Sexual Paradox in the Workplace

Why do girls on average lead boys for all their years in the classroom, only to fall behind in the workplace? Do girls grow up and lose their edge, while boys mature and gain theirs? Oh boy, oooops, oh girl. Get clued in here.

Postfeminism And Other Fairy Tales

Where does society stand on gender matters? Find out here. Shortcut: Take a quick glimpse at the last sentence of the commentary by Kate Zernike in the New York Times newspaper (3/16).

But Ms. Michelman is not changing her vote: “I do think women are angry, but anger doesn’t get us very far. It’s a motivator, but it’s not enough.”

Oftentimes, I think, when it comes to starting a business, anger (at Corporate America) is a huge motivator and gets us very far. It leads to ... "I'll show'em and prove just how much talent I really have by doing my own thing and doing it remarkably well!"

Fewer Working Mothers is Bad Business for Restaurants

Attention restaurants: Start wooing women entrepreneurs and their families!

Read more here about how the restaurant industry is concerned over the trend that harried working moms isn't growing like it used to.

WOWOWOW!

New Web site aimed at smart women 40 and older.

The five women who started the intelligent site -- called Wowowow -- are Liz Smith, Lesley Stahl, Mary Wells, Joni Evans and Peggy Noonan. The idea originated with literary agent Joni Evans who says she was tired of the usual travel and shopping sites and thought there was a void in terms of content for "sharp, driven women like herself."

Take a tour, here.

P.S. Will your face be on Mt. Rushmore?

Who Will Be The Next TechPresident?

Here, we all strive to be presidents of one kind or another but who will be America's first TechPresident?

Cast your vote and add your two cents here.

On Diversity, America Isn't Putting Its Money Where Its Mouth Is

Are there pay discrepancies between men and women in corporate America? If you guessed yes, you guessed right. And unfortunately, we -- the women -- lose. That is, if you work in corporate America. Fortunately, I don't.

And that's why entrepreneurship is becoming more and more attractive to corporate folks the longer we go without closing the gender pay gap.

Read more here.

Quoted from the article:

Diversity is good for the bottom line because it enables them [business chiefs] to recruit the best talent, enlist broad thinking and reach diverse customers world-wide.

Lose Job; Start a Business

Downsizing can help jump-start entrepreneurs. Losing a job can be just the impetus needed for starting your own company. You end up walking out with a smile on your face.

And in this article be sure to check out the small business advice section in the call-out box which refers to a concept called start-up graveyard -- something you will want to avoid.

Read more here.

50 Top Women in Tech

What an extraordinary group of women!

Corporate Board Member has put together this list to help boards redress two common shortfalls: an overall lack of technology experience among directors and a shortage of female directors in general. The women we’re portraying speak about their own adventures in the technology industry, the effects their gender may have had on their careers, and the extent to which things might be different for those who come after them. The ones who have already made their mark are selective about which boards they’ll even consider (for more, see “Stalled Gains for Women in Technology”). Whitman says the growing number of women who earn engineering degrees will push the needed change. Maybe. But compared with 25 years ago, fewer women are graduating in tech-related fields. Recruiters and board members, particularly those serving on the governance committee, should move fast.

A hat tip to Judith Dobrzynski for turning us on to it. Promise me you will read each and every one of the features and that you will pass this brilliant piece along to everyone you know!

Are You a Thinker?

Who is the most influential living management thinker? Is it you? That was the simple question that inspired the original Thinkers 50 in 2001. A lot of hard work and number-crunching later, the answer became the first global ranking of business gurus.

The Thinkers 50 2007 provides a completely new ranking and one that reflects only a handful of women. See for yourself.

I think we should start a Women Entrepreneurs 50 2008 covering the most influential living women entrepreneurs. What do you think?

A Guy-Block in Disguise

Women occupy 40% of all managerial positions in the United States. But only 6% of the Fortune 500's top executives are female. And just 2% of those firms have women CEOs. What's getting in their way?

Perhaps its leadership style?

Put on your boxing gloves ladies!

Escape Suburbia

Every once in a while I stumble upon something that I think is hilarious, odd, interesting, compelling, or, as in this case, so close to home on what we are doing here that I absolutely must share it with you.

Escape From Suburbia. Yes, you read that right. The first link is a film from the Film Connection and the second link is the website that goes along with it.

About the film:

In this sequel to the acclaimed documentary The End of Suburbia, we meet three people and one town in California who are moving forward consciously and responsibly from a lifestyle built on cheap and abundant oil. Its a film about reinventing local economies and rediscovering personal empowerment in our communities as we move into the post-carbon age.

Okay. Let's translate that for Escape From Corporate America:

At this blog, which is associated to the acclaimed article, Escape From Corporate America, we meet women who are fed up with Corporate America and are moving forward consciously and responsibly from a lifestyle built on shattered glass to that of building their own ventures. Its a blog about reinventing local and global economies and rediscovering personal empowerment worldwide as we move into the age of adventure and spirited entrepreneurship!

There you have it.

16 Ways of Looking at a Female Voter

In light of today being Super Tuesday, Linda Hirshman covers what we do and don't know about gender and politics.

Read her comprehensive article in the New York Times Magazine (2/3/08).

In case you don't know about Linda's work, here are a couple of clips:

Unleashing the Wrath of Stay-at-Home Moms

Homeward Bound

And her official site.

Female Ownership Matters

Patricia Karter, Dancing Deer Bakery CEO, thinks a better gender balance in the business world could improve society as a whole.

What do you think? Read more here.

What Women Want

I was going through a pile of newspaper clips last night and stumbled upon this one. It's only about a half-year old. My how time flies and how much things have changed since this was released! See what you think. We do rule. Too bad not many folks know how to woo us.

Help With How to Launch Out of Your Cube

Our friend and colleague at Escape from Cubicle Nation just released her latest creation: A new audio program to help entrenched employees launch out of their cubes.

Sounds like it's right up the alley for Escape From Corporate America readers!

Read more about it and buy it here.

What The Customer Wants You To Know

I am reading a really good book, actually two, by Ram Charan. One is What The Customer Wants You To Know and the other is Know-How which I haven't finished yet. I highly recommend What The Customer Wants You To Know. It's a fantastic book about how to look at sales and new business development in a radically new light. For example, here's a clip from the book:

When I think about our own vendors, all they do is keep trying to beat each other on price," he told Phil. "They tell us how much money we can save if we go with them. But my biggest challenge is building revenues and stemming the erosion in market share. I can't recall any supplier coming to us with ideas for generating more sales or winning more market share, the things really value."

As a business owner, when is the last time you dug deep to find out what your customer's goals, priorities and competitive challenges are? If you can't recall, I suggest you buy this book. It's a door-opener to growing your business. Within the first 40 pages, I dog-eared nearly every other page for reference later.

Excerpt from What The Customer Wants You To Know here.

Just in (1/28/08) and featured in the Wall Street Journal:
Next in Line for Reinvention: The Art of Selling
Consultant Ram Charan Says Focus Is All Wrong; What a Customer Needs

###

A Day in the Life of Corporate Women

We will dare to go to the other side on this post and provide a glimpse of how corporate women manage work-life balance.

When I caught this part:

Nadine McHugh, 42, managing partner at the ad agency MindShare. About four years ago McHugh, mother of a 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, told her employer she wanted to stay home full-time with the kids. Her boss asked her to work part time from home because her key client, Unilever, was concerned about her departure.

A working mom's dream, right? Yes and no. McHugh, of Massapequa, says working from her dining room table made her world feel small. So after a year she told her boss she wanted to return full time.

I thought: She's going for it. Out the door! She's thinking BIG. Start her own business! But no such luck (or happy surprise).

Read the article here. What's your take on it? How long do you think these women will last in corporate America?

Calling All Women Entrepreneurs: Nominate Yourself or Someone Else!

The Doing Business project of the World Bank is conducting a two-year research effort to identify legal and regulatory barriers facing businesswomen in 178 economies. The program will provide analysis on reforms that benefit women in business.

As a part of this effort, team members will be preparing profiles of women entrepreneurs describing reasons for their success, as well as highlighting some of the main legal, regulatory, and practical obstacles they faced in expanding their business. These case studies will help identify strategies to alleviate such obstacles, as well as communication approaches to promote the benefits of reform.

The Doing Business team will select from each region amongst the nominations, contact them, and prepare a profile of the individual. These profiles will be published by Doing Business.

A candidate for nomination is a woman entrepreneur who:

-- Is the founder/owner of the business
-- Is active in her community
-- Has an experience that can offer lessons that can inform reform efforts

When submitting your nomination, kindly provide as much of the following information as available to you:

• Full name of Nominee
• Name and type of business
• Business address, phone number, and e-mail
• Month and year business was started
• A brief biography of the nominated entrepreneur
• A brief description of the business
• A brief summary of the obstacles overcome, discoveries made, and outcomes

Please forward your nominations by no later than (extended) January 25, 2008 to Sushmitha Narsiah (refer to following link).

More information can be found here.

Thank you very much in advance for your support and good luck!

Start Anywhere and Just Get Going

Are you finally going to start a business in 2008? Sure it's a scary time out there with everyone predicting a recession. Heck, we're no longer forecasting it, we're living it. But that doesn't mean you can't start a business. Quite the contrary. The nice thing about starting a business when the economy stinks is that you can only go up from where you begin. And to begin you first need a plan.

Tim Berry, president of Palo Alto Software and principal author of its Business Plan Pro® software for developing business plans, wrote this blog entry, "Plan Your Business As You Go."

Maybe it will help spur you to get started or get going with that business!

King Was All About Achieving Acceptance For All People, Regardless of Race or Nationality

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I will be out of the office learning more about the man who helped achieve civil equality for African Americans. Hope you are doing the same.

There is a great day ahead. The future is on its side. It's going now through the wilderness, but the promised land is ahead.

-- King, Martin Luther Jr.

The Birth of a New Nation
Montgomery, Ala.
7 April 1957