Women and careers:

“Shout cock-a-doodle-doo when you lay an egg!”

Women are still at a serious disadvantage in the world of work. This makes it all the more important for women to confidently point out their skills and take responsibility for their lives.

(Bild: PantherMedia / IgorTishenko)

They earn less and are underrepresented at management level.

(Bild: ©ink drop )

Why are there still so few women in management positions? And why do women - especially in Vorarlberg - still earn far less than men? Austrian author Ingeborg Rauchberger provided answers at the Feldkirch Chamber of Labor.

Why are so many women in professional life still "hens" who lay their eggs in the nest but never find the courage to scream "cock-a-doodle-doo"? The Austrian lawyer, management consultant, negotiation expert and author Dr. Ingeborg Rauchberger has tackled this question. In a humorous yet profound way, she recently presented her book "Schrei Kikeriki, wenn du ein Ei legtst" (Scream cock-a-doodle-doo when you lay an egg) at the Vorarlberg Chamber of Labor as part of the lecture series "Wissen fürs Leben" (Knowledge for life). In it, she calls on women to finally make themselves and their professional successes visible. Rauchberger questions the saying "self-praise stinks" and encourages women to communicate their own successes with confidence. This could possibly also initiate a turnaround in the job market.

One of my favorite maxims is: Do what you want, but take responsibility for it!

Dr. Ingeborg Rauchberger

Bild: rauchberger

Because women are still rare on the boards of listed companies in Austria. Of 192 board members, only 24 are currently female, which means that women make up 12.5 percent. This also goes hand in hand with the immense income differences between the sexes. Nowhere else in Austria is the pay gap between women and men as wide as in Vorarlberg. On average, women earn around 14,000 euros less per year. At the beginning of her presentation, Rauchberger asks the question: "Do you remember what you wanted to be when you were in kindergarten?" She herself wanted to be a mother and a boss - a goal that she pursued with determination. Later, she says with a twinkle in her eye, she also dreamed of marrying Paul McCartney. Today, she is relaxed about the fact that he never replied to her love letter: "I probably saved myself a lot."

Clear announcements instead of constant "Hätti-Wari"
Behind this humorous anecdote is a serious message. It is that you have to consistently pursue your dreams and wishes. "One of my favorite guiding principles is: Do what you want, but take responsibility for it!" A central point of her book, for which she conducted intensive research and numerous interviews, is the question of self-worth. Rauchberger calls on all women to take their dreams seriously and to take responsibility for their decisions. She tells the story of a chemistry student who only studied a scientific subject at her mother's request. She would much rather have become a confectioner. She ended up working as an usher at a trade fair. A winegrower, on the other hand, who took her life into her own hands, refused to be defeated and pursued her dreams with determination. After her father transferred his winery to her sister's husband, she invested her settlement in her own vineyards - and became more successful than the entire family. Rauchberger derives a "golden insight" from these examples: "Don't be a would-have-been." In other words: opportunities need to be seized, there is no point in mourning them later.

Rauchberger can also share this insight from personal experience. Her first husband died of a brain tumor when he was only 40. Before his death, they did as much as possible together: "Saying goodbye is hard - but it's even harder when you reproach yourself for having missed something." 

Clear announcements instead of obedience
Rauchberger knows that language and body language are also key to influence and success. Using specific examples - such as how she herself was pushed into the role of minute-taker as a young lawyer - she shows how important it is to actively manage how you are perceived. "You have to radiate what you want to be perceived as!" It's not about being "everybody's darling", but about setting clear boundaries. "Otherwise you become everbody's douchebag!" Instead of fulfilling male expectations in anticipatory obedience, women should above all take responsibility for their own lives, true to the aforementioned guiding principle: "Do what you want, but take responsibility for it!"

Show the world what you can do!
The central element of her book is the appeal to all women to make themselves and their own successes visible. To back this up, she again uses an example from the real world of work: "Imagine a professional meeting. Who writes down the results? And who presents them? Usually the woman writes - and the man presents. Who gets the credit? The man, of course. So ladies, in future we'll be Franz!"