

Not coincidentally, new ads for San Diego now running in Newsweek and Time feature a photo of seven of the city's executives, three of whom are women.

An upcoming study from CEOs for Cities should provide urban leaders new direction on this question of how to appeal to college-educated women.  Results are expected by mid-April, in time for our next national meeting May 11 and 12.

A recent study from Caliper that outlined the qualities that distinguish women leaders may provide other clues on how to appeal to women.  Caliper found that women leaders are more persuasive than their male counterparts; women possess stronger interpersonal skills (empathy, flexibility and sociability) and are more assertive than their male counterparts; women have a more inclusive, team-building leadership style of problem solving and decision making; and women leaders are more likely to ignore rules and take risks.