Workplace Buzz: Today’s Headlines

Workplace Buzz on November 26, 2007 7:13 AM

Who Is Holding Women Back?
Women possess many of the attributes necessary for the emerging role of the CIO, such as skills in communication, collaboration, and negotiation, says Susan Mersereau, senior VP and CIO at Weyerhaeuser Co.: "I think they're wired to move into this career." So why aren't there more women in high places in technology? According to Mersereau, some of the reasons are obvious and systemic: it's an old-boy network and women don't get promoted as often as men. But there are characteristics of women in the workplace that hold them back from moving into upper management, and not just in IT. InformationWeek.com

A Call for Flexibility
Decades ago, when many mothers didn't work outside the home, there was far less cultural anxiety about child development, safety and "parenting skills." Stay-at-home moms of the 1960s cheerfully sent the kids outside for hours of unsupervised neighborhood play while they did housework (or maybe had a stiff drink). Only when large numbers of mothers did the unthinkable — found paid work — did Americans suddenly "discover" that truly effective "parenting" requires at least one adult to be focused 24/7 on the children and their "needs." Hartford Courant

Bias at the Office
An Asian woman was on an elevator when one of the top bosses at her company got on and barked an order at her. She had no idea what he was talking about, but she did know who he was and what division he managed. So she went to the company directory, found the Asian woman in his department and then tracked her down. The two women walked to his office and stood side-by-side in his door and smiled. There was 6 inches difference in their height, one had long hair, the other short. Even their ancestry was from different countries, so they looked nothing alike. It was a lesson for him, and he never confused them again. That is how we solve the problems of bias in the workplace: by being open to the realization that there is bias and making it possible to address it. Scripps News

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