Our willingness to listen and extend caring to all women regardless of status breaks down rigid hierarchical structures and replaces them with supportive networks. We can acknowledge personal growth of our co-workers and show appreciation when they bring in a new client or impress a group of salespeople at a convention. And if we are supervisors and managers, we must remember to take time to balance criticism with appreciation for the person, not just for the performance. In doing so, we create an atmosphere in which we all want to work. Women seem especially vulnerable to this type of hurt because we seek relationships with other women and expect them to care.
Men appear better able to walk away from a snub because they maintain greater personal distance.
Men grow up competing for status, not relationships, and accept it when someone else plays the same game. Caring gives us the basis for extending ourselves to others. But for caring to be the positive strength it can be for women, we must be respectful and consistent. When we act in a caring way, we set up expectations for trust. When that caring is sincere, trust bonds our working relationship and unites women.