????盡管商界女性在過去幾十年成績斐然，但有一件事似乎沒有改變：成功依然感覺像是男人的游戲，就連女性的成功也給人這種感覺。

????無論是在著裝上依循成功男性的傳統(tǒng)，還是模仿其他成功男性的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)風(fēng)格（就算別的方式或許一樣有用時），有一個觀點(diǎn)是相同的：真正的商業(yè)成功將始終與男子氣相伴相隨，概莫能外。

????保持女人味可以與商業(yè)成功并行不悖這一觀點(diǎn)似乎有點(diǎn)奇怪，特別是對年輕一代女性而言。Y世代的母親是在一個與現(xiàn)在迥然不同的世界中接受教育的。1960年，39%的大學(xué)生是女性，而這一比例現(xiàn)在已超過了一半。雖然許多女性已經(jīng)在商業(yè)領(lǐng)域取得了非凡的成就，但許多女性并沒有一個在事業(yè)上取得成功的母親為其在職場行為和選擇方面提供榜樣。

????各界對瑪麗莎?梅耶爾最近被任命為雅虎公司（Yahoo）CEO——以及她周一向《財(cái)富》雜志（Fortune）記者帕蒂?塞勒斯宣稱她是首位以懷孕之身履新的《財(cái)富》500強(qiáng)企業(yè)（Fortune）CEO——這兩則消息的反應(yīng)，引發(fā)了一個縈繞在許多職場女性耳際的問題：梅耶爾的女性特質(zhì)為什么如此令人矚目？

????37歲的梅耶爾是《財(cái)富》500強(qiáng)企業(yè)中最年輕的CEO。在谷歌公司（Google）擔(dān)任高管期間，梅耶爾的鐵腕作風(fēng)既讓她備受愛戴，也讓她遭人嫉恨。雖然她長時間瘋狂地工作，但依然有時間積極從事社交生活。以極客自詡的梅耶爾也對設(shè)計(jì)情有獨(dú)鐘。她看似超人的傾向或許很難讓人捉摸（或模仿），但梅耶爾依然保持著自己的本色，并且從未覺得這些特征有什么不對的地方。

????“我非常在意的一件事情是，用自己的行為向女孩們顯示，我們可以保持女人味，喜歡女孩喜歡的東西，同事又能夠非常擅長技術(shù)，”梅耶爾2010年接受《每日野獸》網(wǎng)（Daily Beast）采訪時如是說。對于許多Y世代女性來說，梅耶爾的表率作用是她們的母親辦不到的：一位完全保持著自身女性特征、同時又在事業(yè)上大獲成功的商界女性。

????作為我們家第一個讀大學(xué)的女孩，我身邊并沒有一個可供我參照、在專業(yè)領(lǐng)域取得成功的女性榜樣。在年少的我看來，一個女人要想在專業(yè)領(lǐng)域建立信任感，就必須表現(xiàn)出男性氣質(zhì)。

????我從大學(xué)畢業(yè)、并于2008年加入麥肯錫公司（McKinsey and Co）紐約分公司之后，在事業(yè)上取得建樹就成了一件非常重要的事情——如同許多考驗(yàn)一樣，這項(xiàng)考驗(yàn)同樣也有時間限制。對于一個試圖在競爭異常激烈的環(huán)境中出人頭地的女性來說，一個不言而喻的現(xiàn)實(shí)是，專業(yè)禮儀需要通過著裝的選擇來向外部展示。通過我的工作和個人風(fēng)格來顯示自身能力的壓力使得我甚至不敢確定真實(shí)的我，一個愛好時尚、長著一張娃娃臉、帶著中東和南美血統(tǒng)的女性究竟應(yīng)該從何處著手來融入這樣一個職場現(xiàn)實(shí)。

????我在麥肯錫的職場生涯清楚地顯示，隨著其職務(wù)的擢升，女性的服飾似乎逐步失去了花樣和顏色，頭發(fā)也慢慢失去了長度和形態(tài)，坦然面對自身女性特征的商界女領(lǐng)袖非常稀缺。成就非凡的女性是不是有意識地讓自己變得更具男子氣概？或者她們僅僅只是厭倦了自己的與眾不同，進(jìn)而擯棄了那些讓她們不一樣的特征？

????職場女性可以改變這些看法，比如，表現(xiàn)出自己的個性（正如包括梅耶爾在內(nèi)的許多人已經(jīng)做的那樣），不要為了讓自身形象更容易讓同僚接受而努力做出改變。背離我們的偏好，失去對這些偏好的尊重，并藉此往上爬的做法驗(yàn)證了一個非常有害的想法：成功來自于一種基本的形態(tài)。

????梅耶爾并沒有要求任何人效仿自己的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)風(fēng)格和職場路徑。她也沒有要求任何人像她那樣削減她們自己的產(chǎn)假。她之所以是年輕女性的榜樣，并不是因?yàn)樗齻€人的選擇，而是因?yàn)樗鲞m合自己的事情：保持女性特質(zhì)。這種態(tài)度有助于重新定義成功對于女性的含義，我們應(yīng)該對此表示歡迎。

????譯者：任文科

????Despite all the gains that women in business have made over the past several decades, one thing doesn't seem to change: success still feels like a man's game, even when women attain it.

????Whether it's dressing in the tradition of the successful man or leading in the style of other successful men -- when alternate approaches might be just as useful -- the idea is the same: without alternatives, true success in business will always be coupled with masculinity.

????The idea that embracing femininity can go hand-in-hand with success in business can seem odd, particularly for members of the younger generation. The mothers of Generation Y were educated in a starkly different world. In 1960, 39% of undergraduates were women -- while today, more than half are. And while many women have made significant achievements in business, many are doing it without the benefit of having mothers who could model the behaviors and choices of a successful businesswoman.

????The reactions to Marissa Mayer's recent appointment as Yahoo's (YHOO) CEO -- along with her announcement to Fortune's Pattie Sellers on Monday that she is the first Fortune 500 CEO to accept the position while pregnant -- raise a question that rings in many female professionals' ears: Why should Mayer's femininity even matter?

????At 37, Mayer is the youngest CEO in the Fortune 500. As a manager at Google, she was both loved and hated for her autocratic style. She works insane hours and still finds time for an active social life. She's a self-proclaimed geek, who also happens to love designer threads. Her seemingly superhuman tendencies may be hard to fathom (or emulate), yet Mayer has remained true to herself and never apologized for them.

????"One of the things I care a lot about is helping to... show girls that you can be feminine, you can like the things that girls like, but you can also be really good at technology," Mayer told the Daily Beast in 2010. For many Gen Y women, Mayer's example is one our mothers couldn't demonstrate: a successful woman in business who fully owns her femininity.

????As the first woman in my family to attend college, I had no female model of professional success on hand to use as a guidepost. In my young mind, to be professionally credible meant you had to act masculine.

????When I graduated from college and joined McKinsey and Co.'s New York office in 2008, building my professional presence was critical -- and like so many tests, this one was timed. The unspoken need to demonstrate professional decorum while trying to thrive in a fiercely competitive environment was reflected externally for women through our wardrobe choices. The pressure to showcase my competence both through my work and my personal style rendered me even less sure of where the real me, a fashion-loving, baby-faced woman of Middle Eastern and South American descent, fit in to the picture.

????My time at McKinsey made it clear that there was a dearth of female business leaders who were comfortable with their femininity, as women's clothes seemed to progressively lose form and color and their hair would lose length and shape as they ascended the ranks. Did high-achieving women make themselves more masculine on purpose? Or were they just tired of being different and let go of the characteristics that set them apart?

????Women can change these perceptions by expressing their individuality (as many, including Mayer, already have) not by trying to make their images more digestible to their peers. Deviating from our preferences, and losing our respect for those preferences, to climb the ladder validates a very noxious idea: that success comes in one basic shape and form.

????Mayer hasn't asked anyone to emulate her leadership or runway style. She also hasn't asked anyone to follow suit and cut their own maternity leaves short. She is a role model for young women – not because of her individual choices, but because she does what works for her, femininity and all. And that kind of attitude is what will help redefine success for women, one that we should welcome.