by Zoe Cruz (New York City)
Despite earning fewer cents on each dollar men earn, we women pay more for many of our daily products and services, from haircuts to dry cleaning to socks. But, according to an article recently published in the New York Times, women are also paying another penalty – a significantly higher premium for the same insurance coverage than men.
In the individual insurance market, a woman who is of the same age and has the same occupation is, in some cases, being charged almost 50% more than her male counterpart who is of the same age and occupation. Why is this? Insurers claim that the higher premiums are necessary because women during childbearing years tend to avail themselves more of healthcare benefits. The insurance companies point to an increased cost to insure women not only for childbearing costs but also because women are more likely than men to get checkups, see doctors when they are sick, and actually take the medicine they are prescribed.
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Being Female is a Pre-Existing Condition: The Health Insurance Disparity
NewsDespite earning fewer cents on each dollar men earn, we women pay more for many of our daily products and services, from haircuts to dry cleaning to socks. But, according to an article recently published in the New York Times, women are also paying another penalty – a significantly higher premium for the same insurance coverage than men.
In the individual insurance market, a woman who is of the same age and has the same occupation is, in some cases, being charged almost 50% more than her male counterpart who is of the same age and occupation. Why is this? Insurers claim that the higher premiums are necessary because women during childbearing years tend to avail themselves more of healthcare benefits. The insurance companies point to an increased cost to insure women not only for childbearing costs but also because women are more likely than men to get checkups, see doctors when they are sick, and actually take the medicine they are prescribed.
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How to Survive the Offsite Meeting
Office PoliticsWhen news of AIG’s $440,000 executive retreat hit the press just days after the federal bailout, the corporate boondoggle became an endangered species. But corporations will still continue to schedule “working” offsite meetings for their top managers.
The offsite retreat is usually a mix of work and team building sessions. Companies plan these events to strengthen teams, build mission statements or hold strategic planning sessions.
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Carbon Footprints at the Corporate Level
Corporate SustainabilityExclusive of industry leadership, what do PepsiCo, Baxter Healthcare, SC Johnson & Sons and the Philadelphia Phillies have in common?
All of these companies have made a commitment to using renewable energy and carbon offsets to reduce at least part of their corporate carbon footprint, and all are partners in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders.
As previously reported by The Glass Hammer there is a growing—and essential—attention to the environmental impact of business activities within the corporate community. An increasing number of corporations are trading and purchasing carbon credits as a way to offset the greenhouse gasses produced by their routine operations.
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Closing the Gender Gap: Challenges, Opportunities and the Future
Newsby Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)
By 2050, companies that have embraced a gender-blind workplace will be at the leading edge of innovation and profitability, according to a newly-released film by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Gender Advisory Council entitled “Closing the Gender Gap: Challenges, Opportunities and the Future“.
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The Continental Divide
Office PoliticsAsk-A-Recruiter: Interview Performance Technique/ Substitution
Ask A RecruiterWith the tight market every interview seems to have higher stakes. I practice and then I invariably forget one of my key points during the interview. Or I get a question and can’t think of what I had prepared. How do I relax in these interviews?
Several years ago, I auditioned for a commercial. (For an actor, the audition is the job interview.) Although I’d never used the product, I needed to convey that the product was great. How did I do it? Whenever I needed to say the product name, I substituted my baby’s name in my mind, so I cracked a smile, my body relaxed, and I got a twinkle in my eye at just the right moment. Behold the power of substitution.
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Women Lawyers Still Struggling to the Top
Breaking the Glass CeilingAlthough nearly half of all law school graduates in the United States are women, women only make up 15% of the partners at law firms nationwide. To rectify this imbalance, bar associations and professional groups across the country have, in recent years, been implementing initiatives to challenge law firms to reorganize employment goals to allow for the advancement of women. Read more
Men and Women In Teams: A Report by Lehman Brothers Center for Women in Business
Work-LifeBalanced gender representation on teams means a proportionate increase in innovation, and a company’s commitment to work/life balance is the key to ensuring such balanced gender representation. So says a report entitled Innovative Potential: Men and Women in Teams by the Lehman Brothers Center for Women in Business. The report was based on the research of Professor Lynda Gratton, Dr Elisabeth Kelan, Andreas Voigt, Lamia Walker and Dr Hans-Joachim Wolfram.
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Movers and Shakers: Food and Drug Stores
Movers and ShakersAccording to Progressive Grocer, the grocery industry – retail, wholesale and manufacturers – has traditionally had few, if any, females in the C-suites. The article, focusing on the Top Women in Grocery, published earlier this year, celebrated the progress women have made in recent years, “introducing a much-needed female perspective into the upper echelons of food industry management by taking the reins themselves.” To check out their complete list of top women from large and small grocery stores, industry alliances and manufacturers, please go here.
Here is another list–an express line, 10 items only, please—of the movers and shakers in the Fortune 1000 companies in this sector:
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In Case You Missed It: Weekend Round-up
NewsIn case you were too busy enjoying your weekend to have kept up with the news, contributor Martin Mitchell has again been kind enough to gather some important market events from this past weekend (and week) so that you can start this week well informed:
Sunday, November 9th
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