People-Friendly Organizations : Why We Need an Alternative Default Model

Why, when they are challenging men’s performance at every academic level in the developed world and, in spite of all the efforts made to avoid discriminatory practices, do women still fail to secure the top positions in the workplace? Why do they gravitate toward certain occupations? Given what we know about the differences between male and female functioning, is it not time to create inclusive, people-friendly organizations more appropriate to 21st century? In this paper we try to give answers to these questions, deal with the issue whether the kinds of organizational structures and practices that attract women might also benefit men, and ask whether the male-oriented default position of organizational design has had its day