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Why is BAM almost entirely female?

Why So Many Women at BAM?

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BPM News tackles a hot potato question that sustains record levels of mystery: Why is BAM almost entirely FEMALE? Hearsay follows, women at BAM like to roll up their sleeves to get things done BAM-style. Someone is overheard muttering, "Could it be that landscape is soft and women are soft?" (OH NO YOU DIDN’T) The most conflagrant rumor: BAM’s male principals prefer to work with women. (AHEM) Still others have astutely pointed out that across the globe, China has the highest number of powerful women in business.

Co-founders Dan Gass and Jake Walker share candid thoughts on the topic.

BPM Newsagent: “Dan, Jake, BAM is almost entirely female. Why?”

Dan Gass: “In fact because Chinese names don’t necessarily imply a gender, when we select portfolios for interviews, we are gender blind.”

Jake Walker: “People think Dan and I purposely choose women over men. But it’s not the case. It’s deeper than that. In our experience—not always but a lot of the time—women at BAM are more thoughtful, dedicated, and hard-working.”

BAM Women Get It DONE

Alt text ^ 景文负责的施工现场!Jingwen takes charge!

Alt text ^ Plover 把它“砰”地一下放倒了旁边的哥们儿超喜欢!Plover lays the smack down and that guy likes it!

Alt text ^ Denise:“看!这个现场还只是一个大洞,但我们预计 37 天就能完成!”(Denise) “Look! The site is a giant hole and there are only 37 days until this is supposed to be finished!”

Do Chinese Women Have Superpowers?

Jake: “This is something that needs to be checked, but I believe as a percentage of businesses, there are more women CEOs in China than in America. For women in China there is still discrimination but it’s not expressed in the same ways as the west.”

You’re RIGHT, Jake! The number of females in top executive positions in China IS extraordinarily high! This could be because China’s population is the largest globally at 1,384,688,986 (USA, third most populated country in the world, has 1 BILLION FEWER people!) Still, in a 2015 survey by Fortune’s Global Most Powerful Women, China is home to most self-made female billionaires in the world. HOLY SMOKES!!!! “Chinese women trounce powerful women from other countries,” writes Claire Groden in her Fortune article. Of all countries surveyed, Chinese women account for more than 50% of all females in powerful business positions globally. Another finding shared by Fortune: “More and more of our MPWs are self-made businesswomen with no political connections or ties.”

Motivating news for the human race!

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"Down & Dirty"

Alt text Alt text Alt text ^ BAM 的女性撸起袖子来工作!这就是“Down & Dirty”。Women at BAM get down and dirty, rolling up sleeves to get the work done!

Jake: “At BAM when we work we get into design issues by rolling up our sleeves to get the job done. In business settings, we find that male managers delegate more than women managers delegate. We see women managers muck around fixing the problems, the way BAM does.”

Groden’s Fortune article, Most Powerful Women, recounts a story that points to the readiness of the most powerful women to get down and dirty. “China’s large portion of powerful women can be attributed in part to its rapid economic development, especially since the One Child Policy led Chinese parents to educate their sole children with a gender-neutral zeal..."

"...A handful of the women on Fortune’s MPW list personify China’s ascent: Zhou Qunfei, the CEO of Lens Technology, grew up motherless in a tiny farming village, helping her family by raising pigs and ducks. She started her career as a teenager making watch parts in a Guangdong factory before opening the shop that would make her the world’s richest self-made woman. Dong Mingzhu of Gree Electric and Wang Fengying of Great Wall Motor boast similar stories, working their way up their respective companies from starting positions as saleswomen over the course of decades.”

BAM on FAMILY

Alt text ^ BAM 的一张“妈妈桌”。Mom-desk at BAM. Having a family and being professional does have to be a choice about one or the other.

BAM understands that family always comes first. From older generations past to the making of the next generation, family is very important to BAM. This is not to suggest that women over men value family more, however, BAM is extremely generous and flexible when it comes to taking time for family.

Many companies view women getting pregnant as a liability. In China there is greater discrimination in this sense than in the west. For example, women who have children already find jobs more easily, because the employer will not have to pay maternity leave. Often during interviews women may be asked very personal questions such as whether they have significant others, and if so, how developed the relationship is; or what their marital status is; or just straight out whether they plan on having children. BAM of course does NOT ask questions like this and is very supportive of the young families of both women and men.

In all cases thus far, BAM has left it up to the employee to determine exactly the terms of their maternal leave. BAM is here to help. Because of this ‘pay it forward’ attitude, BAM finds that when employees come back (especially women) they are more tenacious, more committed, and bring a much greater value to the team. Not only this, but the younger women very much look up to these role models and see that having a family and being professional does have to be a choice about one or the other.

Alt text ^ Allie 的儿子 Ford (左) 和女儿 Ferra (中)。Allie’s son Ford (left) and daughter Ferra (right).

Alt text ^ 别!别按那个按钮!No! Not THAT button!!!!

WoMAN at BAM: "Denise Designs"

Sneak peek at BPM News installment, "Denise Designs." One of BAM’s rising star designers, Denise, has produced a landscape design preferred by the client. Has Denise’s design been built? Yes! Is it one of BAM's best projects to date? Yes! Keep those guns blazing, Denise! Go BAM!

Alt text ^ Denise 为她的设计项目 Buji“救火”多次。Denise makes the rounds at her newly constructed project, Buji (Phase 1, Playscraper).

BAM 怎么有这么多女性?

Alt text Alt text ^ BAM bravery in the field. The design field, that is. 无论是在“射箭场”还是“设计场”,BAM 的女侠们都拥有着无与伦比的勇气。

本期的 BPM 新闻将为大家解答这个棘手的问题:为什么 BAM 几乎完全是女性?这个问题长期以来都无人能够回答,并一直保持着神秘度的最高纪录。

为了回答这个令人困惑的问题,我们费尽了心思,从各种可能的角度进行了尝试。然而,这个问题真的能够被回答吗?它会不会将永远是个谜呢?难道,女人喜欢卷起袖子来努力工作是 BAM 的 style?难道,胳膊肘上的蹭的这些油渍,是来真的?难道,因为景观是“柔和的”(soft),女性也是“柔和的”,更利于工作?不,你全都猜错了!也许真正的原因是,BAM 的男性领导们更喜欢和女性一起工作。Emmm……不开玩笑了。有个说法是,在全球范围内,中国是拥有“商界女强人”最多的国家。这是真的吗?那果真就是因为这个吗?

Bammers,包括执行联合创始人 Dan,以及 Kelly 的绿色代言人“纸袋都可以给我设计灵感”的创始人 Dan,共同分享了关于这个话题的看法。

BPM 新闻:“Dan,Jake,为什么 BAM 几乎全是女性?”

Dan Gass:“说实话,你很难通过中国人的名字来判定一个人的性别。因此,在我们为面试筛选简历时,我们就如同‘盲选’一样,根本不会知道对方的性别。”

Jake:“其他人都认为 Dan 和我是刻意为之 —— 相比于男性,更倾向于女性员工。但事实并非如此,里面的道理可要深层次得多。在我们的工作经验中 —— 虽然并非总是如此,但在很多时候都是 —— BAM 的女性员工更有想法,工作更专注,也更勤奋。”

BAM 女侠们的优秀工作!

Alt text ^ “看,这就是问题区域,我来给你讲讲该怎么解决这种问题。”“This is a problem. Here is how you’re going to fix it.”

Alt text ^ “好的,现在准了。看吧,推掉重做是值得的!” “Now it’s accurate. It was worth tearing out and re-doing correctly!”

Alt text ^ 铺装样本不符合规定?那你完蛋了。Paving sample not as specified? DO OVER.

Alt text ^ 向左 60 厘米,对,对......然后向右 25 厘米......不,不!60 centimeters to the left... Yes! 25 centimeters to the right... No!

中国的女性有“超能力”?

Jake:“你真的是搞新闻的吗?我们确实需要做一些调查,但我也同样相信,在一些企业中,中国女性 CEO 的比例比美国要高。另外,对于中国的女性来说,同样存在有歧视现象,但可能与西方国家的不尽相同。

Alt text ^ 我敢打赌你肯定知道,中国身居高职的女性管理层人数,远远超过了亚太地区其他国家。照片中这些女性只是没有尽头的名单中的微乎其微的一小部分!Bet you already know that China’s most powerful female execs far outnumber women in high business positions in other Asia-Pacific countries. These headshots are the beginning of a seemingly endless list!

Jake 你是对的!中国高层管理人员中的女性人数比世界上任何其他国家都高!这可能是因为中国拥有全球最高的人口 —— 1,384,688,986(美国是世界人口第三大国,拥有超过10亿的人口!)尽管如此,2015 年《财富》(Fortune)全球最具影响力女性的调查显示,中国是全球白手起家的女亿万富翁最多的国家 —— 我的天哪!Claire Gorden 在《财富》中写道:“中国女性打败了其他国家的强大女性。”在所有进行了调查的国家中,女性身居要职中的中国女性比例达到了 50% 以上。另外,《财富》还提到:“越来越多的 MPWs (Most Powerful Women,“最具影响力女性”)是白手起家的女商人,并没有政治上的人脉资源。”

如果这条新闻还不足以激励你们的话,那 BAM 也没有办法了!

亲力亲为,蓬头垢面

Alt text Alt text Alt text Alt text ^ BAM 的女性撸起袖子来工作!这就是“Down & Dirty”。This is how women at BAM get down and dirty, rolling up sleeves to get the work done!

Jake:“Bammers 在工作时,如果碰到设计难题,会撸起袖子来设法解决它。在主流的商业环境中,我们发现男性管理者会比女性管理者委派更多的任务给下级。我们看到很多管理层的女性亲力亲为、‘蓬头垢面’地工作,就像 BAM 的工作方式一样。”

我们从不以偏概全 —— BAM 当然不会以低标准来宣传自己 —— 然而Groden 在《财富》最具影响力女性的文章里也提到,她们是“Down & Dirty”的:“中国有权势的女性占很大比例,这在一定程度上可以归因于中国经济的快速发展,尤其是独生子女政策,促使中国的父母以在教育他们的子女时是无性别差异的。以下列举了少数《财富》MPW 榜单上的女性,她们代表了中国的崛起:蓝思科技(Lens Technology)的 CEO 周群飞,出生于一个小村庄并在那里长大,她靠养猪和养鸭来帮助她的家人。她的职业生涯始于十几岁时,当时她在广东的一家生产手表配件的工厂上班,后来她自己开了一家工厂,成为世界上最富有的白手起家的女性。此外,格力电器(Gree Electric)的董明珠和长城汽车(Great Wall Motor)的王凤英也有类似的故事,在过去的几十年里,她们都是在不同的公司中担任销售一职。”

BAM 的家庭观

Alt text ^ 爸比,爸比,爸比,爸比……天呐,我要是想要孩子了怎么办?!?!?![Cue Jaws soundtrack] Da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da... What if I want to have kids?!?!?!?!

BAM 知道家庭总是第一位的。从过去的老一代,到将来下一代的形成,家庭对 BAM 来说都是非常重要的。这并不是说女性比男性更重视家庭,然而,当涉及到与家人在一起的时间时,BAM 总是非常慷慨和灵活的。

许多公司认为女性员工怀孕会给公司带来负担。在中国,这方面的歧视比西方更严重。比如,已育的女性比未育的女性更易找到工作,因为公司不用支付其将来可能产生的产假相关费用。另外在面试中,女性还可能被问到一些非常私人的问题,比如问她们是否有伴侣,如果有,这段关系是否亲密和稳定;有时会问她们的婚姻状况;甚至有人会直接问她们是否计划要孩子。BAM 当然不会问这样的问题,并且不论男女、都会支持新家庭的组建。

到目前为止,BAM 都让员工自己来决定她们产假的具体细则,BAM 是其背后永远的支持者。也可能正因这种“提前支付”的制度,BAM 的员工(尤其是女性)重回工作岗位的时候,会变得更加坚韧和忠诚,并给团队带来更大的价值。不仅如此,那些较为年轻的女员工也会视其为自己的榜样,对家庭和工作再次充满热情。

Alt text ^ 景文和她的儿子都都在 BAM 设计的颐堤港儿童乐园玩耍。Guan Jingwen at BAM’s Indigo playground with her son Dudu.

Alt text ^ “她的好创意都是从我这儿得来的。”Jake说道。“She gets all of her good ideas from me.” -Jake

BAM 的女侠!阅读“丹尼斯设计” - 这是一个让你大吃一惊的故事!

下期 BPM 新闻快速预览:连见多识广的你的奶奶都不会相信这个女性在 BAM 里的惊人故事。BAM 的一位新星设计师 Denise,不顾 BAM 负责人的意见,反倒参考客户推荐的设计理念,创造了一个惊人的景观设计概念。Denise 的设计真的建造出来了?这是现实,不是梦?真的是一个人们可以使用,花时间其中徜徉,对它或爱或恨,维护或不维护,可以生活在里面和周边的一个东西?

Alt text ^ "这是什么?我想去那边玩儿,那有好多球。" - Ferra,3岁。"What is this thing? I want to go there. It has balls.” - Ferra, age 3.