President Trump’s business strategy is linked to authoritarianism, and women are the antidote

Donald Trump likes to brag about his business skills. Critics of the former president see him as an authoritarian.

Trump ran for president in 2016 touting economic success, but many of his supporters liked the idea of ​​America being run as a business. Today, his critics accuse him of using tactics straight out of authoritarian play.

What no one has pointed out is that these two qualities are related. Trump is a walking caricature of the characteristics that have come to dominate corporate America, with the winners of a new competitive corporate “tournament” replacing the “organizers” of the 1950s.

And what is the antidote to such evil? women empowerment.

Over the past 50 years, corporate executives have moved from General Motors’ “all in this together” mantra (“What’s good for GM is good for America”) to a winner-takes-all world of rigging the system. I did. for our own benefit. The system relies on recruiting the right men (and very few women) and bringing out the worst in them.

They do this by employing a high-stakes bonus system that makes everyone nervous. Jack Welch, the late CEO of GE and one of the system’s pioneers, was fond of boasting: By using his method of pitting employees against each other, management can force employees to do whatever the management wants.

Managers in such environments constantly feel the need to prove themselves by demonstrating traits associated with “real men,” such as aggressive behavior, fierce competition, and rule-breaking. Frenetic working hours. Taking unnecessary risks. Bullying or sexual harassment of other employees. When executives feel insecure, this behavior increases.

The “winners” then recruit like-minded peers to help them outsmart their competitors. That may be why the ladder for women to climb to the top in business is broken, as an October McKinsey report revealed.

Mr. Trump has used that strategy to run his business, and he has proven to be a master at using the same tactics to increase his political influence.

First, it increases anxiety. People who think they are losing are more susceptible to manipulation. In the corporate world, this means bonus structures that add unrelenting pressure (or, in Sam Walton’s words, “beating yesterday”). In the political realm, it’s because President Trump has described the United States as “an impoverished hellscape plagued by bloodthirsty urban anarchists, a fifth column of terrorists, and the conspiracies of globalist elites” (as CNN’s Gregory Krieg put it in 2016). (summary), meaning that it appeals in a very realistic sense. Among his supporters, he feels they are losing ground. Deliberately inciting anxiety creates loyalty and readiness for action.

The second is the personalization of power. People who think the system is rigged long for someone great to destroy it. In the corporate world, this is described as “the irrational pursuit of charismatic CEOs.” For Trump, it involves his constant restraint: “Only I can fix it.” The ability to break the rules and get away with it – the ability to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and have supporters by your side – symbolizes personal control.

Third, it asserts that the world is a zero-sum enterprise and emphasizes unity within groups. The greater the threat, the more important it is to protect allies, and the more closed such alliances become. In the business world, competitive pay is linked to increased mistrust and more politicized decision-making. In the political realm, Christian nationalism and white grievance combine, with those who scored particularly high on Christian nationalism scales more likely to identify with a Christian identity than with secular people or non-Christian religions. more likely to believe that they are threatened by followers of

Lastly, value your masculinity. In the corporate world, it refers to “alpha males” who have an unrealistically high opinion of themselves (including outright narcissism), high self-confidence, and a greater willingness to take risks and cut ethical corners. means to choose. A distinct subset of the general population is more likely to be male. The political game becomes one that elevates the status of “real” men at the expense of those who threaten them.

In other words, politicians like Trump have realized that corporate strategy works just as well in politics as it does in business.

So what does this specifically have to do with women? The short answer is that women have a much harder time winning this game, and many don’t want to try.

Gender inequality is increasing in all organizations that employ competitive pay. When employers recruit for positions that pit employees against each other, it’s no wonder that “the gender gap in applications more than doubles when a large portion (50%) of pay is dependent on relative performance.” Not.

If corporate “tournaments,” or Mr. Trump’s business, really brought in huge profits, the method might be worth serious consideration. Instead, Trump owes nearly $500 million for inflating the value of his assets.

Meanwhile, Wall Street has found that, on average, female CEOs significantly outperform their male counterparts. An increased presence of women on corporate boards is associated with lower levels of securities fraud, accounting manipulation, and simple mistakes that require reporting corrections.

Whether it’s business or politics, women can’t win against rigged games, which is why women are so important in opposing rigged games.

June Carbone is Robina Professor of Law, Science, and Technology at the University of Minnesota Law School. Nancy Levitt is Associate Dean and Curator Professor and Edward D. Ellison Professor of Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Naomi Kahn is a judge who serves as the Anthony M. Kennedy Distinguished Professor of Law, the Armistead M. Doby Professor, and co-director of the Family Law Center at the University of Virginia School of Law. Together, they are the authors of “Fair Shake: Women and the Fight to Build a Just Economy” (Simon & Schuster, May 7, 2024).