Not In the Club

April 8, 2013
Former information technology executive Pucino examines the "clubby" workplace from a woman's first-person perspective. This dangerous form of group-think fosters bullying and shuts out womenâand many menâfrom key workplace decision-making. Unfortunately, as Pucino points out, it's also condoned by top executives, fosters double standards for women, and will "continue to thrive" unless women are willing to speak out. She offers a number of suggestions to help women identify how pervasive the club culture might be in a company: consider the diversity of the board, employee turnover rate, and the role innovation playsâall helpful suggestions in theory but difficult to execute. Most puzzling is why Pucino, a successful executive and "sponsor of a women's affinity group", fails to include specific examples or call out companies by name. The book would be of greater value if Pucino used opinions other than her own, as the gender disparities in corporate culture are welldocumented elsewhere. As a means of breaking down structural barriers, tossing out pithy suggestions such as "women need to bolster their confidence" as a way to eliminate "The Club" just isn't very helpful.

Starred review from April 1, 2013

One of the few flaws in Pucino's readable and succinct guide is how heavily her ideas are marketed to women only. This is a potentially stellar guide for all professionals, male as well as female, on how to succeed in business without being a member of an organization's "club." The meat of the book is its third chapter, which describes ways in which managers and employees who are not part of the "club" see their ideas ignored, their promotions blocked, and their work lives made generally unbearable; the author also describes practical strategies for working around such difficulties. All of the chapters (with the possible exception of the personal interviews near the end) are relevant and useful--a rarity in business literature. Pucino identifies what "clubs" look like, how gender and cultural biases play out, how such corporate cultures develop, ways to spot such a culture before joining an organization, and tips for getting along even when you don't particularly want to "belong." VERDICT There's an increasing number of titles about women in management, but this one scores on both brevity and utility.--Sarah Statz Cords, Reader's Advisor Online, Middleton, WI

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