December 31, 2006

Note to Queen Bees - It's time to buzz off
Posted by Diane Danielson at 12:51 PM

A new study out of London finds that Queen Bees may do as much or more to limit women's careers than the old boy's club.

FORGET “jobs for the boys”. Women bosses are significantly more likely than men to discriminate against female employees, research has suggested.

The study found that when presented with applications for promotion, women were more likely than men to assess the female candidate as less qualified than the male one.

They were also prone to mark down women’s prospects for promotion and to assess them as more controlling than men in their management style.

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“Female and older participants showed more prejudice against the (idea of a) female leader than did male and younger participants,” said Rocio Garcia-Retamero, a psychologist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin and lead author of the report

To any Queen Bees who may be reading this.  It's time you realized that we're all in this together, and maybe you should get to know the phrase - Primum non nocere, or "First, do no harm."

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December 28, 2006

Bag Lady fears may not be unfounded
Posted by Diane Danielson at 11:20 PM

While I'm not big on resolutions, maxing out your 401K or an IRA is one resolution that shouldn't be a resolution, but a non-negotiable like paying taxes.   A recent article from the Chicago Times Old Story: Women May Have it Worse" reminds us how much "taking time off" from the workplace or working part-time can hurt us in the long run.

To a degree, the retirement security of women is jeopardized by the same trends affecting men, such as cutbacks in corporate pensions. But experts say the threat to women is amplified by a confluence of factors, including:

•  Higher overall rates of divorce and singlehood. Record numbers of women are heading toward later life without the backup of a partner's savings and income. Unmarried, older women have higher poverty rates than their male counterparts and much higher poverty rates than married women, government data show.

•  Interrupted working years. Although baby boom women generally have more education and work skills than their mothers, many quit jobs or work part time to care for children or ailing relatives. Such efforts may be cherished by family members, but they slash retirement benefits.

•  Long lives. At age 65, women are expected to live an average of three years longer than men. This greater longevity magnifies several risks to retirement security, including raising the danger that a woman will outlast her savings or incur costly medical bills without help from a spouse.

In addition to these factors, women overall still earn less than men and have less in the way of retirement benefits for old age.

The article also discusses a bill that has been proposed to allow 401K contributions by part-time workers, called the Women's Retirement Security Act.  The bill was proposed by bi-partisan group including Mass. Senator John Kerry back in September.  *Note that the bill is just not to help women, but small business owners as a group, too. 

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December 25, 2006

When the C-Suite is not so Sweet
Posted by Diane Danielson at 11:41 AM

It's the end of another year, and  plus ca meme, plus c'est la meme chose when it comes to women on the Fortune 500 list.  In case you missed it, the NY Times did a great article about women in power.  While the original article is now archived, you can catch bits of it at 1-News.org.  Some of the more intriguing tidbits include:

For decades, thе pat eхplanation wаs thаt women simply had not bеen in thе work force long enough; with patience, thе pipeline would fill.

A look at thе pipeline suggests othеrwise. While tоp business schools are churning out an increаsing numbеr оf female M.B.A.’s, only about 16 percent оf corporate оfficers at Fortune 500 companies are women, according tо Catalyst, an organization thаt studies women in thе workplace. thе numbеrs are even sparer at thе tоp оf thе pyramid: women fill only nine, or less than 2 percent, оf thе chief eхecutive jobs at Fortune 500 companies.

“thеre have bеen women in thе pipeline for 20 tо 25 years; progress hаs bеen slower than anybody thought it ever would bе,” laments Julie H. Daum, thе North American board practice leader for Spencer Stuart, thе eхecutive search firm.

***

Finding a work-life balance wаs also eаsier for hеr bеcause shе could afford good child care, Ms. Bartz notes. (Hеr husband is a retired Sun eхecutive.) “thе problem with balance is thаt it only works if you can buy some balance,” shе observes.

The article nicely spreads the "responsibility" for this dearth of female leaders around, listing factors including:

1. Women leaving the workplace (some by choice, some not by choice).
2. Lack of networking and mentoring opportunities.
3. Women being channeled into dead-end staff jobs like HR and Communications rather than operating responsibilities.
4. The layer of men in the boardrooms making decisions about who gets to join them.
5. Little consensus between women at the top as to whether to ignore or champion the issue.

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December 20, 2006

Video resumes: to be or not to be?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:02 AM

NPR's Morning Edition ran a great segment today on the movement to push video resumes to the forefront of the recruiting world:

Morning Edition, December 20, 2006 · Some job candidates hoping to stand out from the competition are posting video resumes online to boost their chances of being spotted -- and hired. Several companies are even trying to develop businesses around this budding phenomenon.

Check out the audio segment, read the transcript, and see some sample video resumes by going here. You may be surprised by the level of sophistication of some of these pieces.

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December 18, 2006

Choosing a major not so minor
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:36 AM

From Boston.com comes this story about the difficulty some college students are having choosing a major:

Colleges around the country are devoting more time, money and staff power to students who can't decide on a major, concerned that many of them will leave school without graduating or will prolong their college careers and take up precious spots for prospective students. Indecision can be costly for students, as well, in times of rising tuition.

College officials say many students were so focused on extracurricular activities in high school that they spent little time considering career choices.

Now I understand what they are saying, but I'm just not sure high school is the best time to be focused on career choices, though some exposure and thinking about it are both good and natural.

But since when did extracurriculars count against you? Those are the very non-academic, outside-the-classroom activites that help you learn more about yourself, your likes and dislikes, your leadership skills, your ability to work with others, and a host of others things. Plus they are a fun and necessary diversion from the studying grind and pressure on today's kids.

So now extracurriculars are taking up too much time? Time that should be spent exploring career options? Please. Let's keep things in perspective. With one child mid-way through college and another in high school - and working where I do - I am the first to preach the value of career exploration and awareness.

But let's also let them be kids and be happy and engaged in activities they are naturally drawn to, whether sports, the school newspaper, the rocket club, debate team, cheerleading squad - whatever. That's an important part of the developmental process.

Later these experiences will form a vital part of their understanding about themselves and what they might wish to pursue professionally, along with any early work experiences they may have had, parental advice, Uncle Bob's arm-around-the-shoulder exhortations about plastics or biotech, etc. etc.

But let's not rush it. Contrary to some other educational systems, such as those in western Europe, the US prolongs specialization in favor of exploration and a general grounding across all fields. And I agree. Too much focus too soon is, in my view, not a good thing.

Choosing a major? Yes, very important. And most students will need assistance sorting out the options. But these same students will be better equipped to make the choice with fuller self-knowledge gained from a variety of pursuits in their early years, not simply a focus on classroom studies.

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December 11, 2006

Want to be a powder monkey?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:59 PM

Yes, Powder Monkey is a legitmate job title, but what in the heck does a powder monkey do?:

The title of Powder Monkey sounds fun, but it’s a dangerous job. Powder monkeys store explosives (ammonium nitrate, dynamite, blasting powder, fireworks) and enforce safety regulations. If you’re a fan of safety, there are plenty of safety-related jobs out there.

If you are so inclined, you can also be a Smutter, a Hogshead Stripper, a Comb Capper and more. Check out the other "Weird American job titles" in this piece from AOL Jobs.

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December 8, 2006

US job gains in November, says DOL
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 3:51 PM

Good news on the job front:

WASHINGTON -- Gearing up for the holidays, employers boosted hiring in November, and hundreds of thousands of jobseekers streamed into the market, nudging the unemployment rate up to 4.5 percent.
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Sharing in the gains were retailers, bars and restaurants, hotels and motels, health-care providers, financial firms, computer-design outfits and architectural and engineering companies. Their increases eclipsed job losses, mostly in construction and manufacturing.

Read the full piece from today on Boston.com.

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December 4, 2006

Wake-up call on the "R" word
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:03 PM

The "R" word - Retirement - may look a long way off to many people, a hazy region out there on the distant horizon, not to be worried about now or even in the near future. It'll take care of itself when the time comes. We'll get there when we get there.

Or will we? The shocking truth for many, especially the graying population bulge known as the Baby Boomers, is that they are much closer to retirement than they may think. And for many, the sad news is that they may not be adequately prepared to survive without an active income:

Recent changes to federal retirement policies have been based on the premise that private savings plans like 401(k)s will make up for stingier pensions and Social Security shortfalls in the future. Yet survey after survey shows that Americans aren't saving enough on their own.

Now Web-based retirement calculators and similar features from companies like Fidelity Investments and John Hancock Funds are underscoring the importance of putting more aside. The calculators show individuals how much they will need to save for the retirement they expect, often setting a daunting target of $1 million or more.

To paraphrase the tagline from a string of recent credit card commercials, what's in your retirement account? Read on from today's Globe.

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America's oldest worker puts things in perspective
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 3:42 PM

If you need a dose of inspiration and perspective on your working life right about now, look no further than this story about Waldo McBurney, winner of the "America's Oldest Worker for 2006" award from Experience Works:

QUINTER , Kan. -- At 104, Waldo McBurney has never known a life without work.

His first paying job was guiding a lead team of horses pulling a wheat thrasher. He was 13 and was paid 50 cents a day.

After graduating from college in 1927, he worked a quarter century at various jobs: as a vocational-agricultural teacher, county extension agent, and at the local co-op. He started a business cleaning seeds for planting in the 1950s and ran it until he was 91. He took a decades-long hobby of beekeeping and went into the honey business, which he still has.

"I'm not a strong believer in retirement," he said. "I don't think retirement is in the Bible."

McBurney has many refreshing thoughts on contemporary life, with its plethora of digital gadgets, constant interruptions, and surplus of time to think:

McBurney grew up on a farm at a time when neighbors helped neighbors without asking, when life was more about work than worry.

"I expect people worry now more than then. Worry is a killer," he said. "Back then, you did your chores, lit the kerosene lamp, and read."

Read the entire piece from the Boston Sunday Globe.

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