My Way of Life by Joan Crawford

Author:Joan Crawford [Crawford, Joan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography
ISBN: 1631681141
Google: O9E8DgAAQBAJ
Amazon: B06WWQ8P1F
Goodreads: 34390691
Publisher: Graymalkin Media
Published: 1971-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

·VI·

Moving into a Man’s World

IT’s how you move into it that counts! Men who are prejudiced against women in executive positions have usually had a bad experience with one who swaggered in with a chip on her manly shoulder believing that she had to fight her way up, and fight men to do it. A gal like that can make it tough for the rest of us. Many in the women’s liberation movement have done that—but few of them are executives and few are very good to look at. They have nothing to lose but their uncombed hair.

The fact is, there are many women in top management and they’re not wearing mannish suits and sensible shoes, or chips on their shoulders. They’re wearing stunning clothes with good labels, their hair and skin have an expensive, well-cared-for look, they glow with health because they take good care of their bodies, and they sparkle with fresh ideas.

I meet them at conventions, I join them on the dais, I lunch with them, and I find them always stimulating, and invariably feminine. One of my dearest friends, Mary Roebling, was the first woman to become president and now board chairman of a major bank. There is no more feminine and charming person alive. A woman who has succeeded magnificently in a man’s world, she is always treated like a lady—simply because that’s what she expects.

There should be no confusion about manners, she says: “A lady is treated like a lady by a gentleman—because he is a gentleman.” Even if they are both vice presidents.

I never dreamed, when I danced my way into pictures, that one day I’d be a “lady executive.” I think I would have been horrified at the idea. But life keeps springing nice surprises. As a director of a large corporation I’m having as much fun now as I ever did in those crazy Black Bottom-and-Charleston days when Scott Fitzgerald called me “the best example of the flapper.”

People in the business world are like any other people—amusing, warm, generous, stimulating—and the most loyal friends. Men have great respect for a woman who can be both competent and attractive. Competence without charm can irritate some men. I think you should be appealing, but not in a phony way. It has to be part of your personality. If it isn’t, acquire it, and they’ll forgive your know-how. After all, men really love women more than they hate them!

I never try to compete as a man. Like all women, I have a special contribution to make to the business world. Women do most of the purchasing in this country. They understand quality and value, and appreciate attractive packaging because they know how to package themselves! Any woman who thinks she’d be lost in business, or lacking in valuable ideas, should just try it. She can bring ideas to industry that men have never dreamed of. “The Power of a Woman” is a cliché—but one with a foundation, and I don’t mean a girdle. A woman can make her family consume anything she buys if it’s attractively packaged.

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