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Monday, August 30, 2004
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Frustration In Corporate World Compels Women to Launch New Businesses
In Advancing Women
Want to know the reason behind this massive exodus?
• The primary reason that women are launching new businesses is that they are inspired by an entrepreneurial idea; the next most frequently stated reason is frustration with their previous work environments, according to a study released by three prominent women's business organizations -- Catalyst, the National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO), and The Committee of 200.
To read the entire article, visit:
Entrepreneurial Ideas Motivate Women to Start Businesses
Want to know the reason behind this massive exodus?
• The primary reason that women are launching new businesses is that they are inspired by an entrepreneurial idea; the next most frequently stated reason is frustration with their previous work environments, according to a study released by three prominent women's business organizations -- Catalyst, the National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO), and The Committee of 200.
To read the entire article, visit:
Entrepreneurial Ideas Motivate Women to Start Businesses
Monday, August 23, 2004
Why Women Are Leaving Corporate America in Droves
In WomenOf.com
Here's what author and president of Big Fish Marketing, Inc. Robin Fisher Roffer has to say:
• There’s a brain drain going on in corporate America. Women are leaving their jobs and going home to start their own businesses -- consulting practices and cottage industries -- so they can better balance career and family.
• Life trumps the job description. And women are choosing life.
• Corporate America needs to wake-up to the fact that it should be looking inside its female workforce, not at their job descriptions to figure out how to make allowances for a life that goes way beyond 9-5.
• I’m talking about finding ways to let your female workers live outside the box.
• Thanks to a worker’s market, the National Quit Rate is now at 14.7%, the highest in almost ten years.
• Validating your female employees by helping them to develop their own personal brand strategy is one way to ensure staying power.
• Being pigeonholed is just about the worst state of affairs, and that’s what happens when you shove people into a box that’s pre-fab and pre-determined.
• Am I talking about a revolution? In a way, yes. Because I’m asking employers to suggest that there is more behind "here’s your job -- like it or leave it." It simply costs too much money to continue to lose valuable women only to replace them with others who will ultimately leave.
To read the entire article, visit: Why Women Are Leaving Corporate America in Droves
Here's what author and president of Big Fish Marketing, Inc. Robin Fisher Roffer has to say:
• There’s a brain drain going on in corporate America. Women are leaving their jobs and going home to start their own businesses -- consulting practices and cottage industries -- so they can better balance career and family.
• Life trumps the job description. And women are choosing life.
• Corporate America needs to wake-up to the fact that it should be looking inside its female workforce, not at their job descriptions to figure out how to make allowances for a life that goes way beyond 9-5.
• I’m talking about finding ways to let your female workers live outside the box.
• Thanks to a worker’s market, the National Quit Rate is now at 14.7%, the highest in almost ten years.
• Validating your female employees by helping them to develop their own personal brand strategy is one way to ensure staying power.
• Being pigeonholed is just about the worst state of affairs, and that’s what happens when you shove people into a box that’s pre-fab and pre-determined.
• Am I talking about a revolution? In a way, yes. Because I’m asking employers to suggest that there is more behind "here’s your job -- like it or leave it." It simply costs too much money to continue to lose valuable women only to replace them with others who will ultimately leave.
To read the entire article, visit: Why Women Are Leaving Corporate America in Droves
Friday, August 06, 2004
The Opt-Out Revolution
In The New York Times (October)
Laurel here ... I never read the NYT article, I only found the following letter, from Ms. Shepard, in response to it:
I had a strong reaction to the October 26th New York Times Magazine cover article by Lisa Belkin entitled, “The Opt-Out Revolution”. Perhaps it was the cover photo of a woman and a baby sitting beneath a ladder (metaphor for the corporate ladder no doubt) and the caption which referred to women abandoning the climb and heading home. Those images and the captions gave an impression women were leaving corporate America in droves, although the article itself indicated otherwise. The gist of the article is that there is a growing number of highly educated, professional women who are “opting out” and leaving ambitious career paths in favor of hearth and home. The author argues that while the absence of women in positions of power was once chiefly a result of sexism, the fact that the number of women in significant corporate roles has not increased is now a deliberate choice. Having said that, the author also acknowledges that there are “ambitious, achieving women out there who are the emotional and professional equals of any man and that there are also women who stayed the course and climbed the work ladder and were thwarted by lingering double standards and chauvinism.” After reading this article, I feel a need to set the record straight.
First, while it may be true that biology and sociology dictate a choice for women in “opting out”, it should be noted that research studies indicate that the vast majority of women opt for other opportunities within the workforce. Recent studies by The Leader’s Edge show that while corporate America may make women feel marginalized or unwelcome in the corporate culture, 90% of those we surveyed left for other opportunities. The executive women surveyed stated they felt excluded from the “information loop”, had difficulty getting their voices and strategies heard and did not receive feedback on their work and careers. Additionally, thirty one percent of the women surveyed expressed a need for a more balanced life with flexible working hours. These women were frustrated with their situations, but, instead of heading home, chose to go to other companies or START THEIR OWN BUSINESSES. Two thirds of the women are in their 40’s and 50’s, married with children, with one third making over $250,000 a year. The majority of these women reported that their new situation was a definite improvement both in terms of corporate culture and family/life balance.
Second, women constitute over half the management positions in corporate America and are poised for growth and advancement. The fact that they are not being promoted into the executive ranks, or staying there as the numbers confirm, is the real issue. It is my hope that as corporate cultures evolve, they will build in systems to retain their talented employees—both men and women—by providing more options and greater flexibility. It is clearly in corporate America’s best interest to retain and develop women. The cost of replacing an executive is generally calculated at one and one half times current salary, which includes recruitment costs, replacement salary and possible severance and litigation costs. This does not include the soft costs such as loss of knowledge, client relationships and morale to the company once a woman leaves. Additionally, women make over 80% of the buying decisions in the $3 trillion consumer product market. The optimal business marketing decision is to have women actively involved in creating and implementing strategies, products and services that appeal to the woman’s market. The Leader’s Edge is currently analyzing a study we conducted of Fortune 1000 companies and the methods or “best practices” they are currently employing in relation to their female employees. That study should be completed shortly [Laurel here ... I am going to check status], and we will have the results for you then.
Finally, in terms of the New York Times article, I hope that people actually took the time to read it completely. The photos and captions alone could be misleading and to assume a trend based on those partial elements would be unfortunate and, I believe, not in keeping with reality or the author’s intent.
A Personal Letter from Molly D. Shepard, Founder and CEO of The Leader's Edge
Laurel here ... I never read the NYT article, I only found the following letter, from Ms. Shepard, in response to it:
I had a strong reaction to the October 26th New York Times Magazine cover article by Lisa Belkin entitled, “The Opt-Out Revolution”. Perhaps it was the cover photo of a woman and a baby sitting beneath a ladder (metaphor for the corporate ladder no doubt) and the caption which referred to women abandoning the climb and heading home. Those images and the captions gave an impression women were leaving corporate America in droves, although the article itself indicated otherwise. The gist of the article is that there is a growing number of highly educated, professional women who are “opting out” and leaving ambitious career paths in favor of hearth and home. The author argues that while the absence of women in positions of power was once chiefly a result of sexism, the fact that the number of women in significant corporate roles has not increased is now a deliberate choice. Having said that, the author also acknowledges that there are “ambitious, achieving women out there who are the emotional and professional equals of any man and that there are also women who stayed the course and climbed the work ladder and were thwarted by lingering double standards and chauvinism.” After reading this article, I feel a need to set the record straight.
First, while it may be true that biology and sociology dictate a choice for women in “opting out”, it should be noted that research studies indicate that the vast majority of women opt for other opportunities within the workforce. Recent studies by The Leader’s Edge show that while corporate America may make women feel marginalized or unwelcome in the corporate culture, 90% of those we surveyed left for other opportunities. The executive women surveyed stated they felt excluded from the “information loop”, had difficulty getting their voices and strategies heard and did not receive feedback on their work and careers. Additionally, thirty one percent of the women surveyed expressed a need for a more balanced life with flexible working hours. These women were frustrated with their situations, but, instead of heading home, chose to go to other companies or START THEIR OWN BUSINESSES. Two thirds of the women are in their 40’s and 50’s, married with children, with one third making over $250,000 a year. The majority of these women reported that their new situation was a definite improvement both in terms of corporate culture and family/life balance.
Second, women constitute over half the management positions in corporate America and are poised for growth and advancement. The fact that they are not being promoted into the executive ranks, or staying there as the numbers confirm, is the real issue. It is my hope that as corporate cultures evolve, they will build in systems to retain their talented employees—both men and women—by providing more options and greater flexibility. It is clearly in corporate America’s best interest to retain and develop women. The cost of replacing an executive is generally calculated at one and one half times current salary, which includes recruitment costs, replacement salary and possible severance and litigation costs. This does not include the soft costs such as loss of knowledge, client relationships and morale to the company once a woman leaves. Additionally, women make over 80% of the buying decisions in the $3 trillion consumer product market. The optimal business marketing decision is to have women actively involved in creating and implementing strategies, products and services that appeal to the woman’s market. The Leader’s Edge is currently analyzing a study we conducted of Fortune 1000 companies and the methods or “best practices” they are currently employing in relation to their female employees. That study should be completed shortly [Laurel here ... I am going to check status], and we will have the results for you then.
Finally, in terms of the New York Times article, I hope that people actually took the time to read it completely. The photos and captions alone could be misleading and to assume a trend based on those partial elements would be unfortunate and, I believe, not in keeping with reality or the author’s intent.
A Personal Letter from Molly D. Shepard, Founder and CEO of The Leader's Edge
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
"I was a suit -- nails and all -- I was totally corporate. Now I walk around in slippers ... it's fun!"
In the HeraldNet.
GRANITE FALLS -- While Vicki Urbanick was looking through a mail-order catalog at animal-shaped craft items, inspiration struck ... under her cocktail. She thought someone could make some money by placing these bear and wolf designs she saw in the magazine on wooden coasters. Urbanick had received some blank wood coasters from a friend made from thin, round slices of wood.
Then a few months later, Urbanick was laid off from her job as a marketing manager from ATL Ultrasound in Bothell when it became Phillips Medical Systems. "The evening I was told I was being laid off, I just said, 'Go for it,'" she said. "Why not ... I had enough money."
Four other key points mentioned:
• She is one of many women successfully launching their own business in the last 15 years. Privately owned businesses started by women have doubled since 1987, according to the Center for Women's Business Research in Washington, D.C.
• Sharon Hadary, the center's executive director, said about 38 percent of women-owned home businesses sold nondurable manufactured goods, such as Urbanick's items.
• "I think the perception is that (women-owned home businesses) are the little woman making dolls out of socks and selling them at the county fair, but I think you're going to find they are substantial businesses," Hadary said.
• Women have also been more aggressive than men when grabbing onto business opportunities through the Internet, Hadary said.
To read the full inspiring story, visit: Against The Grain
GRANITE FALLS -- While Vicki Urbanick was looking through a mail-order catalog at animal-shaped craft items, inspiration struck ... under her cocktail. She thought someone could make some money by placing these bear and wolf designs she saw in the magazine on wooden coasters. Urbanick had received some blank wood coasters from a friend made from thin, round slices of wood.
Then a few months later, Urbanick was laid off from her job as a marketing manager from ATL Ultrasound in Bothell when it became Phillips Medical Systems. "The evening I was told I was being laid off, I just said, 'Go for it,'" she said. "Why not ... I had enough money."
Four other key points mentioned:
• She is one of many women successfully launching their own business in the last 15 years. Privately owned businesses started by women have doubled since 1987, according to the Center for Women's Business Research in Washington, D.C.
• Sharon Hadary, the center's executive director, said about 38 percent of women-owned home businesses sold nondurable manufactured goods, such as Urbanick's items.
• "I think the perception is that (women-owned home businesses) are the little woman making dolls out of socks and selling them at the county fair, but I think you're going to find they are substantial businesses," Hadary said.
• Women have also been more aggressive than men when grabbing onto business opportunities through the Internet, Hadary said.
To read the full inspiring story, visit: Against The Grain
Monday, August 02, 2004
Yeah! -- National Association for the Self-Employed Gets It! Women now have their own site.
In National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) -- press release.
The new site is part of the NASE Women Entrepreneurship Initiative, which began over two years ago as a proactive response to the growing trend of women-owned businesses. The initiative also includes sponsoring women-business conferences and trade shows across the country, soliciting feedback from female NASE members on benefits and programs, and offering benefits that appeal more to this group. Women.NASE.org targets the needs of this ambitious group of women, with unique features geared toward the female business owner.
Here's what the President of NASE said:
• “Like many business owners, women entrepreneurs are seeking the support and networking opportunities afforded by joining professional and benefits associations,” said NASE President Robert Hughes. “While the NASE welcomes all micro-business owners to join the association, this Web site shows our existing and potential female members that the NASE takes their concerns and the needs of their businesses seriously. [Laurel here ... read this again ladies: "Takes their concerns and the needs of their businesses seriously."]
To read the press release announcing NASE's women's initiative, visit: National Association for the Self-Employed Launches Women's Site
Or, go direct to the site, visit: National Association for the Self-Employed: For Women Only Section
The new site is part of the NASE Women Entrepreneurship Initiative, which began over two years ago as a proactive response to the growing trend of women-owned businesses. The initiative also includes sponsoring women-business conferences and trade shows across the country, soliciting feedback from female NASE members on benefits and programs, and offering benefits that appeal more to this group. Women.NASE.org targets the needs of this ambitious group of women, with unique features geared toward the female business owner.
Here's what the President of NASE said:
• “Like many business owners, women entrepreneurs are seeking the support and networking opportunities afforded by joining professional and benefits associations,” said NASE President Robert Hughes. “While the NASE welcomes all micro-business owners to join the association, this Web site shows our existing and potential female members that the NASE takes their concerns and the needs of their businesses seriously. [Laurel here ... read this again ladies: "Takes their concerns and the needs of their businesses seriously."]
To read the press release announcing NASE's women's initiative, visit: National Association for the Self-Employed Launches Women's Site
Or, go direct to the site, visit: National Association for the Self-Employed: For Women Only Section
Women Are Tired of Taking the Back Seat to Their Biker Boyfriends and Husbands!
In Chicago Tribune and Journal Sentinel.
[Laurel here ... I'm lovin it!] A couple of snapshots from article but the bottom line is that Harley gets it:
• Female riders represent the fastest-growing segment of the motorcycle industry. Harley is nurturing a women's biker culture that can co-exist with the traditional bad-boy image.
• Only about 10% of Harley-Davidson motorcycle owners are women, yet that's up from 2% in the 1980s. Women riders represent a vast, untapped market for Harley-Davidson and other motorcycle manufacturers, but the companies have to get into the minds of women like Gigi Foster before they can reach into their wallets.
• Many women are tired of taking the back seat to their biker boyfriends and husbands, says Foster, president of Sirens Motorcycle Club for women in New York.
• "I know of one woman who got her own bike because she was tired of riding behind her son," Foster says. "And there are women I know who could ride the pants off many men, and they are grandmothers."
• "Most of the people I see on motorcycles are big, burly men that have a definite 'grrr' look about them. I am a twenty-something female who works in downtown Chicago and likes to eat Sushi ... definitely no 'grrr' factor in this gal.' "
• Many women riders find it empowering to suit up in biker leathers, which are practical riding clothing as well as a fashion statement.
• "It's like an alter ego on weekends when you become the 'wild one,' " Foster says. "You are an accountant five days a week, and then Friday night, you pull on your leather jacket and away you go with people who are just like you."
• Women are moving up fast at Harley, where they represent about 24% of the work force. Also, 20% of the company's vice presidents and 29% of its corporate officers are women. Among the Fortune 500, women average 15.7% of corporate officers, according to Catalyst, a New York-based organization devoted to the advancement of women in business.
• Numbers like that (above) earned Harley-Davidson an award this year from Catalyst, making the manufacturer one of three companies to be recognized for their success in advancing women. "And one thing fairly unique at Harley-Davidson is there are women in senior management roles who started out in non-management positions," says Paula Gerkovich, a senior director with Catalyst.
• "In order to create products for a diverse audience, Harley-Davidson found that it must access diverse groups of thinkers -- including women, people of color, riders and non-riders," Catalyst wrote.
• "Now women are a natural part of the order of things here," says Lawler, Harley's vice president of communications. "Change started in about the 1980s when management realized it needed everyone to put their best ideas forward to help save the company."
• [Relative to women and Harleys ...] "They want to ride the real, authentic thing. That's what the rush is all about."
To read the entire article, visit:
Harley Adds Women To Its Rolls of Buyers, Managers
[Laurel here ... I'm lovin it!] A couple of snapshots from article but the bottom line is that Harley gets it:
• Female riders represent the fastest-growing segment of the motorcycle industry. Harley is nurturing a women's biker culture that can co-exist with the traditional bad-boy image.
• Only about 10% of Harley-Davidson motorcycle owners are women, yet that's up from 2% in the 1980s. Women riders represent a vast, untapped market for Harley-Davidson and other motorcycle manufacturers, but the companies have to get into the minds of women like Gigi Foster before they can reach into their wallets.
• Many women are tired of taking the back seat to their biker boyfriends and husbands, says Foster, president of Sirens Motorcycle Club for women in New York.
• "I know of one woman who got her own bike because she was tired of riding behind her son," Foster says. "And there are women I know who could ride the pants off many men, and they are grandmothers."
• "Most of the people I see on motorcycles are big, burly men that have a definite 'grrr' look about them. I am a twenty-something female who works in downtown Chicago and likes to eat Sushi ... definitely no 'grrr' factor in this gal.' "
• Many women riders find it empowering to suit up in biker leathers, which are practical riding clothing as well as a fashion statement.
• "It's like an alter ego on weekends when you become the 'wild one,' " Foster says. "You are an accountant five days a week, and then Friday night, you pull on your leather jacket and away you go with people who are just like you."
• Women are moving up fast at Harley, where they represent about 24% of the work force. Also, 20% of the company's vice presidents and 29% of its corporate officers are women. Among the Fortune 500, women average 15.7% of corporate officers, according to Catalyst, a New York-based organization devoted to the advancement of women in business.
• Numbers like that (above) earned Harley-Davidson an award this year from Catalyst, making the manufacturer one of three companies to be recognized for their success in advancing women. "And one thing fairly unique at Harley-Davidson is there are women in senior management roles who started out in non-management positions," says Paula Gerkovich, a senior director with Catalyst.
• "In order to create products for a diverse audience, Harley-Davidson found that it must access diverse groups of thinkers -- including women, people of color, riders and non-riders," Catalyst wrote.
• "Now women are a natural part of the order of things here," says Lawler, Harley's vice president of communications. "Change started in about the 1980s when management realized it needed everyone to put their best ideas forward to help save the company."
• [Relative to women and Harleys ...] "They want to ride the real, authentic thing. That's what the rush is all about."
To read the entire article, visit:
Harley Adds Women To Its Rolls of Buyers, Managers
Sunday, August 01, 2004
A Woman's World
In Santa Cruz Sentinel online edition.
The Sentinel asked five prominent businesswomen how, or if, they balanced their work with their home lives, and what advice they might offer women in similar positions. Here are highlights from the article:
• And being in Santa Cruz County, where entrepreneurship is key to success in the area’s small business environment and community involvement is highly valued, can make the struggle for work-life balance even more intense.
• "People who work for BIG companies have to travel a lot and work long hours, and that’s a different pressure ... But a lot of people in Santa Cruz are running their own businesses, which is 24-7 and demands a lot of creativity," said Peggy Dolgenos of Cruzio, who started the Internet service provider with her husband 16 years ago.
• "Too many women today, not only in business but in various endeavors, are struggling to live up to an ideal that’s not realistic and probably not that rewarding and certainly unhealthy," said Kauffman.
• ... She said she’s made certain choices, such as starting her own company rather than working in the corporate world, to give her greater flexibility, but still says she feels overextended.
• Pamela Davis, CEO of Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group, who is not married and does not have children, has done a kind of "sequencing" — "playing," in her words, for a period of years, then focusing intensely on her business for the next period, with the idea that life is a collection of these sequential vignettes, each with its rewards and challenges.
To read the entire article, visit:
A Woman's World
The Sentinel asked five prominent businesswomen how, or if, they balanced their work with their home lives, and what advice they might offer women in similar positions. Here are highlights from the article:
• And being in Santa Cruz County, where entrepreneurship is key to success in the area’s small business environment and community involvement is highly valued, can make the struggle for work-life balance even more intense.
• "People who work for BIG companies have to travel a lot and work long hours, and that’s a different pressure ... But a lot of people in Santa Cruz are running their own businesses, which is 24-7 and demands a lot of creativity," said Peggy Dolgenos of Cruzio, who started the Internet service provider with her husband 16 years ago.
• "Too many women today, not only in business but in various endeavors, are struggling to live up to an ideal that’s not realistic and probably not that rewarding and certainly unhealthy," said Kauffman.
• ... She said she’s made certain choices, such as starting her own company rather than working in the corporate world, to give her greater flexibility, but still says she feels overextended.
• Pamela Davis, CEO of Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group, who is not married and does not have children, has done a kind of "sequencing" — "playing," in her words, for a period of years, then focusing intensely on her business for the next period, with the idea that life is a collection of these sequential vignettes, each with its rewards and challenges.
To read the entire article, visit:
A Woman's World
Friday, July 30, 2004
Women finding their way. Doing their passion.
In Fast Company.
Readers of Fast Company magazine and members of Women in Technology International gathered to explore some of the issues affecting women in the workplace. Mary Lou Quinlan shares her advice on how she made the career transition from CEO of a big advertising agency over to founder of her own business. Here's one of three tips she shares:
... "At the end of the five weeks, I made two little lists: What do I love to do that I'm good at? And what do I hate to do that I'm not good at? The hate-to-do page was like a job description for a CEO of an ad agency. The love-to-do list led to what I do now. I came back in and quit. I started a company. Now I'm doing my passion. Women will find their own way. They need to live a conscious career, not an unconscious one. Ask yourself: Am I happy? You have the right to ask that question -- and then do something about it."
To read the interview, visit:
Women on "Women"
Readers of Fast Company magazine and members of Women in Technology International gathered to explore some of the issues affecting women in the workplace. Mary Lou Quinlan shares her advice on how she made the career transition from CEO of a big advertising agency over to founder of her own business. Here's one of three tips she shares:
... "At the end of the five weeks, I made two little lists: What do I love to do that I'm good at? And what do I hate to do that I'm not good at? The hate-to-do page was like a job description for a CEO of an ad agency. The love-to-do list led to what I do now. I came back in and quit. I started a company. Now I'm doing my passion. Women will find their own way. They need to live a conscious career, not an unconscious one. Ask yourself: Am I happy? You have the right to ask that question -- and then do something about it."
To read the interview, visit:
Women on "Women"
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Founding Editor of Fast Company, Alan M. Webber, Gets It: Women Are Leaving BIG Companies In Droves
"Firms will pay when workers make escape."
• According to a recent study by Spherion, a Florida-based recruiting and outsourcing firm, workers are already gathering at the doors of many company. The study found that 51% of the 3,000 workers interviewed wanted to leave their jobs, and 75% said they were likely to leave within one year.
• Take the example of Verizon. Last year, the telecommunications company offered generous early retirement packages for workers and managers, hoping to trim the workforce by 12,000 people. Instead, more than 21,000 people took the buyout package, including 16,000 managers who thought the company's offer was too good to refuse.
• C200's third annual leadership index report measured the influence women have in business compared with men. What it DID NOT say is how women are responding to their exclusion from the boys' club: They're leaving BIG companies in droves.
[Laurel here ... Alan has always been on the forefront -- or tipping point -- of trends and knows this is the next big revolution in the workplace.]
Read the entire article here:
USA Today Article Authored by Founding Editor of Fast Company
• According to a recent study by Spherion, a Florida-based recruiting and outsourcing firm, workers are already gathering at the doors of many company. The study found that 51% of the 3,000 workers interviewed wanted to leave their jobs, and 75% said they were likely to leave within one year.
• Take the example of Verizon. Last year, the telecommunications company offered generous early retirement packages for workers and managers, hoping to trim the workforce by 12,000 people. Instead, more than 21,000 people took the buyout package, including 16,000 managers who thought the company's offer was too good to refuse.
• C200's third annual leadership index report measured the influence women have in business compared with men. What it DID NOT say is how women are responding to their exclusion from the boys' club: They're leaving BIG companies in droves.
[Laurel here ... Alan has always been on the forefront -- or tipping point -- of trends and knows this is the next big revolution in the workplace.]
Read the entire article here:
USA Today Article Authored by Founding Editor of Fast Company
Enabling women to realize their maximum potential all over the world, including Zimbabwe and ...
giving them a legitimate place in society.
From Zimbabwe to America, the problems concerning the advancement of women remain the same. This article sums up some of the issues but here's a snapshot of a couple highlights:
• "This calls for deliberate policies and measures to ensure that women are recognised and given their legitimate place in society. Our Parliaments can only ignore the advancement of women at their own peril," he said.
• Women, Cde Mnangagwa said, constituted more than half of the population in the region and played critical economic, social and cultural roles in the nation as providers, caregivers, mobilizers and entrepreneurs.
• At a Press conference yesterday, Ms Mushelenga told journalists that the media should be at the forefront of advancing the cause of women. She said the media had a tendency of covering women’s issues in bad light.
Read the full article here:
The Herald Online
From Zimbabwe to America, the problems concerning the advancement of women remain the same. This article sums up some of the issues but here's a snapshot of a couple highlights:
• "This calls for deliberate policies and measures to ensure that women are recognised and given their legitimate place in society. Our Parliaments can only ignore the advancement of women at their own peril," he said.
• Women, Cde Mnangagwa said, constituted more than half of the population in the region and played critical economic, social and cultural roles in the nation as providers, caregivers, mobilizers and entrepreneurs.
• At a Press conference yesterday, Ms Mushelenga told journalists that the media should be at the forefront of advancing the cause of women. She said the media had a tendency of covering women’s issues in bad light.
Read the full article here:
The Herald Online
Monday, July 26, 2004
Clearly, a gender wage gap exists.
Employers must close gender wage gap -- or pay dearly.
The most startling statements are as follows:
• "Employer groups argue the discrimination may be only one reason for the wage gap. Other causes, they argue, include women taking employment breaks to have children and raise families, leaving them behind in experience to men. [Laurel here ... they can't be serious!]
"But the Census Bureau study refutes the argument by showing that when women are equal to men in age, education and experience, men still make more. Men even outearn women in traditionally women-dominated occupations. Female elementary and middle school teachers, for instance, make 87 cents for each dollar earned by comparable male teachers."
[Laurel here ... why oh why are women leaving Corporate America? This is only one of about a hundred different reasons.]
For the full story, read: HeraldNet: Employers Must Close Gender Wage Gap
The most startling statements are as follows:
• "Employer groups argue the discrimination may be only one reason for the wage gap. Other causes, they argue, include women taking employment breaks to have children and raise families, leaving them behind in experience to men. [Laurel here ... they can't be serious!]
"But the Census Bureau study refutes the argument by showing that when women are equal to men in age, education and experience, men still make more. Men even outearn women in traditionally women-dominated occupations. Female elementary and middle school teachers, for instance, make 87 cents for each dollar earned by comparable male teachers."
[Laurel here ... why oh why are women leaving Corporate America? This is only one of about a hundred different reasons.]
For the full story, read: HeraldNet: Employers Must Close Gender Wage Gap
Sunday, July 25, 2004
“To be an entrepreneur, you have to have a lot of guts."
Energy and persistence unite entrepreneurs.
A couple of interesting clips from the article published by Democrat & Chronicle:
• Certainly Harper followed a dream when SHE built an international chain of 500 hair and skin care shops in the early 20th century and pioneered the concept of franchise stores.
• “In big organizations, the more conservative, the more risk-averse point of view is common,” he says. “As that view becomes the dominant motif, people don't want to be a risk taker. The incentive to be more experimental is lost. Those who want to experiment or take risks go to places where it is more favorable.”
• Downsizing at Kodak and Xerox has released some people to pursue their new business ideas as entrepreneurs, Lacagnina says. The corporate cutbacks also have created opportunities for businesses to do work that companies now want to outsource, Navarro says.
To read the entire article, visit: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/biznews/07255451103_business.shtml
A couple of interesting clips from the article published by Democrat & Chronicle:
• Certainly Harper followed a dream when SHE built an international chain of 500 hair and skin care shops in the early 20th century and pioneered the concept of franchise stores.
• “In big organizations, the more conservative, the more risk-averse point of view is common,” he says. “As that view becomes the dominant motif, people don't want to be a risk taker. The incentive to be more experimental is lost. Those who want to experiment or take risks go to places where it is more favorable.”
• Downsizing at Kodak and Xerox has released some people to pursue their new business ideas as entrepreneurs, Lacagnina says. The corporate cutbacks also have created opportunities for businesses to do work that companies now want to outsource, Navarro says.
To read the entire article, visit: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/biznews/07255451103_business.shtml
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Maverick trades in Japan’s aging business model and escapes Corporate Japan
Quotes from a Japanese woman entrepreneur:
... “I think my family trained me to be an entrepreneur. Dad told me to never join a big company, but always work for a company with fewer than 50 people, even if they have to use a dog as a staff member. Why? Because big Japanese companies are all the same. Why would they give a top job to a woman when there are plenty of men around?” One obstacle was that many small companies were boring. “I always thought I would train myself up in a company and stay for perhaps ten years before leaving to do something on my own. But the chance came much sooner.”
... “For the first four years I really struggled to employ good people,” Matsuzaki says. “Then one day a university student came along for an interview. He had won a place at some big corporation, but said he wanted to be an entrepreneur. University graduates are great. They know nothing, but they do everything. Every year we bring more of them into the company. Ten people joined in April and we will get more next year. You take them straight out of university and they are making a profit for you within three months. I like them aggressive, because this is all about sales.”
Laurel here ... even the Japanese are escaping from Corporate Japan!
To read the entire article, visit: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8210-1189549,00.html
... “I think my family trained me to be an entrepreneur. Dad told me to never join a big company, but always work for a company with fewer than 50 people, even if they have to use a dog as a staff member. Why? Because big Japanese companies are all the same. Why would they give a top job to a woman when there are plenty of men around?” One obstacle was that many small companies were boring. “I always thought I would train myself up in a company and stay for perhaps ten years before leaving to do something on my own. But the chance came much sooner.”
... “For the first four years I really struggled to employ good people,” Matsuzaki says. “Then one day a university student came along for an interview. He had won a place at some big corporation, but said he wanted to be an entrepreneur. University graduates are great. They know nothing, but they do everything. Every year we bring more of them into the company. Ten people joined in April and we will get more next year. You take them straight out of university and they are making a profit for you within three months. I like them aggressive, because this is all about sales.”
Laurel here ... even the Japanese are escaping from Corporate Japan!
To read the entire article, visit: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8210-1189549,00.html
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Corporations have to begin thinking more like entrepreneurs.
A New Prescription for Transforming the Corporation.
Commentary by Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D.
July 22, 2004
A very important paragraph within his excellent article:
"To leverage these assets, businesses have to start thinking in a new way about creating long-term profitability and sustained competitive advantage. In fact, corporations have to begin thinking more like entrepreneurs, who exploit opportunities to create a new way of doing business, and who use what is termed “incongruous situations” to drive growth strategies in innovative, revolutionary ways. For businesses, this will mean fostering an intrapreneurial effort from within the organization, using the techniques and vision of entrepreneurs and driving change from inside existing corporate models."
Read the entire article published by The Washington Dispatch here:
http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_9616.shtml
Commentary by Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D.
July 22, 2004
A very important paragraph within his excellent article:
"To leverage these assets, businesses have to start thinking in a new way about creating long-term profitability and sustained competitive advantage. In fact, corporations have to begin thinking more like entrepreneurs, who exploit opportunities to create a new way of doing business, and who use what is termed “incongruous situations” to drive growth strategies in innovative, revolutionary ways. For businesses, this will mean fostering an intrapreneurial effort from within the organization, using the techniques and vision of entrepreneurs and driving change from inside existing corporate models."
Read the entire article published by The Washington Dispatch here:
http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_9616.shtml
More than 50 percent of the U.S. population is female ...
as referenced in the The Global Entrepreneuriship Monitor, a research consortium that assesses national entrepreneurial activity for its participating nations.
It goes on further to say, "... and [female] represents a great potential source of entrepreneurial activity," Minniti said. "More and better research on what drives women entrepreneurs and raising awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities through education is critical to narrowing the gap."
To read the full article published by the Kansas City Business Journal, visit:
http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2004/07/19/daily31.html?jst=b_ln_hl
It goes on further to say, "... and [female] represents a great potential source of entrepreneurial activity," Minniti said. "More and better research on what drives women entrepreneurs and raising awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities through education is critical to narrowing the gap."
To read the full article published by the Kansas City Business Journal, visit:
http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2004/07/19/daily31.html?jst=b_ln_hl
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Wage gap contributing to women-owned business, entrepreneur says
Women-owned businesses are growing in part because of the continued wage gap between men and women, The Entrepreneur's Source in Des Peres, Mo., said Friday.
And just look at this folks:
Miller said recent data issued by the Institute for Women's Policy Research showed that women's average pay is about 44 percent of what a man earns in the same job over the course of their career.
"It's not surprising that women are turning away from the corporate world, where inequality persists, instead of opting for a bright future of an entrepreneur," said Miller.
To read the full article, visit the St. Louis Business Journal: http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2004/07/12/daily77.html?jst=b_ln_hl.
And just look at this folks:
Miller said recent data issued by the Institute for Women's Policy Research showed that women's average pay is about 44 percent of what a man earns in the same job over the course of their career.
"It's not surprising that women are turning away from the corporate world, where inequality persists, instead of opting for a bright future of an entrepreneur," said Miller.
To read the full article, visit the St. Louis Business Journal: http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2004/07/12/daily77.html?jst=b_ln_hl.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Martha: Helping Women Escape From ...
low-income and on to become entrepreneurs!
Yes, you heard it here first. Martha Stewart has long been renowned for teaching women the domestic arts but now, as part of an effort to reduce her presumptive jail sentence, she wants to teach women how to tidy other people's homes, and their hotel rooms.
To read the full article by Dan Ackman, visit Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/home/work/2004/06/01/cx_da_0601topnews.html but here's a glimpse at some of the data presented on women-owned businesses:
• Of course, hiring women to clean is hardly a new idea, and neither is the idea of women starting their own businesses. According to a study by the Center for Women's Business Research that has been cited by President Bush and Treasury Secretary John Snow, women own a 50% or greater stake in nearly half of all privately held businesses in the U.S.
• Like the vast majority of male-owned businesses, 77% of women-owned companies are sole proprietorships with no employees, the study says.
• It also says that women-owned businesses are growing faster than small businesses generally.
• This pattern is borne out internationally as well. Women control 42% of all "startup" businesses, according to the 2003 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, an international study sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. But when one considers "entrepreneurial firms," that is those who are likely to grow and add employees, the percentage controlled by women worldwide falls to 28%.
• As of 2004, the Center for Women's Business Research study estimated there were 10.6 million private, women-owned firms in the U.S. If Stewart's plea for community service works, there may be a few more. Without her help, there are likely to be a lot more anyway.
Yes, you heard it here first. Martha Stewart has long been renowned for teaching women the domestic arts but now, as part of an effort to reduce her presumptive jail sentence, she wants to teach women how to tidy other people's homes, and their hotel rooms.
To read the full article by Dan Ackman, visit Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/home/work/2004/06/01/cx_da_0601topnews.html but here's a glimpse at some of the data presented on women-owned businesses:
• Of course, hiring women to clean is hardly a new idea, and neither is the idea of women starting their own businesses. According to a study by the Center for Women's Business Research that has been cited by President Bush and Treasury Secretary John Snow, women own a 50% or greater stake in nearly half of all privately held businesses in the U.S.
• Like the vast majority of male-owned businesses, 77% of women-owned companies are sole proprietorships with no employees, the study says.
• It also says that women-owned businesses are growing faster than small businesses generally.
• This pattern is borne out internationally as well. Women control 42% of all "startup" businesses, according to the 2003 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, an international study sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. But when one considers "entrepreneurial firms," that is those who are likely to grow and add employees, the percentage controlled by women worldwide falls to 28%.
• As of 2004, the Center for Women's Business Research study estimated there were 10.6 million private, women-owned firms in the U.S. If Stewart's plea for community service works, there may be a few more. Without her help, there are likely to be a lot more anyway.
Watch out Corporate America: Women Entrepreneurs Are More Numerous and Powerful Than Ever ...
and they are becoming prized swing voters in the 2004 election.
I'll highlight just a couple of salient points made in the article:
• ... female entrepreneurship is one of the great success stories of our time. Women today control just under half of all the small businesses in America. In the past seven years the number of woman-owned firms with employees has grown by 28% -- three times the growth rate among all employer firms. Today woman business owners represent about 5% of the voting-age population -- more than all the registered voters in Florida and more than enough to select our next President.
• "Woman entrepreneurs are the wild card in this election," says Erin Fuller, executive director of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) in McLean, Va.
• Kerry said that women aren't getting "the recognition they deserve for the opportunities they are providing to millions of employees, the contributions they make to communities, and the overall strengthening of our economy."
• ... and a quote from one of my favorite people, Dr. Marsha Firestone, founder of the Women Presidents' Organization:
"Even though the Bush administration cut the Small Business Administration's funding by 25% and eliminated the SBA administrator's cabinet seat, woman small-business advocates feel that the Republicans have done a better job of reaching out to them lately. "Clinton would come to town and never call us," says Marsha Firestone, president of the New York-based Women Presidents Organization (WPO). "Bush always calls. We're at the table as small-business owners. " President Bush has given two major speeches to female entrepreneur audiences in the past year. In May his campaign launched a "W Stands for Women" initiative that stressed the economic contributions of woman business owners."
• ... woman entrepreneurs are an increasingly articulate and organized political force. "Building coalitions is something women are good at," says Fuller. Today an alphabet soup of nonpartisan advocacy groups -- NAWBO, the WPO, and Women Impacting Public Policy, to name just three -- are sponsoring voter-registration drives ...
To read the entire article, visit Fortune Small Business: http://www.fortune.com/fortune/smallbusiness/articles/0,15114,654044,00.htm
I'll highlight just a couple of salient points made in the article:
• ... female entrepreneurship is one of the great success stories of our time. Women today control just under half of all the small businesses in America. In the past seven years the number of woman-owned firms with employees has grown by 28% -- three times the growth rate among all employer firms. Today woman business owners represent about 5% of the voting-age population -- more than all the registered voters in Florida and more than enough to select our next President.
• "Woman entrepreneurs are the wild card in this election," says Erin Fuller, executive director of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) in McLean, Va.
• Kerry said that women aren't getting "the recognition they deserve for the opportunities they are providing to millions of employees, the contributions they make to communities, and the overall strengthening of our economy."
• ... and a quote from one of my favorite people, Dr. Marsha Firestone, founder of the Women Presidents' Organization:
"Even though the Bush administration cut the Small Business Administration's funding by 25% and eliminated the SBA administrator's cabinet seat, woman small-business advocates feel that the Republicans have done a better job of reaching out to them lately. "Clinton would come to town and never call us," says Marsha Firestone, president of the New York-based Women Presidents Organization (WPO). "Bush always calls. We're at the table as small-business owners. " President Bush has given two major speeches to female entrepreneur audiences in the past year. In May his campaign launched a "W Stands for Women" initiative that stressed the economic contributions of woman business owners."
• ... woman entrepreneurs are an increasingly articulate and organized political force. "Building coalitions is something women are good at," says Fuller. Today an alphabet soup of nonpartisan advocacy groups -- NAWBO, the WPO, and Women Impacting Public Policy, to name just three -- are sponsoring voter-registration drives ...
To read the entire article, visit Fortune Small Business: http://www.fortune.com/fortune/smallbusiness/articles/0,15114,654044,00.htm
Women, workplace, Dark Ages
A study concludes that modern business is stuck in the Dark Ages when it comes to accommodating women in the work force, and it makes several suggestions on how businesses can treat women more fairly.
When an organization has a nebulous name like the National Center for Policy Analysis, you can't help but wonder about its political perspective. But this nonprofit emphasizes its impartiality while espousing free enterprise and self-reliance.
If those sound like Republican code words to you, you might be surprised by a Web site that the NCPA has set up at
http://www.womenintheeconomy.org. The linchpin of the site is a study concluding that modern business is stuck in the Dark Ages when it comes to accommodating women in the work force, and it makes several suggestions on how businesses can treat women more fairly. You can also read articles from other sources or participate in polls about how different economic issues affect women. As for any hints of political bias: While some of the poll questions are phrased with a pro-White House slant, respondents seem more intrigued by presidential candidate John Kerry's ideas, reflecting the gender divide shown in many political polls.
Appealing to entrepreneurs
Watch out, President Bush: Women entrepreneurs may be your undoing in the White House. So says Fortune Small Business (July/August). "Women entrepreneurs are becoming prized swing voters in the 2004 election (whose views) are sharply divided from those of their male counterparts." A Fortune/Zogby survey found that female entrepreneurs favor Democrat John Kerry (50 percent) over President Bush (44 percent), while male entrepreneurs prefer Bush (60 percent to 33 percent). And some female entrepreneurs don't like Bush or Kerry. The message, says the magazine, is that "the candidate that appeals directly to this target group could gain a substantial edge.''
— Cox Newspapers (original posting St. Paul Pioneer Press, 7/18/04, http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/9174268.htm?1c)
When an organization has a nebulous name like the National Center for Policy Analysis, you can't help but wonder about its political perspective. But this nonprofit emphasizes its impartiality while espousing free enterprise and self-reliance.
If those sound like Republican code words to you, you might be surprised by a Web site that the NCPA has set up at
http://www.womenintheeconomy.org. The linchpin of the site is a study concluding that modern business is stuck in the Dark Ages when it comes to accommodating women in the work force, and it makes several suggestions on how businesses can treat women more fairly. You can also read articles from other sources or participate in polls about how different economic issues affect women. As for any hints of political bias: While some of the poll questions are phrased with a pro-White House slant, respondents seem more intrigued by presidential candidate John Kerry's ideas, reflecting the gender divide shown in many political polls.
Appealing to entrepreneurs
Watch out, President Bush: Women entrepreneurs may be your undoing in the White House. So says Fortune Small Business (July/August). "Women entrepreneurs are becoming prized swing voters in the 2004 election (whose views) are sharply divided from those of their male counterparts." A Fortune/Zogby survey found that female entrepreneurs favor Democrat John Kerry (50 percent) over President Bush (44 percent), while male entrepreneurs prefer Bush (60 percent to 33 percent). And some female entrepreneurs don't like Bush or Kerry. The message, says the magazine, is that "the candidate that appeals directly to this target group could gain a substantial edge.''
— Cox Newspapers (original posting St. Paul Pioneer Press, 7/18/04, http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/9174268.htm?1c)
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