On Tuesday September 6th, Yahoo fired their CEO Carol Bartz. In an interview with CNN Money, “Tuesday, Bartz was in New York, to speak at Citigroup's technology conference the next day, when she was supposed to call [Roy] Bostock at 6 p.m. "I called him at 6:06," she recalls. When he got on the line, she says, he started reading a lawyer's prepared statement to dismiss her.
"I said, 'Roy, I think that's a script,'" adding, "'Why don't you have the balls to tell me yourself?'"
When Bostock finished reading, Bartz didn't argue—"I got it. I got it," she told the Yahoo chairman. "I thought you were classier," she added.”
However, this was only the beginning of Carol’s outcry after being fired. She goes on to say the board of directors is a bunch of “doofuses” and also says, in regards to the Yahoo board; "These people f---ed me over.” As I’m sure you can imagine, this has created quite the stir in the press.
I have been a follower of Bartz for about a year now. Last fall, Carol Bartz came and spoke to Georgia State University. To be honest, I was put off by her short responses to the interviewer as well as the impersonal vibe she gave off in her snarky responses. I remember being seated in the auditorium, thinking to myself “THIS lady is a CEO of such a huge company??” However, I did appreciate her business advice when it comes to talking to C-suite management.
There has been much debate about her firing; a few reasons have been predicted. Besides her use of strong language, the issue of her being a woman CEO has been brought to attention too. This is another issue in itself and has CNN and others debating if this is more focused on the fact of her being a woman in the first place, thus being perceived as incapable of performing certain job tasks.
Women in the workplace have been an issue since the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the 1920s, when women were first able to legally work. It seems like equal pay for women and equal treatment in the workplace is something our nation still struggles with. I agree, Carol’s profanity was over the top and perhaps she is not the most heartwarming person but I have to ask myself, “Would I feel this way if she were a man; or would I just see her as strong?”
Woman or not, what she said was out of line but I do not think her business practice or working ability should be gauged in ANY way by her gender. Gender equality in the workplace is something we must strive to fix and overcome. Have you ever faced discrimination in the work place due to your gender? Or have you ever had an outburst at work, which did, or should have cost you your job?
Sources:
http://postcards.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/08/carol-bartz-fired-yahoo/
http://www.businessinsider.com/insider-carol-bartz-is-a-lame-duck-and-has-checked-out-2011-8
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/sep/08/carol-bartz-blast-yahoo-after-being-fired
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