On The Job: Why Can't a Woman Manage More Like . . . a Woman?

Goodbye to the male clone: today's executive prefers to play by her own rules

A jockstrap was a parting gift when Marion Howington retired last year from the once all-male post of senior vice president at J. Walter Thompson. It was a teasing tribute to a woman who was well known for beating the pants off men at their own game. For Howington, a striking 60, who began climbing the ad agency's ladder in Chicago in 1967, the key to success was to "be aggressive" and "think like a man." In 22 years, she says, she never turned to other women for professional support or advice. "I didn't think they had anything of value to...

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