New Book Will Be Published This Summer, “What’s a Guy to Do?”
Whistling Rabbit Press announced today that What’s a Guy to Do? Ground Rules for Working with Women will be published this summer. The book is intended for men who would like to improve their working relationships with their female colleagues.
“The last year has produced a lot of vitriol,” said Jennifer K. Crittenden, author of the new book, “but well-intentioned men have asked me how to show their support for the women they work with. A new entrepreneur asked me how he can ensure his company is welcoming to women. This book provides those answers.”
The book addresses topics such as communication, innuendo, humor, discrimination, sexual harassment, social occasions, and romance. Specific advice is given about greeting and conversing with a woman, interactions during meetings, commenting on her appearance, power dynamics, when a woman acts like a jerk, and times when a guy is better off saying nothing at all.
“These are serious topics,” said Crittenden, “but I emphasize their funny side. After all, we’re all trying to get along, produce some good work, and help our companies be successful. I don’t think it helps us to be overly serious or judgmental. The dialog breaks down if we start pointing fingers or leaning on political correctness.”
“I have devoted considerable effort to improving relations between the sexes over the past six years,” Crittenden added. “I am dismayed at seeing all men painted with the same black brush. Many men are looking for guidance, and we haven’t given them much in the way of specifics or nuance.”
The book grew out of an article Crittenden posted on LinkedIn, titled “What’s a Guy to Do? Seven Ground Rules for Working with Women.” [goo.gl/bBkPM8] “It triggered a lot of feedback. It made me realize there’s a real hole in the literature,” said Crittenden. We’ve given women so much endless advice about how they are supposed to behave, and really haven’t said anything to the men. I am convinced we won’t make much more progress until men get involved. We should be asking for their help to create workplaces where women flourish.”
The book also includes ways that men can check themselves for sexism, and ways to test their companies for systemic bias and the appearance of favoritism toward men in compensation, hiring practices, assignment of duties, and the selection of vendors.
“It will be a quick read,” said Crittenden. “We’ve focused on takeaways, not on regurgitating facts and figures. The goal is for men to have more comfortable interactions with their female colleagues. Despite the large amount of ink that has been spilled, men and women can work productively together, really enjoy each other’s company, and develop collegial relationships that last a lifetime.”
What’s a Guy to Do? will be published in paperback, Kindle, and ebook formats. Review copies can be requested by writing to info@whistlingrabbitpress.com.
About the author: Jennifer K. Crittenden earned a BA in Linguistics and French from Indiana University, a Baccalaureate certificate in Film Studies, and an MBA in Finance and MIS from the Kelley School of Business. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and received a CELTA diploma from the University of Cambridge to teach English as a second language.
For more than twenty years, she worked in corporate finance for big pharma and biotech companies in the U.S., U.K. and Europe, rising from financial analyst to CFO.
She is the author of The Discreet Guide for Executive Women: How to Work Well with Men (and Other Difficulties), an Amazon bestseller and winner of the 2012 National Independent Excellence Award in the Business-Motivational Category. In 2014, she published her second book: You Not I: Exceptional Presence through the Eyes of Others.
Jennifer offers professional development training programs through her company The Discreet GuideTM on interpersonal, communication, performance, presentation and language skills. She writes and speaks frequently on topics related to gender, communication, and work.
About Whistling Rabbit Press: Whistling Rabbit Press is a boutique publishing house located in San Diego, California.