By Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)
According to the GMAC Global Management Education Graduate Survey, 106,000 women took the GMAT exam last year and more than 1/3 of MBA students are women. As we’ve all heard, this means that there are more women MBAs than ever before. The problem? These highly educated women are encountering two massive road blocks: they’re struggling to find employment after graduation and those employed hit the second major hurdle that must be overcome by countless women across every industry, the glass ceiling. Women are half of the population and 36.8 percent of MBA holders, yet, compared to their male peers, they’re struggling.
As is often the case, the numbers just don’t add up. The GMAC Global Education Graduate Survey also found that female MBA graduates submitted 20 percent more job applications than male graduates last year, yet they received half the job offers. A 2010 Catalyst survey of global MBA graduates found that women lag behind men in job level and salary starting from their first position, and guess what? They never catch up. Catalyst also reports that on average, women make $4,600 less in their initial jobs, even after accounting for experience, time since MBA, industry, and region.
There is a lot of talk as to why this is happening, as to why in the year 2012 gender parity is still something that highly educated women fight to attain. In all of this talk what never gets said – or rather, what never gets said enough – is that it’s not their fault. Women are putting in the work, gaining the experience, obtaining the degrees; women are leaders, rainmakers, negotiators, and networkers; there are qualified female candidates and the pipeline should be filled with these women – but it’s not.
In light of these challenges, women are focusing on the ways that they can better equip themselves to excel. Not by fixing themselves, not by “being one of the guys,” but by developing a better understanding of the culture in which they’re working, creating a pathway that works for them, and changing the system for the next generation of women MBAs.
In other words, the time for talk is over – just ask the participants of next week’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), where women will see an extended network of power players supporting them.
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Sharing Global Best Practices for Boardroom Gender Parity
Industry Leaders, LeadershipBy now, you probably know about Norway’s 40% gender quota for corporate boards. You probably also know that a number of countries in Europe are following suit, and that the UK is looking for ways to increase the representation of women in the boardroom. You may also know about the SEC’s rule in the US for public companies to disclose how diversity is considered in filling board seats.
But what do you know about efforts on behalf of countries like Argentina, Brazil, Morocco, or the Philippines to increase the percentage of women directors? In an increasingly global business environment, knowledge about local efforts toward gender equality can be incredibly useful for women in the corporate space.
That’s one reason the law firm Paul Hastings has just released its second gender parity report, Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women in the Boardroom. Tara Giunta, Litigation Partner at Paul Hastings and co-editor of the report, explained, “In the Second Edition of the report, we focused on corporate governance codes and listing rules, and found that, in a number of countries, diversity was being included. I found it very encouraging as offering a potentially useful strategy and tool to increase diversity on the boards of US companies.”
She continued, “We were hoping that as a law firm, we could contribute to the discussion on gender parity by examining what are the strategies being deployed by different jurisdictions, and identifying the tools and approaches and best practices that can be shared across jurisdictions.”
She added, “As a global law firm we have the ability to bring that to a discussion on a global basis.”
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Maternity Leave in the UK: What You Need to Know
Work-LifeIt is a well known fact that women working in the UK are legally entitled to maternity leave according to UK employment law. However, the exact details of maternity leave rights and obligations are perhaps less well known, and this can make enforcing your maternity leave rights that much more difficult.
Maternity leave: The basics
All female employees are entitled to statutory maternity leave regardless of the hours they work, the job they do or the length of time that they have been with their employer. To exercise this important legal right, it is vital that you notify your employer of your pregnancy at least 15 weeks before your baby is due (around the 24th week of pregnancy). Use an MATB1 form to do this, available from your midwife or GP.
You can start your maternity leave any time from 11 weeks before the baby is due (around the 29th week of pregnancy), although it is worth noting that if you have time off related to your pregnancy within four weeks of your due date then your employer is entitled to commence your maternity leave at that point.
You do not have to take the full statutory maternity leave of 52 weeks (26 ordinary weeks and 26 additional weeks) if you do not wish to, however you are obliged by law to take at least two weeks off work (four if you work in a factory). If your child is stillborn anytime after 24 weeks, you are still entitled to take full statutory maternity leave.
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Voice of Experience: Cindy Davis, Shareholder, Financial Institutions Group, Greenberg Traurig
Voices of ExperienceEven when she was in high school, Cindy Davis knew what she wanted to do for her career. “I wanted be a corporate lawyer, doing deals, and advising executives,” she recalled. She went on to study accounting at the University of Massachusetts, not because she wanted to be an accountant, but because she thought it would give her a competitive edge as a corporate lawyer.
Davis explained with a laugh, “I was one of the few people who went to law school who always wanted to be there.”
After graduating from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, she took a job at a small firm, then gradually moved to larger and larger firms, before winding up at Paul Hastings, where she spent fifteen years, ultimately becoming partner. In 2009, she moved her practice to Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder.
Davis said she is fueled by her enthusiasm for new deals. “I love getting calls from a client on a new transaction. It’s very satisfying to cross the finish line on a particularly complicated deal and then move onto the next one.”
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Intrepid Woman: A Pro Bono Secondment Leads to a New Mission in Life
Intrepid Women SeriesIn the fall of 2011, I knew that my career wasn’t progressing the way I had intended. I’ve always been ambitious, wanting to do more and more with myself, but I’d been stuck in the same role for too long and felt unable to break free.
I’d finally qualified as an accountant earlier that year – I was a late starter as I’d originally worked in IT for investment banks prior to that. …And I was single. …And I had recently stepped down as the Chair of Trustees for a local charity. In short, I was bored.
It’s easy to decide to get a new job, but the current market was unsuited for the ambitions I had. Instead, I looked within my current company for opportunities. I saw one email announcing a pro-bono secondment program, which sends employees on assignments with our partner NGOs around the world. The thought of three months abroad was too good to pass by. Soon, I was successfully selected and headed off to Tanzania to work for a microfinance organisation.
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Women MBAs are Changing the System
Managing ChangeAccording to the GMAC Global Management Education Graduate Survey, 106,000 women took the GMAT exam last year and more than 1/3 of MBA students are women. As we’ve all heard, this means that there are more women MBAs than ever before. The problem? These highly educated women are encountering two massive road blocks: they’re struggling to find employment after graduation and those employed hit the second major hurdle that must be overcome by countless women across every industry, the glass ceiling. Women are half of the population and 36.8 percent of MBA holders, yet, compared to their male peers, they’re struggling.
As is often the case, the numbers just don’t add up. The GMAC Global Education Graduate Survey also found that female MBA graduates submitted 20 percent more job applications than male graduates last year, yet they received half the job offers. A 2010 Catalyst survey of global MBA graduates found that women lag behind men in job level and salary starting from their first position, and guess what? They never catch up. Catalyst also reports that on average, women make $4,600 less in their initial jobs, even after accounting for experience, time since MBA, industry, and region.
There is a lot of talk as to why this is happening, as to why in the year 2012 gender parity is still something that highly educated women fight to attain. In all of this talk what never gets said – or rather, what never gets said enough – is that it’s not their fault. Women are putting in the work, gaining the experience, obtaining the degrees; women are leaders, rainmakers, negotiators, and networkers; there are qualified female candidates and the pipeline should be filled with these women – but it’s not.
In light of these challenges, women are focusing on the ways that they can better equip themselves to excel. Not by fixing themselves, not by “being one of the guys,” but by developing a better understanding of the culture in which they’re working, creating a pathway that works for them, and changing the system for the next generation of women MBAs.
In other words, the time for talk is over – just ask the participants of next week’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), where women will see an extended network of power players supporting them.
Read more
More Than a Trend: Expert Advice for Women General Counsel
Managing ChangeAccording to a new survey by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, there were more female general counsel at Fortune 500 companies last year than ever before, holding 21% of the roles.
Not only that, but the number of general counsel is rising faster than previously, with 23 women nabbing the top legal seat in the Fortune 500 since 2009. Additionally, the study showed that diversity amongst female legal officers is also increasing, with 16% describing themselves as minorities.
Michele Coleman Mayes, General Counsel of the New York Public Library, and Former GC of Allstate Corp, welcomed the news, saying, “I hope to see more and more women in this position.”
But, she continued, she wasn’t all that surprised by the study. In doing research for her book, Courageous Counsel: Conversations with Women General Counsel in the Fortune 500, which she co-authored with Kara Sophia Baysinger last year, she recognized the increasing presence of women general counsel in the Fortune 500. “I want people to recognize that this isn’t a trend, it’s the norm.”
She also shared her advice on how ambitious women lawyers can better position themselves for the General Counsel role at their company.
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Best Apps for Busy Women
Work-LifeDo you ever wish that you had more hours in the day to get everything done?
Between work, household chores, family life, side projects and everything else you are responsible for, it can sometimes feel like your to-do list will never end. Unfortunately, unless you are able to bend the fabric of space and time you will never have more than 24 hours in a day!
However, what you can do is learn how to use those 24 hours more efficiently in order to get more done. This is known as the art of time management. Streamlining your tasks and getting yourself organized will help you to do more with less effort and finally feel less overwhelmed with everything on your plate.
In your quest for efficiency, why not let your smart phone be your time management tool?
You already carry it with you everywhere you go, and now you can use it to keep yourself organized. There are many great time management apps out there for which help you to make lists, schedule appointments, plan your day and much more. Try a few different types of apps until you find the one that fits your needs and helps you the most.
Here are some of the best apps for maximizing your time management.
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What Are You Doing on 12/12/12? Mark Your Calendar to Help Women on Boards
Industry Leaders, LeadershipAs most of us know by now, companies with a strong proportion of women on their Boards of Directors perform better—it’s just that simple. But right now, according to August 2012 statistics from Catalyst, the percentage of board seats at Fortune 500 Companies held by women is only 16.1 percent in the United States. Among the organizations working to change this is 2020 Women on Boards (WOB), which has set a goal of increasing the percentage of women on corporate boards to at least 20 percent by 2020.
To this end, one of WOB’s initiatives is called simply “12/12/12.” That’s the date—December 12, 2012—that the organization plans to host a national conversation on gender diversity in U.S. corporate boardrooms. To understand more about this event and the organization behind it, The Glass Hammer spoke with Malli Gero, WOB’s Executive Director and Co-Founder.
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Five Tips to Step Outside Your Comfort Zone and Build Your Network
NetworkingNetworking. It’s one of those things we all know we should do, but for many people, it just doesn’t come naturally. One of those people was Laurie Dalton White, Managing Director of Hill + Knowlton Strategies, and Conference Director for the Pennsylvania Conference for Women, the Massachusetts Conference for Women, and the Texas Conference for Women.
According to White, the conferences – which have helped over 150,000 women connect over the past thirteen years – are designed to provide a comfortable space for women to swap ideas, success strategies, and business cards. She explained, “Our goals are to provide women a space to educate, inspire, and encourage each other to achieve their goals.”
Here’s how she managed to achieve her own dream of connecting women so that they can help one another thrive – and become an expert networker along the way.
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Voice of Experience: Anne Milne, Managing Director, Emerging Markets Corporate Research, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Voices of ExperienceLooking back on her career, Anne Milne, Managing Director of the Emerging Markets Corporate Research at Bank of American Merrill Lynch, believes she could have benefited by focusing on career development earlier on.
“When I first started work, like many women, I thought if you just worked hard, you’ll get recognized, not realizing you need to market yourself to seniors – and not just your direct senior but people high up too,” Milne said. “A lot of the time, people might not know how hard you’re working.”
Similarly, she said, seeking input from mentors can help with advancement. “I think maybe what I could have done more is ask for more advice.”
It’s also important to set long-term goals and plan your advancement, she added. “You have to look at your career as a business and don’t get too emotional about it. Set larger term goals.”
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