by Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)
It’s an uncomfortable fact, but many professional women’s organizations began as a result of the exclusion and in some cases, blatant sexism, experienced by women in the workplace during the 1960’s and 70’s. The Boston Club, an organization of over 600 Boston-area women devoted to promoting the personal and professional development of their peers, has a similar story to tell.
Though not one of its founding member’s, Boston Club President Kathleen Stone, understands the progress women have made over the years. Growing up in a small, suburban neighborhood, this lawyer didn’t know a single woman who worked outside the home and, even during her college years, it wasn’t uncommon for female classmates to go through the trouble of getting a degree, only to do nothing with it. There finally came a time during the 70’s and 80’s when women were joining the upper ranks of companies both large and small, only to find that they were intentionally being excluded by their male co-workers. “Essentially, The Boston Club started in 1976 because a female vice president couldn’t find anyone to have lunch with. Male executives would go out together in large groups at private lunch clubs and they wouldn’t include her. She finally met four other female executives to eat with and before you know it, a weekly luncheon turned into an organization for women working professionals who wanted to advance their female peers,” Stone said.
The Boston Club is quite rare in the way that its members come from a multitude of professional backgrounds, including business executives, entrepreneurs, political leaders, physicians, artists, construction engineers, professors, restaurateurs, and lawyers- just to name a few. As Stone pointed out, there are women in every industry in existence and they comprise over 50 percent of the population, yet they continue to be underrepresented in the upper levels of corporations. “The idea behind our organization is very basic: women should promote opportunities for other women at upper levels if and when they can,” Stone said. “We have been surveying our members for eight years and though little advancements have been made, there has been nothing in the way of major progress. There are still many companies in Massachusetts who have no women on their corporate boards.”
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Ask-A-Recruiter: Should You Ever Work For Free?
Ask A Career CoachIf I am really interested in working for a company, is it a good tactic to offer to do a project or a trial basis for free?
I have been seeing more press coverage about “adult internships” lately. These refer to experienced professionals who take on a short-term project for little or no pay. Sometimes, these adult internships are for career changers to break into a new target sector, but sometimes experienced, unemployed professionals use internships to get a foot in the door at a new company in their same sector.
I’ve read about adult internships but I haven’t seen widespread practice of them, so I suspect (but don’t have data to prove) that they are not as prevalent as the press coverage warrants. So I don’t recommend targeting these adult internships or offering free work to employers, whether projects or days on the job. However, savvy, proactive jobseekers absolutely work for free, just not for specific employers.
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Swine Flu (H1N1) and the Working Mother
NewsWhile health officials scramble to control an influx of questions, guidelines and cases related to swine flu, or the H1N1 virus, another demographic is impacted–working parents. Schools have been closing all over the country. In Boston, at least six schools closed. In New York City, 16 schools closed. Entire districts have been shut down in Texas. Even in areas where the schools have remained open, students showing any flu-like symptoms have been asked to stay home for seven days. How do working parents, and especially professional women, manage their careers and their family-life under extenuating circumstances such as these?
Katherine Chalmers, a software marketing manager, is also the mother of two toddlers. Chalmers and her attorney husband have what they describe as a “carefully choreographed schedule that goes completely to hell when one of the kids gets sick.”
When that does happen, Chalmers and her husband choose from a number of options. Sometimes, one of them chooses to work from home. But Chalmers is quick to point out that this can be difficult with little children underfoot. Chalmers’ children are 14 months and 2 years old. “Working at home is very difficult,” she says. “They are not at an age they can play by themselves.”
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Underrepresented Minorities in Tech: African-American and Latina Women at Double Disadvantage
Featured, NewsLast week, the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology released an eye-opening report. Entitled “Obstacles and Solutions for Underrepresented Minorities (URM) in Technology”, the report examines why women—and men— from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds, namely African-American/Black; Hispanic/Latino, Native American, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, are generally in few in number in computer science and engineering fields.
Dr. Caroline Simard, Ph.D., Director of Research and Executive Programs at the Anita Borg Institute spoke with The Glass Hammer about her findings.
The report states that [URM] represent 27% of the US population, hold 46 18% of Bachelor’s degrees in computer science, and 12% of engineering degrees,” but are only 6.8% of technical employees. Also, “since 1995, the representation of African-American and Hispanic/Latina women among computer science degree recipients has remained flat—Hispanic women earn less than 2% of computer science bachelor’s degrees. Despite the growth of the Hispanic population in the US, only 0.03% of all female Hispanic freshmen planned to major in computer science in 2006, the lowest of all Science and Engineering disciplines.”
Native American women are lagging as well: they represent less than 1% of computer science degrees. And, according to the report, “African-American women represent 4.8% of the graduate enrollment in computer science, yet they represent 7% of the US population.”
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Voice of Experience: Elizabeth Philipp, Head of PIMCO New York
Voices of ExperienceElizabeth Philipp, Head of PIMCO‘s New York office, has always loved numbers. “I know that sounds just so trite and generic,” she said, “but I loved math in high school. I excelled at it. I always liked the organization of numbers.”
That said, she went off to college at the University of Iowa with the intention of becoming either a pediatrician or a physical therapist. After taking a finance course in her second year at university, however, she quickly migrated back to math, and ultimately finance. “When I took my first finance course I just felt it was natural. I also felt that there was something about it that created a lot of independence. I just always felt that I could be very much in charge of my career destination if I chose finance and business. It is also very entrepreneurial.”
She added, “I didn’t know exactly what area of finance I would go into but I liked that there were many different avenues to pursue. That was the key. Whether it was running a company or doing more of the controller function or sales and trading, I thought it would be fascinating and evolutionary.”
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In Case You Missed It: News Round-up
NewsIn case you were too busy to have kept up with all the news, contributor Martin Mitchell has gathered some important market events from last week to help you start this week well informed:
Mergers and Acquisitions
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The “New” Homeless: Women on the Edge
NewsThe National Alliance to End Homelessness recently issued a report stating the current recession will cause more than 1.5 million additional Americans to experience homelessness in the next two years. Reflected in those numbers are professional women who never thought they were at risk to lose their security and independence. While the media sometimes refers to these women, and others affected by the economy, as “the new homeless,” those in social services simply say homeless is homeless regardless of the contributing circumstances.
Sue Marsh is the Executive Director of Rosie’s Place in Boston, the nation’s first homeless women’s shelter. Says Marsh, “Across the board, the first time a woman comes to Rosie’s without a place to stay is the worst day in her life. It’s a disorienting, horrific experience. That is very much in common for everyone.”
Marsh, who has worked at Rosie’s for ten years, says she is “very struck” by the similarities of the women she serves. “I am not seeing different, I am seeing more,” she says of the influx of women to the shelter. “People who are in different situations, people who owned homes, they experience the same kind of difficulties and emotions.”
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Do Female Business Travelers Have Different Needs? Survey Says: Yes
Extraordinary LivesRecently The Economist posted a piece that scoffed at the idea that female travelers had different concerns or needs than male travelers, as suggested in a related article on the Columbus Dispatch. However, the travel industry begs to differ.
Although there have always been women travelers , it is only in the last two decades when data shows that women make up a significant percentage of travelers, particularly business travelers, that hotels and airlines have taken note of this growing demographic. In 2007, The Herman Group reported that 43% of business travelers worldwide were women. Pioneers like American Airlines and Wyndham Hotels have taken not, launching women’s-only programs aimed at female travelers and offer amenities and services aimed specifically at women’s needs.
In the April 2009 article, Hotels Attempt To Attract Women Travelers Through Amenities, in the Marketing to Women newsletter, EPM Communications reports that “nearly all hotel executives say their outreach efforts are gender-neutral, yet they add that women’s preferences are important considerations since women act as the key decision-maker in 70% of travel plans.” MaryBeth Bond, an expert on women’s adventure travel and author of 11 books, reports on her website that there has been a 230% increase in women-only travel companies in the past six years. She cites estimates that women will spend $125 billion on travel in the next year. She and Kathy Ameche, a seasoned business traveler for over 20 years and author of The Woman Road Warrior, both affirm that while traveling, women’s needs are different from men’s.
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The Boston Club: Supporting Professional Development for Women Executives in Boston
Industry Leaders, Leadershipby Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)
It’s an uncomfortable fact, but many professional women’s organizations began as a result of the exclusion and in some cases, blatant sexism, experienced by women in the workplace during the 1960’s and 70’s. The Boston Club, an organization of over 600 Boston-area women devoted to promoting the personal and professional development of their peers, has a similar story to tell.
Though not one of its founding member’s, Boston Club President Kathleen Stone, understands the progress women have made over the years. Growing up in a small, suburban neighborhood, this lawyer didn’t know a single woman who worked outside the home and, even during her college years, it wasn’t uncommon for female classmates to go through the trouble of getting a degree, only to do nothing with it. There finally came a time during the 70’s and 80’s when women were joining the upper ranks of companies both large and small, only to find that they were intentionally being excluded by their male co-workers. “Essentially, The Boston Club started in 1976 because a female vice president couldn’t find anyone to have lunch with. Male executives would go out together in large groups at private lunch clubs and they wouldn’t include her. She finally met four other female executives to eat with and before you know it, a weekly luncheon turned into an organization for women working professionals who wanted to advance their female peers,” Stone said.
The Boston Club is quite rare in the way that its members come from a multitude of professional backgrounds, including business executives, entrepreneurs, political leaders, physicians, artists, construction engineers, professors, restaurateurs, and lawyers- just to name a few. As Stone pointed out, there are women in every industry in existence and they comprise over 50 percent of the population, yet they continue to be underrepresented in the upper levels of corporations. “The idea behind our organization is very basic: women should promote opportunities for other women at upper levels if and when they can,” Stone said. “We have been surveying our members for eight years and though little advancements have been made, there has been nothing in the way of major progress. There are still many companies in Massachusetts who have no women on their corporate boards.”
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Linda Cook: Another Female Executive Feels the Effect of the Gender Recession
Featured, NewsEarly last week, Linda Cook, one of just two women on the Royal Dutch Shell board of directors, announced her decision to step down from her position at the company. The reason? Cook, a 29-year veteran of the company, was nixed for consideration as Royal Dutch Shell’s new chief executive officer, a position that is currently held by Jeroen van der Veer. The top spot will instead be filled by Peter Voser, the company’s current chief financial officer.
Cook’s relinquishment means she will be giving up the $1.26 million loyalty bonus she would have received had she stayed on board until 2011. Now, no one is suggesting the making of anti-men propaganda. The company said Ms. Cook left as part of a mutual agreement and will continue to advise the company until her new successor is implemented.
Instead, the real concern is the economic recession and the steadily declining tally — better known as women in the workplace — that is following close behind. But can the two be linked? Marilyn Tam, a global corporate consultant and executive director of the Us Foundation, says while it may be subconscious, the pair show a definite relationship. “In times of crisis people often revert to what they are most familiar with,” Ms. Tam said. “In the case of corporate America that frequently would mean that people gravitate towards people who look and think like themselves. Since the predominant number of top positions are filled by men, this can place women business leaders in a vulnerable position.”
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Executive Women’s Competencies, Benchmarked.
Expert AnswersContributed by Tracey Carr of eve-olution
Over the past seven years, we have had the privilege of having over 1500 hundred women go through our leadership programmes. The women have largely worked in the professions for large Blue Chip organisations and have been in the marshmallow layer, ready to take the next step into senior executive positions. In other words they are within the top 15% of employees within their organisation and already enjoying considerable success.
A significant proportion of these women also completed eve-olution’s 360 degree performance review, developed in 2004 and based on well researched leadership theory. We have utilised the aggregate data from these reviews to come to some conclusions about competency benchmarks for women leaders. This information is being made available to you, the readers of theglasshammer.com, as we believe it may be a helpful tool to assist with drawing up a developmental plan to progress your career to a more senior executive position.
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