Why companies need female managers

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Ms Fisher says a good business needs both male and female staff

When Helen Fisher speaks, the politically correct members of her audience are likely to flinch.

Declaring that she's "definitely not a feminist," the American anthropologist from Rutgers University dissects the differences between men and women.

Men are more analytical; women are better long-term planners.

Each gender has a different way of falling in love.

And the invention of the plough did more to set back gender equality than anything else since.

What Ms Fisher says is not psychobabble. She bases her findings on archaeological evidence, MRI brain scans, genetics and large-scale surveys of how men and women behave.

And understanding that male and female brains develop and behave differently is important not just if you are in the dating game.

It also helps us to hire the right people, improve teamwork and can - to quote part of the title of her talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos - grow a company's bottomline.

Once upon a time

Double-income families are not an invention of modern times.

Your ring finger apparently says a lot about you

"In prehistoric times, double-income families were the norm, and women provided 60-80% of the evening meal," says Ms Fisher.

But following the invention of the plough and with the resulting need for hard manual labour, the power balance shifted.

Only since World War I are women re-entering the workforce and regaining their status in society.

But there are much more fundamental differences between men and women, says Ms Fisher, that have been shaped over millennia of evolution.

For starters, men and women are thinking differently. Brain scans prove it, as does plenty of other research.

On average, women gather more data, consider the context, are intuitive, have a sympathising mind and think more long-term. Ms Fisher calls it "web thinking".

Men, on the other hand, are more focused, think linear, focus on rules and the short-term - "step thinking".

The culprit

Blame testosterone for the difference. From the moment the embryo's brain develops in the mother's womb, high testosterone levels will make you focus on details in later life.

Blame your time in the womb if you aren't a great detail person

Now lift your hand and look at your palm. Is the ring finger longer than your index finger? Then you were the recipient of high levels of testosterone.

Chances are that you are an analytical thinker (or very musical), regardless of gender, while a shorter ring finger suggests you have a more sympathising mind. And men tend to grow up on lots of testosterone.

You want proof? Research shows that film scripts written by women are more complex and have more ambiguous endings than those written by men.

Male doctors focus on the illness and its treatment, while female doctors take a more holistic approach.

The long-term thinking of women makes them better investors.

It's even true in the bedroom, says Ms Fisher. Men tend to focus more on what they are doing, while women are easily distracted, she says to slightly embarrassed laughter from her audience.

And when men get older and their testosterone levels sink, their brain starts to work differently - they become more sympathetic to the plight of others.

But why the difference? Well, over the ages men tended to be the hunters and needed to focus.

Women, in contrast, had much more diverse tasks, like bringing up children (which Ms Fisher also believes may be the reason why women are better talkers: language is the key tool to control children).

The business case

So what does all this mean for business leaders?

Combine the long-term thinking of women with the short-term focus of men.

And bear in mind that different thinking also results in very different behaviour.

Men think more in terms of status and rank. Women prefer flat hierarchies.

Men can have tunnel vision, women may fail to get to the point.

Women find it difficult to counter aggression. When men push back, it earns them the respect of other men.

When women apologise, they are not really sorry. For men it's a serious affair, a perceived weakening of their status.

Ms Fisher's list goes on and on, but her message is clear.

Managers, says Ms Fisher, have to realise that men and women act differently, and that they complement each other.

Having only men or women on your team would be like hopping on one foot instead of walking.

As the status of women is on the rise again, says Ms Fisher, we "move forward to a lifestyle we had a million years ago".

source: news.bbc.uk

Annan hits out at Kenya 'abuses'

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The Rift Valley town of Nakuru has seen some of the worst violence

Former UN head Kofi Annan has condemned "gross and systematic abuses of human rights" in Kenya, after a visit to violence-hit parts of the country.

Mr Annan said conflict may have been triggered by disputed elections, but it had evolved into "something else".

The facts had to be established and those responsible held to account, Mr Annan said.

On Saturday, police brought 16 badly burnt bodies to the mortuary in Nakuru, the capital of Rift Valley province.

Mr Annan - in Kenya to mediate attempts for a political solution - was flown over Nakuru on Saturday as part of a tour that also included visits to Eldoret and Molo district.

Inter-ethnic strife in Nakuru In pictures: Nakuru violence Press sees long road ahead

Hospital staff in Nakuru said they had received the bodies of nine more people, hacked by machetes or killed by arrows.

Earlier the authorities had imposed an overnight curfew across the city in the wake of renewed inter-ethnic conflict.

Rival gangs of young men battled with machetes, metal bars, bows and arrows, while thick smoke billowed up from burning buildings.

The violence came despite hopes of progress after President Mwai Kibaki met opposition leader Raila Odinga for the first time on Thursday since December's disputed polls.

Burnt forests

Mr Annan set off from Nairobi shortly after first light on Saturday to see for himself some of the destruction and human misery caused by more than three weeks of violence.

On Friday Mr Annan held talks with religious leaders

He visited some of the thousands of people in Eldoret whose homes have been destroyed or who moved to the town to try to find shelter.

The former UN chief also boarded a helicopter to fly to Molo district where many have been killed. A statement said Mr Annan was surprised by the extent of the destruction.

Tanzania's former President, Benjamin Mkapa, travelling with Mr Annan, said: "The political crisis in the country [has caused] a state of agony and despair. We console the people."

On Friday Mr Annan held talks with Kenyan election officials and religious leaders in Nairobi.

He said he had "pleaded with the religious leaders to use their leadership, their churches and mosques, to encourage the people to get involved, to work with the leaders for peace.

"The leaders may not be able to do it alone. We all need to play our part."

Barricade

Nakuru is said to be relatively quiet following the overnight curfew. But there has been sporadic gunfire in the city on Saturday.

The BBC's Adam Mynott says that some protesters erected a barricade across the main road and many homes have been burnt in the town.

Hundreds of people have sought refuge in churches or friends' homes.

There are also reports of truckloads of many young men being moved overnight to a village on the outskirts of the town.

The unrest triggered by the election on 27 December has driven 250,000 people from their homes. Mr Odinga says he was robbed of the presidency.

source: news.bbc.co.uk

AHMADIYAH GIVEN GREEN LIGHT

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The Attorney General's office decided Tuesday not to ban a Muslim group whose teaching allegedly deviates from the mainstream.

The Ahmadiyah group was allowed to continue its activities after giving a testimony on its teachings.

The group's leader insisted they conform to the mainstream Islamic teachings by using the same creed and acknowledging Muhammad as the last prophet.

He said another figure that's revered by the group is simply a teacher, not a prophet.

Authorities vow to continue monitoring the group's activities.

source: indonesia this morning

GOVERNMENT CRITICIZED FOR FAILURE TO PROTECT MIGRANT WORKER

The execution of Indonesian migrant laborer Yanti Irianti in Saudi Arabia continued to generate controversy, one week after her death.

Irianti's widower, Gino, tried to meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday, to demand the government's accountability over her death. Yudhoyono refused to meet with Gino.

Migrant workers rights group, Migrant Care, said the case reflects the government's inability to protect Indonesian laborers overseas. Analyst Wahyu Susilo said the Indonesian embassy in Riyadh and the labor and transmigration department should have started diplomatic efforts to keep Irianti from execution.

"The authorities' failure to find out about Irianti's case is bewildering," Susilo said. "How did they fail to notify us about her, but managed to inform us about four workers who are on death row in Saudi Arabia?"

Yudhoyono pledged to repatriate Irianti's remains on her family's wishes and compensate the family for her death. Irianti was executed after a Saudi court found her guilty of killing her employer.

source: indonesia this morning

YUDHOYONO KICKS OFF MALAYSIA TRIP

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met with Nirmala Bonat, an abused Indonesian worker in Malaysia, who recently won her case in a Kuala Lumpur court.

Thursday's meeting took place during Yudhoyono's visit to Malaysia for bilateral talks.

Yudhoyono expressed his sympathy to Bonat for the ordeal she went through back in 2004. He also welcomes the court decision finding her former employer guilty of assault and hopes there will be no more abuses on Indonesian workers in Malaysia.

Workers abuse will be one of many issues Yudhoyono is slated to discuss with Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. Other issues include borders and illegal logging.

source: Indonesia This Morning

SOCCER SEMIFINAL ENDED IN RIOTS

A riot broke out near Senayan soccer stadium after Jakarta soccer team Persija lost to Jayapura's Persipura in the Copa Indonesia semifinal Thursday night.

Prior to the game, nearly a thousand Persija supporters who did not have tickets tried to force entry into the Stadium, and clashed with the police.

After Jakarta's loss, a much larger crowd threw rocks and bottles to authorities and Jayapura supporters.

At least two people were arrested. No one was hurt in the incident.

source: Indonesia This Morning

DOCTORS WAIT TO INSTALL CRT ON SOEHARTO

Former President Soeharto is still in critical condition after fluid buildup is increasing in his lungs, but doctors are looking into installing a heart stabilizing device today.

Soeharto had breathing difficulties and underwent another hemodialysis to extract the excess fluids from his lungs.

The condition made it impossible for doctors to install the CRT device needed to synchronize his heart, but doctors are looking into installing it today.

Chief Doctor Mardjo Soebiandono said Soeharto’s hemoglobin level continues to go up, but the excess fluids are major concern. Soeharto checked in to Jakarta's Pertamina hospital last Friday.

DOCTORS WAIT TO INSTALL CRT ON SOEHARTO

Former President Soeharto is still in critical condition after fluid buildup is increasing in his lungs, but doctors are looking into installing a heart stabilizing device today.

Soeharto had breathing difficulties and underwent another hemodialysis to extract the excess fluids from his lungs.

The condition made it impossible for doctors to install the CRT device needed to synchronize his heart, but doctors are looking into installing it today.

Chief Doctor Mardjo Soebiandono said Soeharto's hemoglobin level continues to go up, but the excess fluids are major concern. Soeharto checked in to Jakarta's Pertamina hospital last Friday.

source: Indonesia This Morning

SOEHARTO’S HEALTH IMPROVES, BUT STILL CRITICAL

The health condition of former President Soeharto improved on Wednesday. His hemoglobin level has gone up after blood transfusions.

Soeharto still needs a Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) device to stabilize his heart, but it can only be installed if his hemoglobin level can go up higher.

Doctors also gave him hemodialysis to extract excess fluid from his lungs.

Chief doctor Mardjo Subiandono said Soeharto’s blood pressure went down during the dialysis, but had since improved.

The 86-year old former leader went into Jakarta’s Pertamina hospital on Jan. 4, and has been in critical condition since Jan. 5.

source: Indonesia This Morning

WORLD LEADERS MOURN BENAZIR BHUTTO’S DEATH

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono joined other world leaders in condemning the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack Thursday.

“We express our condolences to her family and the Pakistani people, and sincerely hope that law and order be restored in Pakistan immediately,” Yudhoyono said.

Yudhoyono also expressed hopes the Indonesian security forces will learn from the tragedy in Pakistan and guarantee the security of political figures ahead of the 2009 elections.

Bhutto’s death stunned the world that was anxiously waiting for the Pakistani parliamentary election scheduled for January 8.

Bhutto and another former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were expected to run in the elections.

Now Sharif said his party will boycott the elections, turning the country’s democratic process very much into doubt.

VISIT INDONESIA YEAR KICKS OFF

Indonesia targets a 25 percent increase in the number of foreign tourists this year, as part of the Visit Indonesia Year 2008 goals.

Last year, more foreign tourists visited Indonesia than in any other year in the past decade. But at 5.5 million arrivals, the number was below the Tourism Ministry’s target of six million.

This year, tourism officials are confident the country can attract seven million visitors from overseas.

“Security in Indonesia has improved,” Director General of Culture and Tourism Thamrin Bachri said. “Since we’ve issued visas on arrival, more tourists from countries like India, China and the Netherlands come here.”

But a number of lingering issues could stand in the way.

The European Union still bans its citizens from flying Indonesian domestic carriers. It keeps European tourists from practically most Indonesian cities except in Bali, which is reachable by foreign air carriers.

Access to many hidden paradise in Indonesia is still minimal. Many destinations with high tourism values are still difficult and unaffordable to reach. Natural disasters can also deter tourists.

“We also have a limited budget to promote the campaign, far less than our competitors,” Bachri said.

Visit Indonesia Year TV ads and banners are now out, although some think they came out a bit late. Tourism officials hope Indonesia’s natural beauty will speak for itself and invite the visitors.

JAKARTA GETS FIRST FLOOD OF THE YEAR

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Several areas near the Ciliwung River in Jakarta are flooded, following two consecutive days of rain.

Flood level varies, but in several spots, water reach over 1.5 meters high, submerging hundreds of homes in Bukit Duri and Kebun Baru in South Jakarta.

In some areas in Cawang, East Jakarta, water is up to two meters deep, inundating hundreds of homes.

Thousands of residents have been evacuated to schools and other emergency shelters. Some residents use rafts and inflatable boats to transport themselves to safer grounds, while others remain on the second floor of their homes.