Alpha Females

Helping women make the most of their leadership qualities.

by Gabriela Cora, M.D., M.B.A.

Perform and Get the Best Results to Advance in Your Career

Jack Welch got himself into hot water when he recently presented to a group of executive women. He said everybody should advance based on their performance and results. This statement raised eyebrows and animosity in the female audience: How about unconscious bias, many asked. Read More

"Who, Me? I'm Not a Misogynist"

In essence, Limbaugh, despite his poor choice of words, was at least attempting to stay within the realm of the discussion that was present. Maher can't get away with rationalizations that the "Brits use this word for either gender," since after all, his show focuses on Americans. Nice try. Read More

The Seductive Trap of Demagogy

While it is easy to point at Limbaugh and call his offense what it is, we tend to like a nice guy saying pleasant words to make us feel good or better, particularly if we feel mistreated or wronged in some way. The President’s apology to this woman also makes other women feel good too, because women identify with Fluke and wished for an apology as well. Read More

On Misogyny, Demagogy, and Personal Responsibility

This week, Rush Limbaugh called a law student a slut for asking for health care birth control coverage in Congress. It was typical Middle Ages’ Inquisition misogyny. President Obama’s “rescue” of the law student was also Middle Ages’ chivalry: saving the defenseless demoiselle in distress was pure demagogy. Read More

Do Women Leaders Experience More Guilt Than Their Male Counterparts?

Many successful women experience a profound sense of guilt when conflicted about choosing career over family, and the women who experience this are unhappy with their situation. Read More

Ten Men and Half a Woman: Is Your Intelligence Underestimated?

I've been active in several groups, associations, and boards for a couple of decades now and one of the interesting ongoing conversations is bringing diversity into the groups. Yes, there is data to support that boards benefit from diversity. And there's also data to support that they don't. Read More

Are Alpha Females Healthier Than Their Counterparts?

Alpha females have intrinsic characteristics—aside from being competitive, controlling, and more aggressive, they are also born healthier, more energetic, and more resilient. Sure, alphas can get themselves into more stressful situations by virtue of being more dominant and on the front lines at all times... Read More

Are women leaders better at concealing affairs?

It was surreal. Spitzer discussing Weiner's faux pas while claiming mea culpa for his own sexual transgressions on CNN. Schwarzenegger admits to fathering a child after a decade, all while Edwards denies fathering a daughter and using campaign funds to cover it all up. Read More

Disregard the Stats - Make a Higher Salary Your Reality

Should we listen to stats that pound away at our self-image, explaining why women make less than men? We can look at the numbers and attribute our lesser pay to this well-established paradigm: women are paid less than men, period. Is this your reality? It’s not mine. Read More

Why do women medical doctors receive less pay?

Do women doctors receive less pay for equal work? Read More

Are powerful women feminist?

Powerful and feminist? Read More

Are powerful men horny?

As Woods is voted best athlete of the decade by Associated Press, his marriage to his wife of five years may be exhaling its last breaths. Read More

Are you an invisible leader?

Hillary Clinton was labeled marginalized in this article. She said this was absurd. Instead, she says she doesn't need to be seen as "the person" who's doing it all, that she favors delegating work and that she doesn't need to show off. Read More

Are you a smart woman at work?

Are you a smart woman at work or would you prefer to marry for money? Read More

Leading by influence

Forbes published its 100 list of most influential women. This list includes Chief Executive Officers who run countries, corporations and non-profits.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads the list as she leads the fourth largest economic power.

Food for thought: Read More

Assertive or Aggressive?

Are men assertive and women aggressive? Read More

Wise Latina Woman

These three words seem to have raised much controversy when paired with “as compared to a wise white male.” Read More

Good judgment

While practicing therapists are trained to remain objective as they assist their patient or client without bringing their own issues into the session, a seasoned therapist will skillfully keep their own ideas out of the equation. Read More

Woman supreme

With the pending retirement of Supreme Court Judge David Souter, President Obama has nominated a talented candidate: Puerto Rican Sonia Sotomayor. Read More

Forever young

Are you interested in staying young forever? Read More

Word war and the blame game

The Speaker of the House has been on the news for days now. Coming from a position of power, Nancy Pelosi now faces the embarrassing challenge of undoing what she created in a word-war with the media. Read More

Alpha Female in Training

The political scene these days has been spicy, even after the election. One of an interesting young player, I think, has been Meghan McCain, John McCain's Twittering daughter. Read More

Do Mean Girls in School Become Mean Women at Work?

Do mean girls in school become mean women at work?

Mean girls make it easily into each and every literary work or film. Our fascination and love-hate relationship is obvious - we are seduced by their appeal and power, yet repulsed by their ill-intentions. Read More

Young Doctors Burn Out

I remember one on-all night as a first year medical intern at 4 AM. My first year teammate was exhausted and our senior resident looked worn out. After working a straight 20 hour shift with no breaks, we were beat. In my twenties, I looked fresh, and could continue to work in the Emergency Room like the Energizer Bunny. Read More

Thick Skin Pays Off in Leadership

Women still dodge low balls in the public sphere. They are ready to brush off personal attacks to focus on what matters to them in politics or in the workplace. Whether we are talking about Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin, we all agree that thick skin pays off in leadership positions. Read More

Did She Take It "Like A Man?"

What would a man have done? Would he have walked away, disregarding the offer, or would he have played his cards quietly, graciously, and just accepted the nomination despite the bitter taste in his mouth?

Sarah Palin is on the front of the New York Times today, "looking ahead" to the left, go figure. Even after the Republican defeat, the media continues to be fascinated by this strong lady. There is a new president elect, the markets collapsed, home financing is in chaos, why is she still in the news? Read More

Should Leaders Who Are Mothers Bring Their Kids to Work?

Much has been said about Governor Sarah Palin having her kids at work. Even when dads help out - and they do help out much more than they did fifty years ago - women are still in charge of taking care of their kids even when they may be holding full-time jobs. Read More

Would You Prefer a Male Boss or Female Boss?

Bosses' gender may affect your level of stress at work, although it is not clear how or why. In a recent study published in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, only men who worked for a mixed-gender pair seemed to have fewer mental and physical symptoms of distress as compared to any other group. Read More

Sexist or Fair Game?

I have been receiving a number of thoughtful comments in previous blog entries and I thought I would address one of the subjects that I myself have questioned while watching the political debates - are some of the comments sexist or fair game?

Just like in the workplace, these elections have raised many issues around race, gender, and age bias.

Gabriela Cora, M.D., M.B.A., hosts Dr. Gaby's Take: Make Life Interesting. She’s a medical doctor with a master's in business administration.

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About Alpha Females

Dr. Gaby Cora hosts Dr. Gaby's Take: Make Life Interesting. She works with leaders who need to hit the ground running while they lead under pressure and strive to enjoy their success and well-being. A renaissance woman, she’s a medical doctor with a master's in business administration. Alpha Female: Leader of A Pack of Bitches: Leading Strategies to Become and Outstanding Leader. In this provocative book, Dr. Cora discusses the qualities of positive - and negative - women leaders with candor, offering effective strategies for a positive makeover.