Is Staying Home with the Children Career Suicide?

Leslie Bennetts, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and author of The Feminine
Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much? and Vivian Steir Rabin,Vice president of search firm Salovey & Associates and coauthor of Back on the Career Track debate the question at FastCompany.com.

Leslie Bennetts: Two-thirds of women who opt out of the workforce want to return later on--but most are unprepared for the barriers they will face, including ageism, sexism, discrimination against mothers, and a strong bias against returning workers. The majority will not find full-time jobs, and many will be unable to reenter the workforce at all.

Vivian Steir Rabin: Returning to work after an absence isn't easy--but the climate for "relaunchers" has changed dramatically. Employers realize they have to get this "woman issue" right, which means allowing women (and men) to work flexibly and take extended leaves if that's what they want.

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Keep That Door Opened

Paul B. Brown for the New York Times writes, in a tight labor market like this one, making sure you handle departing workers well is good for business — and your remaining employees — HR magazine writes. “The way an organization treats exiting staff members is very telling,” Gail Gunderson of Ohio State University says in the article by Nancy Hatch Woodward.

Employees should be treated as well when they depart as when they were hired, she adds.

For one thing, if you treat departing employees with understanding and respect, they may decide to change their minds, no small thing if they are valued employees. For another, parting on good terms could leave the door open to have them return at some point.

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Who’s the Boss?

DesMoinesRegister.com weighs in on a new study.

Men may still have more power in the workplace, but apparently women really are "the boss" at home. That's according to a new study by a team of Iowa State University researchers.

The study of 72 married couples from Iowa found that wives, on average, exhibit greater situational power -- in the form of domineering and dominant behaviors--than their husbands during problem-solving discussions, regardless of who raised the topic. All of the couples in the sample were relatively happy in their marriages, with none in counseling at the time of the study.

Associate Professor of Psychology David Vogel and Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Megan Murphy led the research.

Click here to read more

The odds of being able to support myself as a writer are against me. I suppose it would be different if I my overhead didn’t include healthcare insurance, a mortgage and all the bills that go with creating a home for my daughters and me. But, even though my novel, Without Grace, won four awards, no major publishing house is knocking on my door offering me an advance for my next novel, which means I need to find ways to keep myself afloat until my big break. It was October 2005, on the very day I got my first mind-blowing review, comparing my novel to To Kill a Mockingbird, that I lost my job with a company I’d been with for over eleven years.

My recent experience helping a friend get a job where I work has left me wary. Full disclosure: he’s my ex-boyfriend (and I mean ex; more than 25 years ago). Years after breaking up, we both ended up on the Upper West Side with kids in the same kindergarten class! We’ve stayed in touch and I knew he was looking for a new job. Recently he called me about a position he had seen advertised where I work.

Hold Up that Mirror

Michael Kinsman writes in California Job Journal that he is intrigued by the way co-workers have viewed themselves.

Frankly, I must have worked around some pretty optimistic people, because by and large they seemed to have an inflated sense of their talent, skills and value. Rarely have I come across people who were actually better than they thought.

As the years pass and I meet more people, I’ve come to the conclusion that people need to think of themselves as good at their jobs if they are going to be productive at all. A measured ego is important, if only to serve as motivation.
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Women Business Owners Give Credit Where It’s Due

Cynthia H. Cho for the dailypress.com reports on business women rising to new heights.

Over the past two decades in the U.S., according to the Center for Women's Business Research, companies in which a woman or women owned at least 51 percent or more of the firm have grown at around two times the rate of all firms.

As of 2006, there were 7.7 million such firms - up from 5.4 million in 1997 - that employed more than 7.1 million people and generated $1.1 trillion in sales. They accounted for 30.4 percent of all privately held firms in the country.

As more women run their own businesses, it's important for them to work together to build "strategic alliances," said Laura Cardone, who is president of the Southeastern Virginia chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. Groups like hers, she said, allow women to build relationships with one another by providing support and sharing success stories.
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Job Protected Leave

Stephanie Armour reports on the concerns regarding the U.S. Study family leave.

Employers raised questions in a new report about the impact on productivity of a federal law granting workers unpaid time off to care for family medical needs.

The report from the Department of Labor is a summary of more than 15,000 comments received from employers and workers since December on the effectiveness of the Family and Medical Leave Act. The 1993 law provides job-protected leave for up to 12 weeks for the birth or adoption of a child, the care of a close family member with serious medical problems, or time off for employee health conditions.

The report shows several areas where the law is causing concerns:
Click here to read more

I work in the spa and salon industry and most of these wonderful small businesses do not offer health benefits. I would imagine that any small business can’t afford to offer benefits. Many times I am torn between taking a job I would love or the job that has health benefits. I have gone years without them and then don’t use them that much when I have them. Do I really need them?

Whether I am watching an A&E Biography, a Barbara Walters interview, or even the occasional (ahem, cough, cough) E! True Hollywood Story, and the subject is a successful woman, the story of her childhood is always begins the same way. “I never wanted to play with the other girls. I was always with the boys,” we are told as early home movies of school plays and family picnics of sunny days past flash on the screen. Or the woman in question looks at Babs and confesses with a smile that says “I am oh so incorrigible”, “I wasn’t’ interested in playing with dolls. I was such a tomboy.”

A Midweek Break

Midweek holiday doesn't give much time away from work writes Corinne Reilly for the Merced Sun-Star.

For all those who look forward to the long holiday weekend that often unfurls with Independence Day, this year will likely be a star-spangled bummer.
Monday and Friday holidays are ideal, and even a Tuesday or a Thursday holiday often can be finagled into a four-day weekend.

Click here to read more

Restarting Your Career

Marilyn Gardner for the Christian Science Monitor advises how to restart your career.

Making the transition back to the workplace after a significant absence – a year, two years, or more – can be both challenging and rewarding. It's a step more people are facing as the traditional approach – continuous, linear employment – gives way to a new approach marked by flexibility.

"The corporate-ladder model of career progression doesn't fit the majority of workers today," says Anne Weisberg, a senior adviser at Deloitte in Boston. The new model, she explains, is a "corporate lattice," which allows people to move in many different directions.

Click here to read the entire article

Are you being slandered in the office?

Annie Fisher, Fortune Senior writer, suggests ways to handle a backstabber at work.

(Fortune) -- Dear Annie: I am the head of what I thought was a pretty strong, cohesive team. But I just heard from one of the people who reports to me that another subordinate went to my boss and said she could do my job better than I can. I'm not sure if there's some kind of ax to grind between these two subordinates, but this troubles me, since the person who allegedly badmouthed me is my top performer. (I jumped through flaming hoops to get her an extra 2% bonus last year.)

Now I don't know what to do. Ignore it? Feel out my boss to see if he's taking the criticism seriously? Confront the employee who is supposed to have stabbed me in the back? Your advice, please. -Vexed and Perplexed

Click here for Annie’s reply

School is out and that means fun filled days are just around the corner. Summer means creating and balancing a whole new schedule. I am trying my best to get our summer schedule under control. I now will rearrange my work hours to fit swimming lessons, music in the park, sprayscape, zoo adventures, and much more.

Cleaning Women’s Restroom at the Workplace—Who’s Responsible?

Harry Wessel for OrlandoSentinel.com reports on one workplace issue rarely discussed.

Question: The company I work for has about 50 employees, about half of us women. Not long ago, all the company's female workers were called into a conference room and harangued by a manager because an on-site women's restroom was "completely disgusting."

We were told cleaning supplies would be provided in the future and that we had to clean up after ourselves. If the bathroom was not properly maintained, disciplinary action could be taken, up to and including termination.

Needless to say, this meeting was highly insulting. I was unaware of any problem with the women's restroom, and not only did I have nothing to do with the disgusting conditions described, I'm sure at least 98 percent of the women at the meeting had nothing to do with them, either.

Click here for the rest of the article

Does Gender Matter in the Blogosphere?

Blogcritics.org writes about cyberspace’s domination.

Just as women walking the streets are different than men, Women bloggers are different from men who blog. How are we different? According to the recent Washington Post article by Ellen Nakashima we are harassed in more sexual terms. The new war zone then is cyberspace. Women are "singled out in more starkly sexually threatening terms."

The Post article was sparked by the case of Kathy Sierra, a woman whose blog had a large readership and international attention. After she became the target of anonymous threats including "photos of her with a noose around her neck and a muzzle over her mouth," she suspended blogging.

According to the article, the reaction of women bloggers has been to stop blogging, self-censor, get gender-neutral noms de plume or turn to private forums. Nakashima concluded "the effect of repeated harassment, interviewed bloggers and experts said, was to make women reluctant to participate online — undercutting the promise of the Internet as an egalitarian forum."

Read the entire article here

More About the Opt-Out Discussion

The “new” trend of professional mothers leaving the workforce has been written about in the New York Times for the last 20 years, says Joan C. Williams, director of the Center for Work-Life Law at the University of California Hastings College of Law. Last fall, Williams published a study analyzing 119 newspaper stories written since 1980 about the opt-out phenomenon, writes Jennifer Barnett Reed in Arkansas Times.

But the storyline really picked up steam in 2003, when the New York Times Magazine published a lengthy piece called “The Opt-Out Revolution” that profiled a book club in Atlanta and a moms’ group in San Francisco, both made up of Ivy-League-educated women who’d left their high-paying jobs to care for their children full-time. Two years later, another Times story claimed that 60 percent of female Ivy League students the reporter had surveyed said they already planned to quit their jobs or work only part-time when they had children.

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I have heard the question, “When a woman behaves like a man, why can't she behave like a nice man?” Some women do behave like nice men. I’m thinking back to my high school gym teacher. She was a lesbian and she was very sweet. Like a very nice man. I mean like a very nice woman who had masculine attributes. However, women cops are vicious. I got me both hands on the wheel and the “yes ma’ams” prepared when they come awalkin’ to my car.

Last May I was fired. I signed an agreement that directed most of my severance pay into my 401K account. I didn’t want to even think about the company for a while, so I didn’t check my account for six months. When I did, not only wasn’t the amount correct, but the statement history showed an erratic pattern of depositing contributions that did not match the payroll deductions on my paychecks.

Body Art in the Office

Molly Selvin, LA Times Staff Writer, reports on those sporting tattoos.

Once associated with drunken sailors, felons and Hells Angels, tattoos have gone nearly mainstream, putting employers in a bind. How to write rules that won't alienate un-hip customers on the one hand or eliminate talented workers on the other?

Different standards have emerged. A pink rose discreetly inked on an ankle might pass muster at a hospital but not a day-care center; an eyebrow stud will be viewed as charming at one store and a blemish at another.

In many cases, grooming policies are being set by members of a generation known for letting it all hang out.

"The baby boomers had hair out to the ceiling, cut jeans, ripped clothes that they washed sometimes," said Mark Mehler, co-founder of CareerXroads, a New Jersey recruiting and consulting firm.

And now boomers are passing judgment on nose rings.

Read entire story here

Who Wears Short Shorts…in the Workplace?

Suzanne D'Amato reports in The Washington Post about how a popular summertime fashion is no longer a don’t at the office.

They're beloved by kickball teams and soccer moms, the uniform of backyard barbecues and Sunday afternoon errands. Like Teva sandals and Eddie Bauer backpacks, they're practical -- sturdy testaments to the triumph of function over fashion. But if you thought you knew all there was to know about women's shorts, think again. Now, they have become . . . chic?

"The proportions have to be right: the type of jacket, the length of the jacket," says Nancy Pearlstein, owner of Relish, a Washington boutique. "I've seen some people who look absolutely fabulous, but it has to be a little more studied than just throwing on a beautiful dress."

When it comes to wearing shorts to the office, Pearlstein's point is particularly well-taken.

Says Brooks: "This is essentially a flirty style that doesn't take itself too seriously." So if your workplace is relaxed, knee-length Bermudas -- tailored, pressed and not worn with flip-flops -- can be a casual Friday option. But if you want to be taken seriously at a big meeting, there's little question that you should pass on a short suit in favor of the real thing. Especially if you're running for president.

"I see Hillary sticking with the pantsuits," Brooks says.

Click here to read entire story

Continuing the Dress Code Theme

Sentinel Columnist, Jean Patteson, looks at the topic of exposing too much at the office.

Question: We have a touchy situation in our office. One of the women has a collection of these wrap dresses that are back in fashion. She is very full-figured, which causes the bodice of the dress to gap. This reveals an inappropriate amount of cleavage and often reveals her bra. Some of my colleagues are constantly making off-color comments. Others are quite offended. How do we send the message that she needs to cover up?

Answer: Judging from the number of calls and e-mails I've received recently, low-cut necklines are a cause for concern in a number of offices this summer. Supervisors say they are reluctant to address the problem. They're either too embarrassed, or they fear charges of sexual harassment.

Read More Here

Women Are A Powerful Economic Force

Mona Ghuneim reports in Voice of America on a prominent businesswoman who says the global business community must realize that women are a powerful economic force, and that supporting greater opportunities for women will lead to greater prosperity around the globe.

Barbara Krumsiek is the head of Calvert Group, a U.S.-based investment firm. She says advancing the economic, social and educational status of women is crucial to eradicating poverty and hunger around the world.
Krumsiek says corporations can "significantly affect whether women prosper or continue to fall further behind," especially in developing nations.
"In the developing world, women put in nearly two-thirds of the hours worked and produce half of the world's food, but only own one percent of its farmland," said Barbara Krumsiek. "Of the more than one billion people in the developing world who live on less than a dollar a day, 70 percent are women."

Read more here

Who’s Chattier?

Robert Mitchum, Tribune staff reporter, looks more closely at a recent survey.

Stereotypes tell us that women are the chattier sex, reeling off detailed verbal accounts of emotions and events while men brood in front of the television.

Now a scientific study is taking aim at that idea by finding the daily number of words spoken by male and female college students is virtually the same.

Brizendine said studies comparing male and female speech in the workplace have found significant differences in talkativeness. She predicts the same result would occur in studies conducted in a home environment, believing men generally talk more at work and women use more words at home.

Other scientists say that simply counting words does not get at possible sex differences in the content or style of speech.

Read the entire article here

The Way We Talk

Meghan Daum, for the Los Angeles Times, asks why do so many women sound like Valley Girls?

HAS THE WHOLE country been sucking on helium balloons?

The singsong, Valley Girl-ish vocal style that was once the exclusive domain of actual Valley Girls (and anyone who worked at a tanning salon) is infiltrating a host of unlikely venues. From Ivy League campuses to workplace conference rooms, we're hearing elongated vowel sounds (think "yeaaah" and "whatahver"), prodigious mumbling and, of course, declarative sentences turned into questions.

Last month, the public radio program "Marketplace" aired a story on the prevalence of grown women speaking in high-pitched, babyish voices. It cited the example of Monica M. Goodling, the 33-year-old attorney (and Justice Department appointee) who testified before Congress in a voice that seemed more appropriate to Smurfette than to a government official with something to say about fired U.S. attorneys. "Marketplace" suggested that this girlish cadence signaled a feminist backlash, a sonic corollary to bikini waxes and baby-doll dresses.

Read the whole article here

For many years I dreamed of having my own business. As I went from one unfulfilling job to another, the idea of being on my own lurked in the back of my mind. Imagine being your own boss, not having to punch a time clock or deal with an annoying manager. That dream kept me going for many years, and finally I decided that I had had enough of the corporate world. It was time to make my move. So, I marked a date on the calendar that would be my last day at on the job. That date was my deadline to start my dream career.

I’ve had a number of bosses over the years, men and women, and had a good working relationship with them, except for one woman. This woman replaced my previous female boss for a job I’d worked successfully at for years and suddenly wanted to micromanage me. I had no problem taking direction, however the new boss was clearly frustrated that I was a self-starter and adept at doing my job; after a couple months’ time, I discovered she wanted employees to need her.

Mattel, makers of Barbie and a bunch of other brands found in my kids’ bedrooms, just launched a “We Believe in Girls” campaign to encourage discussion and philanthropy in support of raising healthy, happy girls. Who wouldn’t applaud that effort?

As the mother of 10-year-old twins, Jake and Emma, I love any opportunity to promote a cause that’s devoted to the success of children. Yet many people ask why, as the parent of a boy and a girl, I would condone efforts focused solely on girls. My answer is simple: When girls and women win, everyone wins. Those victories need not ever be at the expense of boys and men, which is also important to mention.

Take a look at the site – www.webelieveingirls.com – and get involved in the dialogue.

A Diverse Work Force

Generational Diversity Is a Growing Force Within the Workplace, says Tory Johnson.

Lois Schwartz had landed her dream job in event marketing.

"It was very exciting and I was so happy," she said. "It was a higher position than I had ever had before, and I was thrilled."

But the elation went sour as the 54-year-old quickly began to realize that she just couldn't work for a younger boss.

"Maybe that's my ego talking that thinks someone younger than me has less knowledge than I do," Schwartz said. "I think that it's very common for someone older to be a little resentful to someone who is 25 years younger telling you what to do."

Schwartz is not alone. Americans are staying in the work force longer than ever before— postponing retirement or doing away with it altogether. At the same time, Generation Y— those workers born between 1977 and 1991— now make up the largest segment of the work force at 80 million strong. So at some point all of us will work for or with people who aren't our age and who, through nature and nurture, bring different work styles and work ethics to their jobs.

Read more here

Reverse Sexism at the Office

Joseph Wardy writes in the Daily Record, male chauvinism is sexist and radical feminism is reverse sexism. Here's a personal experience with reverse sexism:

In 1988, I was hired as a management consultant/trainer by an insurance company in New York. During my six-month probation period, I received many commendations from managers regarding my consulting and training.

But a funny thing happened on the way to that ill-conceived success. My probation was a disaster in that it was extended an additional six months. Why?

My boss told me I was a poor team player. When I asked her what changes were necessary, she said, "Don't do anything on your own. Check with me on everything."

So, for the next three months all I did was twiddle my thumbs. Occasionally, I climbed the wall to avoid falling asleep at my desk.

With a great need to know my status, I scheduled a meeting with my boss. I was surprised she allowed me.

When I asked her for feedback, she said, "You are doing much better. Keep up the good work. You are beginning to fit in."

Read the entire article here

Nothing Funny About Sexual Harassment For Either Gender

We often talk about sexual harassment against women in the workplace but for this column I’m going to address the growing problem of sexual harassment against men in the workplace writes MSNBC contributor, Eve Tahmincioglu.

“Many people mistakenly believe that harassment is limited to females,” says Roberta Chinsky Matuson, a human resource expert. “The truth is that this type of experience is just as damaging to men.”

While the number of sexual harassment cases over all has consistently declined in the past few years, “sexual harassment filings by men have consistently increased, doubling over 15 years,” says David Grinberg, a spokesman for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC.

Even though women filing charges makes up the bulk of the EEOC’s sexual harassment workload, men are becoming a bigger piece of the pie, with nearly 2000 filing charges last year.

Read the entire story here

Forgive me. My head. I'm trying to quit coffee and I'm going through some serious withdrawals.

So I test software for a living. I actually find it a bit embarrassing so I whisper my occupation underneath a polite cough when people ask what I do. I just don't like being judged by my occupation and the misconceptions that go along with it: introversion, inability to communicate, goofballness...But despite its misconceptions, I really don't like what I do. I gotta get another job. I gotta get another man.

I actually got dumped last week. He criticized my vanity among other things. What's wrong with men? They want a girl who has perfect skin, nails, clothes, and hair. Then later complain the girl is "too high maintenance".

Tailoring Diversity Policies

Companies ramp up diversity like never before, writes Edward Iwata for USA TODAY.

The seasoned banker from Rhode Island and the junior banker from Brazil seemed to be worlds apart on the surface. But when Merrill Lynch managing director Kerry Cannella and young associate Selma Bueno joined forces on their first deal, they made a potent cross-cultural duo.
Merrill Lynch was representing Brazilian investors selling their stake in a multibillion-dollar Latin American company to potential U.S. investors. The deal was moving slowly, with both sides cautious.

In past years, many U.S. companies lost their way in a business Babel, where international workforces are as likely to speak Spanish, Hindi or Mandarin as they do English. Today, though, as more multinationals race into the global economy, they're tailoring their diversity policies and practices to the new cultural and business order to a greater degree than ever before.

Read entire story here

“Best Company” for Multicultural Women

According to a General Mills (GM) press release, Working Mother magazine named GM a 2007 Best Company for Multicultural Women. This is the fourth consecutive year GM has received the honor.

In the June issue of Working Mother, names and profiles of the 2007 Best Companies for Multicultural Women are featured, including stories on diversity in corporate America. GM is recognized in the issue for its comprehensive programs, as well as being among other "Best Companies" that are establishing groundbreaking diversity policies and programs to encourage the hiring and advancement of African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American and Native American women.

Read entire article here

Women in Technology

Mary Beth Sheehan asks, why so few women in IT?

As the business development manager at Computer Bits, with responsibility for developing existing clients and procuring new ones, I have had the pleasure of working with Jim and eight other consultants, all male, for almost seven years. That fact is probably what made me pay particular attention a couple of weeks ago when I was riding my bike one evening past the front entrance of Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, my alma mater. The sign at the 99th Street circle drive entrance announced the upcoming Geek Squad Summer Academy. I was very intrigued.

Even though when I graduated from college with a business degree, I didn't have much of a clue regarding what I wanted to do, I was fortunate and stumbled into the information technology arena. For almost two decades, I have worked around or in IT consulting, and the dearth of women in this field has always puzzled me. As a graduate of McAuley, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I was exposed to countless young women during who were every bit as intelligent and capable as the many talented men that I've met in the workplace. Yet somehow the vast majority of them did not gravitate toward technology when it came time to choose their careers.

Read entire story here

As a sales rep, I am always out visiting accounts, but on Friday's I have to go to my company's office and spend the day there working in a tiny room. I'm generally a happy person, and I now realize why I don't work in an office. They're miserable! Ironically enough, every Friday when I go, I get a sore throat! I literally get sick from going there. What happens in an office that makes people so depressed?

Everything should be relatively easy because common sense should tell you how to make the best decisions. Well things are not that simple when lack of education, expertise or experience leads you elsewhere. Graduate from college, get a good job, become a high achiever and this will guarantee you a promotion, but as in everything there are exceptions to the norm.

Summer Jobs Teaches Skills for a Lifetime
Thanks to a summer job she had when she was 16, Lorna Sanders knows about hard work, reports Joel Dresang for the Journal Sentinel. She knows she can do it. And she knows she can overcome what's new and discomforting to her.Now 17, Lorna is working with other teenagers this summer, guiding them through work with the Milwaukee Conservation Leadership Corps. The corps is a collaboration among corporate, non-profit and government partners aimed at providing work experience to young Milwaukeeans and nurturing both leadership and environmental stewardship."Sadly, all too often today, teens are presented with few opportunities to see a world beyond their own," Mary Dowell, director of community relations for Johnson Controls Inc., told 47 Milwaukee youths receiving hard hats and work gloves for the conservation corps.Read full story here

What Men Have Gained
In the last 30 years, as women have made gains toward achieving equality in the workplace, men have done the same on the home front, writes Anne Jarrell for boston.com news. Across the United States, the number of households headed by single fathers almost doubled between 1990 and 2006, from 1.15 million to 2.1 million – or 20 percent of all single-parent families, US Census Bureau figures show. No longer willing to accept that the mother should automatically look after the children – the "pay up and shut up" narrative in divorce – fathers now are competing more aggressively for custody and are winning cases. In an April 2006 survey, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that 22 percent of its 1,600 members are seeing a rise in cases in which a father wins sole custody, a trend that Massachusetts lawyers and judges say they are also seeing, along with a rise in joint or shared custody arrangements.
Read full story here

Women On the Police Force
Joey Bunch for the Denver Post reports on one woman beating the odds.When Heather Coogan was a beat cop in downtown Denver three decades ago, the "future of law enforcement" seemed a long way away. "I would go out on a call in my uniform and badge, and they would pat me on the shoulder and say, 'Oh, honey, is there a police officer coming?"' she lamented.Today, they call her "chief." Coogan, the newly named top cop for the city of Littleton, is the first woman in city history to hold that title. Despite massive gains for women in the workplace, women still make up less than 13 percent of the 708,022 state and local officers nationwide, according to the National Center for Women and Policing and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Women in charge are even more rare. Of more than 18,000 police agencies nationwide, fewer than 200 have women in the top job, according to the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives. Read entire story here

For some of us there comes a point when you can no longer pretend that you’re happy with your job. My point came about four years ago when I was still working as a business analyst for a financial company. On Sunday nights the tension would start creeping up around 5:00 pm or so. Then it would grow and grow through the evening as I looked at the clock and saw the hours ticking by. My stress levels would rise as I thought about facing another Monday morning.

Welcome to the new Women For Hire Blog! We went looking for a great group
of women to add their candor, wit, and attitude to blog.womenforhire.com –
and that's just what we found! Our top-notch team of bloggers includes women
from every walk of workplace life: entrepreneurs, corporate climbers,
comeback moms, home-based workers, millennials, and boomers. Click on their
pictures to check out their profiles, read their stories, and find out their
favorites and their fears. And get ready to follow their posts on work,
life, and everything in between. I urge you to be part of our team as well
and join in the dialogue. Post your responses when you can empathize or
advise or when you agree or disagree. We hope that blog.womenforhire.com
gives everyone something to talk about.

P.S. Click on my pic at right to find out my greatest pet peeves de jour.
Gum snappers and Bluetooth abusers beware!

An Adult-Centered Nation
A new survey finds a decreased emphasis on children in marriage, writes Ben Arnoldy for The Christian Science Monitor.Kids just aren't as big a part of American life as they used to be.Women are marrying later, devoting more attention to careers, and waiting longer to have children, which sometimes results in them not having children at all. Read entire article here

Having the Advantage
I have a theory that women, especially mothers, have several advantages over men in the small-business world, writes Brent Bowers for the New York Times.

They are better listeners.
Consequently, they pick up details and nuances men often miss.
They are more active networkers.
They are better motivators.
Having to juggle home and workplace duties, they are better multi-taskers.
Read entire article here

Depression at the Office
Tammy Joyner writes in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about depression in the workplace.Depression costs U.S.business at least $44 billion a year in absenteeism, lost productivity and direct treatment costs, according to Mental Health America, an Alexandria, Va.-based nonprofit. Experts at Harvard Medical School, which has done extensive studies on depression's impact on the workplace, put that figure closer to $50 billion.
Read entire article here

It’s been a number of years now since I’ve been working from my home office. I first began doing so when I decided to kick up my writing from being just a hobby to making it a commitment with a goal for publication. Then, some years later, the company where I was employed asked that I begin working from home when they had to shuffle some staff due to losing office space -- but thankfully no lives -- at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Four years after that tragic event, my position was eliminated. However, I was determined to maintain my lifestyle of working from home, even though it meant relying solely on myself for an income.

Being a Part-Timer
MY twins were nearing their first birthday last summer, writes Christine B. Larson in the New York Times, when a friend called. Did I want a part-time job as communications director at a not-for-profit organization?Although I love my career as a full-time freelance writer, the offer caught me at a weak moment. Day care bills were costing more than our mortgage, and the feast-or-famine economics of self-employment weren’t working so well anymore. Click here to read entire article.

Women’s Harshest Critics
Tammy Fine, Today producer writes, I have been working on a segment that I hope you saw this morning on the show, and it’s one that definitely hits close to home. Do you work outside the home? Turns out according to the government, a whopping 70 percent of American women with children under 18 work outside the home. I was surprised the number was so high because it has appeared to me that more women were now choosing to stay home with their kids. Click here to read entire article.

Women’s Job Rights
There is a big change in American opinion on the issue of pay parity between men and women. In the latest poll from Gallup, the results show that a solid majority now believe such parity exists, reports Regina Sass for Associated Content. Every year, in June, Gallup conducts a Minority Rights and Relations Survey, and according to this year's survey 57% of Americans believe women in this country have equal job opportunities as men. In June 2006, it was 49% and in 2005 it was 53%. Click here to read entire article.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a “Comeback Mom,” which I was tagged in a Good Morning America segment, which focused on women returning to the workforce after raising their families. Actually, I’ve had two breaks in traditional employment. The first time I had over ten years of executive experience when I left the workforce when my son Stephen was 6 months old (he’s now 20!).

On Tuesday, I got in my car a little bit distracted. I had stopped to say good night to my boss, and unexpectedly had my annual salary review. I was dissatisfied with the review, and as I pulled out of the parking lot I realized the air conditioning wasn’t working. It was hot and humid and the car had been in the sun all day so it was really stuffy, so I rolled all the windows down. At the entrance ramp to the parkway, there was a gap between the next two cars. I accelerated and pulled on after the first, and suddenly the second car was right on my tail, honking furiously and tailgating me. I don’t know why I did it; I haven’t done it since I was a teenager; I knew I shouldn’t do it. My window was open, and I FLIPPED HIM THE BIRD!

Flexibility in Career Choice
Georgia Pabst for Journal Sentinel writes, the changing attitudes among women reflect changes and pressures in the workplace, such as company cuts, outsourcing, job insecurity and the need for more flexibility by working women, experts in the field and mothers themselves said. "I think this is a reaction, not against the 40-hour week, but the 50- or 60-hour week and the insanity of the work schedule and inflexibility of employers," said Ellen Bravo, a longtime activist for working women who teaches women's studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She testified last month at a congressional hearing on making the workplace more family-friendly. Click here to read entire article.

Doing What’s Best for the Employee and Employer
And under the Family and Medical Leave Act, employees with mental illnesses are more likely to use unscheduled, intermittent leave -- an issue identified in a federal government report last month as the top concern of employers. "The employer needs to balance between what they need to run their businesses and the impact of those needs on employees," said Eric Smith, an employment lawyer in the Pittsburgh office of Philadelphia-based law firm Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis. "It's an art rather than a science." As part of that art, some companies are taking a proactive approach, writes Anya Sostek for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Click here to read entire article.

Drug Use and Full-Time Employees
One in 12 full-time workers in the United States acknowledges having used illegal drugs in the past month, the government reports, says Fox News.Most of those who report using illicit drugs are employed full-time, with the highest rates among restaurant workers, 17.4 percent, and construction workers, 15.1 percent, according to a federal study being released Monday. About 4 percent of teachers and social service workers reported using illegal drugs in the past month, which was among the lowest rates. Click here to read entire story.

It’s summer in New York and like a flock of migratory birds, the clipboard people have descended on the city. They are popping up around every corner boards in hand, trying to engage me with guilt inducing questions such as, “Do you have just 30 seconds for the environment?” “Are you a registered…” And most recently, “Can I ask you how much you paid for that haircut?” And I have one of those faces, one of those very non-threatening faces and an unintimidating stature of 5 foot even to boot. Let me assure you, I have never been chosen out of a crowd for anything good in my life. I have never been a lucky audience member and was certainly always one of the last to be picked for teams in gym class.

An Insulting Meeting
The company I work for has about 50 employees, about half of us women. Not long ago, all the company's female workers were called into a conference room and harangued by a manager because a women's restroom was "completely disgusting."We were told cleaning supplies would be provided in the future and that we had to clean up after ourselves. If the bathroom was not properly maintained, disciplinary action could be taken, up to and including termination. Click here to read what Harry Wessel, for the Orlando Sentinel, has to say about this topic.

How Do Avoid Workplace Discrimination
Diversity in business today makes good sense, writes Clifton Lambreth for Reliable Plant. Unfortunately, many companies don't manage their diversity initiatives effectively, resulting in the one thing they were aiming to avoid: discrimination.
When businesses use diversity to understand different types of customers, develop products or services that are competitive, and gain insight on future industry trends, they're using diversity initiatives correctly. Click here to read entire article.

Do Florida’s Laws Mirror the Rest of the Country’s?
Many residents probably know that Florida is an "at will" state: Employees have the right to leave a job at any time, and employers have the right to fire workers for any reason. Of course, firing workers every Friday doesn't do much for employee morale.And did you know that Florida employers are not required to give workers any paid vacation? But employers that follow that practice shouldn't count on their employees staying around long. Click here to read the rest of Marcia Heroux Pounds article for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Technology is a beautiful thing. I especially hold this sentiment because I work in tech PR. I am privy to many of the world’s best and brightest new gadgets and solutions years before the rest of the world stands in line for them – or pays others to do so - for days at a time. But technology can also blind us to reality with its seductive “popularity contest” allure, seemingly harmless charm and 24-hour-a-day access. No, I’m talking about adult sites – I’m talking about everyday people posting their world online for all to see.

Starting Over
Much of the debate over whether women should become stay-at-home moms is focused on what is best for the child. But little thought is given to what is best for mom, especially when it comes to her future career, economic and personal well being, reports Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC contributor. Click here to read entire article.

How We Are Seen in the Workplace
Grace Wong, CNNMoney.com staff writer, reports why corporate America should be worried. The higher women climb in Corporate America, the more difficult the ascent.That's been the finding of research over the years that has linked the dearth of female executives in Fortune 500 companies to how women are perceived in the workplace. The latest study to reach these findings suggests that notions of how men and women leaders should act not only makes it difficult for women to sit at the CEO's desk, but also poses a serious threat for companies. Click here to read entire article.

M.B.A. Female Enrollment
Boosting female enrollment in M.B.A. programs has proved to be one of the most stubborn challenges facing business schools, writes Ron Alsop for the Wall Street Journal. The percentage of women has held fairly steady for many years -- in the 25% to 35% range at most schools. That "glass ceiling" troubles Elissa Ellis-Sangster, executive director of the Forté Foundation in Austin, Texas, an organization of companies and schools dedicated to increasing the number of women in M.B.A. programs and the business world. Click here to read her discussion with Ron Alsop.

Besides the obvious uses of a minivan, such as shuttling many children here and there, DVD player that is a savior for long road trips, and excellent space for changing a squirmy toddler’s diaper. Today I discovered a new and very important use of a minivan. It can double as a home office!

Female Comic Heroes
You've come a long way, baby — from a Nazi-fighting Amazon princess to a secret agent for the Department of Metahuman Affairs. The evolution of Wonder Woman and countless other comic book heroines is explored in "DC Comics Covergirls," a lavishly illustrated book by Louise Simonson that follows female crime-fighters from the Golden Age of comics through the edgy, girl-power-driven titles of today. Lois became a liberated woman in the late 1960s and '70s. She even attempted to dump Superman at one point. Over the 1980s and '90s, she transformed into a modern version of the character she once was, the feisty reporter. Click here to read Dave Larsen’s entire article.

Is it Possible to Have it All?
In an eye-catching national survey from the Pew Research Center released last week, full-time working mothers rated themselves slightly lower as parents than those who stay home or work part-time.And that was even more striking when viewed along with the survey's primary finding — that fully 60 percent of working mothers now say part-time work is their ideal rather than full-time, compared to 48 percent a decade ago. Click here to read Jocelyn Novack’s entire article for the Associated Press.

A Question of Multitasking
Brent Bowers for the New York Times writes, You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, buster. That was the response that came through loud and clear to questions I posted on a Web site for mothers to test last week’s thesis that women’s nurturing instincts give them a head start over their more blustering male colleagues in the entrepreneurial jungle. I asked the founder of www.mamasource.com, Artie Wu (yes, a man), to send out three questions to his site’s 100,000-plus members. Within hours, the comments were pouring in. Read entire article here.

I had no idea one little word could have so much power. If only I had known, I would've started saying it a long time ago! There I was, overworked and involved in one too many projects. Make that way too many projects. Though I can't say I can blame anyone but myself. I love working on new projects and interacting with new people; it whisks me out of my comfort zone and adds a little spice 'n salsa to the day. Nevertheless, I seriously love working and have been known to take on more than I can chew.

Stand Tall
Del Jones, for USA TODAY, asks, does height equal power? Le Gourmet Gift Basket CEO Cynthia McKay wears 3-inch heels even though she's 5-foot-9 in bare feet.Why? For the same reason that 6-foot-3 Don Peebles, CEO of The Peebles Corporation, the nation's largest African-American-owned real estate development company, puts his hand on the shoulder of shorter adversaries and crowds into their personal space when negotiating a key deal. Click here to read entire article.

Defining Casual
Jennifer Cohen thought she had a good understanding of her company's policy allowing business casual attire, writes Stephanie Armour for the Burlington Free Press. So, the 24-year-old was stunned when an older colleague pulled her aside to tell her she was dressing inappropriately by donning Bermuda shorts, sleeveless tops and capris. "Each generation seems to have a different idea of what is acceptable in the workplace, and in this situation I was highly offended," says Cohen, who works at a marketing firm in Philadelphia. Read entire article here.

A Look at the Job Market
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Initial claims for jobless benefits fell to their lowest level in two months last week, but a forward-looking indicator of economic activity suggests cooler growth in the second half of 2007, according to reports on Thursday.First-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 301,000 in the week ended July 14 from an upwardly revised 309,000 claims the prior week, the Labor Department said. Economists had expected them to rise slightly.It was the second consecutive weekly decline and took initial claims to their lowest level since mid-May. Read entire article here.

Changing careers is not just about changing jobs, it’s also about changing perceptions. If you’re seen as having certain skills because you are in a particular industry, it may be hard to show that your skills are transferable to other jobs.

Persistent Stereotypes
Mackenzie Dawson for the New York Post reports on recent poll revelations.
TIMES may have changed, but it's still a man's, man's world - at least in the workplace. According to a recent survey conducted by WorkPlace Media, 76 percent of working Americans, men and women alike, say when it comes to being bossed around, they'd rather it be a man barking out the orders. Read entire article here.

Authors in the Office
Since the fall of 2005, Google has joined several large West Coast companies such as Microsoft, Starbucks and Yahoo in hosting authors for weekly, sometimes daily, book-selling events that were once the sacred realm of bookstores. Although writers have long given lectures at universities and community centers, growing demand for them at the office is forcing publishers to rethink the traditional author tour and inducing booksellers to create ties with the corporate campus next door. Read Tamara Straus, Chronicle Staff Writer’s entire article here.

Stretching the Paycheck
Nearly one in five workers who earn $100,000 or more report they often or always live paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent survey by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder, an online job site. Although 18% save $1,000 or more per month, 30% save $250 or less, writes Stephanie Armour for USA TODAY. Read entire article here.

When I worked fulltime for a corporation rather than just for myself, I often did side jobs, such as editing, publicizing, and writing, and most of the time I did these pro bono. Was it because I felt it was a conflict of interest if I took pay? Not really. Was I worried it would put me in a higher tax bracket? Hardly. Was it because I enjoyed helping others? Well, I did, but that wasn’t the reason I didn’t charge for my services. The answer was simply that I didn’t have the confidence to talk “money” and used the excuse that since I already had a day job, I was “gaining experience.”

I hear the gasp of horror from all of you out there and I don’t blame you.

Minimum Wage Rises
The nation's lowest-paid workers will soon find extra money in their pockets as the minimum wage rises 70 cents to $5.85 an hour today, the first increase in a decade, writes Jesse J. Holland for the Associated Press. It ends the longest span without a federal minimum wage increase since it was enacted in 1938. The previous increase came in September 1997, when a bill signed by President Bill Clinton raised the minimum 40 cents, to $5.15 an hour. Read entire article here.

Downsizing
In their Best Places to Live list this year, Money Magazine focused on small towns like mine that offer everything a family could want - a place where folks can raise kids, climb the career ladder, and enjoy a real sense of community, writes Fortune’s Anne Fisher. But despite all the lovely, laid-back advantages of rural living - a small herd of deer just walked through the woods outside my office window - recruiters say it's still often tough to persuade city dwellers to move to the sticks. Click here to read entire article.

All Woman Chamber Groups
Behind me in the balcony, the woman said something to the effect that it was good to see five women on stage “playing strong,” as we had all just seen, writes Greg Stepanich. It’s something of a recent development to have all-woman chamber groups giving concerts, making records, commissioning new works and generally making a good living at playing classical music. There’s no musical reason for the lateness of this development, and I suppose before too long it won’t be unusual enough to remark upon. Read entire article here.

How many of us now write like this? Since computer abbreviations have become so common place, I sometimes get angry when I have to actually write in full sentences! As someone who didn’t grow up with all this computer technology, I had to learn to write in full sentences. I read letters and documents from people 10 years younger, and I wonder if English is their second language with computer language being their first. Between IM’s, text messages and email, these abbreviations have become common place.

Throwing in the Towel?
Lynn Walsdorf had a high-powered job in the banking industry and twins who were 1 1/2 years old. She had the primo set-up: College student nanny. A mother who helped out. A self-employed husband who pitched in equally. Her work-life balance was nearly perfect. Then the college student left town. Walsdorf's children went into day care, where they got sick constantly. One of them, the boy, was diagnosed with asthma. It was just too much. So Walsdorf did what a substantial number of ambitious, heavily credentialed women decide to do: She threw in the towel. Read Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje’s entire article here.

Looking at the Minimum Wage Pay Raise
Already, 30 states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the federal, so only 20 states will be affected by the first wage increase today. More than 70 percent of workers live in states where state minimum wages already trump the new federal wage increase, according to EPI, writes Stephanie Armour for Detroit Free Press. In cases where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages. Marc Freedman, director of labor law policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says the higher federal minimum wage could mean fewer hours for employees, fewer pay increases for other employees, benefits reductions, job losses and waning job creation. Click here to read entire article.

Healthiest Cities
Residents of metro Denver are healthier than people living in 25 comparable cities, according to a study released Monday, reports the Denver Business Journal. The study was released by the Metro Denver Health & Wellness Commission and compiled from a variety of public health and economic reports. Other cities included in the study were San Diego, San Francisco, Baltimore, Las Vegas and Orlando. Click to read entire article here.

I went to Palm Desert to celebrate a friend’s birthday last weekend. We did some slight rock climbing so that we could find a spot and meditate. The meditation was to last for a couple of hours in complete silence and stillness. My friends sat in complete silence with serenity slowly appearing on their upturned lips. I sat quietly and serenely until a bee abruptly appeared and made me run for my life. And these bees appear so suddenly. Like right out of the blue you hear this horrible buzz or buzzes (if they bring their friends). I darted back and forth trying to lose those beasts screaming "I think they got me!" for an hour. My friends giggled while I was thinking I was going to die from this intense fear of these stupid bees stinging me. Although I have to admit it was the best cardio anyone can do for an hour, this experience forced me to address my fears.

Is Perception Reality?
A phrase that repeatedly pops up in business and leadership training is “perception is reality” writes Dianne Stafford for KansasCity.com. You may think you’re a good leader, but if your employees and co-workers don’t think so, you’re not. A bit of advice that’s often shared in workplace training is, “You can’t change the other person; you can only change your reaction to him or her.” You can chill out, ignore, challenge or choose to leave. Click here to read entire article.

Will They Represent Workplace Issues?
A national survey conducted in May and June 2007 by Harris Interactive® for The Marlin Company, a provider of workplace communications strategies, found that more than one-third of U.S. workers (38 percent) feel that presidential candidates are not addressing workplace issues, including health care, retirement, and pay. The survey also found that nearly one out of four (24 percent) U.S. workers believe their top managers are openly expressing their political preferences at work. Click here to read entire article.

If You Want More Control, Consider Buying a Franchise
Clay McGee was soon to graduate from Arizona State University with a degree in marketing when he realized that the corporate world wasn’t for him, writes Eve Tahmincioglu for the New York Times. He wanted to be his own boss and run a business, though he had little experience or cash. Then it hit him: franchising. It is hard to say if Mr. McGee signifies a growing group of graduates bypassing regular employment to become franchisees. Click here to read entire article.

IT Diversity
Another way the face of IT looks different from the rest of America is the dearth of women in the profession. The proportion of employed women in eight IT occupation categories fell 7.7 percent from 2000 to 2006, according to an earlier CIO Insight analysis of government data. Last year, women represented 28.9 percent of all employed IT workers. CIO Insight

Reasons Women Leave
If I ever get the point where I believe my job was a dead end - that I could do nothing to succeed no matter how hard I tried - I would quit. I would go find another job or figure out a way to create my own business or career opportunity. Women apparently feel the same way. Every year, you read about the swelling ranks of female entrepreneurs and women who take jobs as consultants so they can be their own bosses. Bend Weekly

Paid Parental Leave
There is a renewed interest in Congress in providing paid parental leave, and it just might pay off for federal employees. Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) this week reintroduced a bill that would provide federally employed women with eight weeks of paid parental leave. Washington Post

Blackberries, cell phones, and iPods, oh my! I love technology. I truly do. My digital camera recently broke and I had to temporarily revert to my 1997 Nikon camera (*gasp*!). It's bulky, it's costly, and worst of all, it's not at all instant. Unlike digital shots, I had to actually wait two whole days to get my photos from Walgreens. What gives?

Here's my concern with technology such as the camera. We need it and can't remember life without it.

Empowered Women
Women are expected to be so headstrong on TV now. Lucy Liu plays power-hungry Mia in ABC's upcoming show "Cashmere Mafia," where she kisses her boyfriend/work rival in an elevator, then tries to outhustle him for a business account. It's great to be a woman on ABC. They're rich, powerful, and they won't let a little thing like a man stand in their way. Chicago Sun-Times

A Diverse Workplace
Consumer packaged-goods companies and retailers in touch with the public every day are among industry groups making the farthest strides in diversifying their workplaces, while law firms are among those lagging behind, according to speakers at the National Urban League's conference this week. St. Louis Post Dispatch

A Fictional Look at What Was for Women
I've been watching "Mad Men", a new TV show by Matthew Weiner, a writer and producer on "The Sopranos." Mad Men is set in 1960 and America is on the cusp of many changes. One of the most prominent themes: women in the workplace. The diminutive role and abusive treatment of female employees at the fictional Manhattan ad agency portrayed in the show is pretty shocking by modern standards. Star Ledger

I once read a quote by Shirley MacLaine that states, "I don't need a man to rectify my existence. The most profound relationship we'll ever have is the one with ourselves". I do believe companionship is a beautiful compliment of love but it can't bring completion to your life if you don't already value who you are. The bigger picture in all of this is the disheartening reality that many of us seek validation through many external things.