By now you’ve probably heard about Melissa Nelson, who was fired from her job as a dental assistant because her boss, James Knight, worried he would have an affair with her. Not because she was interested in having an affair with him but because she was attractive. But that’s not even the worst of it. […]
The Future of Sustainable Business Is Flexible
New research from Catalyst confirms yet again the importance of flexible work arrangements (FWA), and not just for women with children, a common misconception. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the only companies able to consistently attract and retain top talent, regardless of gender, are those offering some form of FWA. Further, the research shows that […]
Boomer Women Mean Business
The more things change, the more they stay the same. For more than thirty years, women have been starting businesses at about double the rate of men. For many, this was the result of hitting the glass ceiling or discovering that they didn’t want the long hours and imbalanced lives, poisoned corporate culture, and work […]
How Loud Are Your Actions?
We live in a media-savvy world, which means that it takes more than even the boldest PR moves to demonstrate that we mean business—on gender equality, environmental sustainability, political will, charitable contributions, and so on. A company that speaks out on increasing U.S. employment while outsourcing jobs to India will be scoffed at. A million-dollar […]
Leaders as Storytellers
McKinsey & Company research has probed gender diversity in business worldwide and developed many excellent data points to support the benefits of more women in leadership as well as what it takes to develop more diversity in our organizations. I highly recommend that you read the full report here. One major takeaway I found interesting […]
Taking the Long View
Many companies hire young people to increase short-term profits. Generally, younger people will have less experience and therefore work for less money, and insurance is usually less costly for a younger employee. These businesses may also believe they are taking the long view, hiring people they won’t lose anytime soon to retirement or health problems, […]
Second Verse, Same as the First
Kathryn Welds recently wrote an enlightening analysis of Robin Ely’s survey of Harvard Business School women graduates. One would think that women’s situation in the workforce would have changed since they were first admitted to Harvard’s B-School in 1963. Unfortunately, not so much. We’re still seeing the same refrain, over and over again. Women are […]
Intergenerational Businesses
The media, academia, and research firms are dipping into futuring by discussing the question, “What will companies do when Baby Boomers step down?” The latest attempt to answer this is found in a report by researchers at Cass University in London, “After the Baby Boomers: The Next Generation of Leadership.” Their findings are interesting, particularly […]
Is the Glass Ceiling Half Empty or Half Full?
When we look at women’s power in the workforce, whether running their own businesses or working as executives or on boards in the corporate world and academia, we can view the situation as negative or positive depending on our focus. Obviously, women are still underpaid and vastly underrepresented in positions of power, although this is […]
Who Speaks for You?
I’ve been silent on much this week, like many others, at first from shock, then in grief, followed by time to process yet another unnecessary horror. Then the voices of Congress broke this silence in an unimaginable way, by voting against universal background checks for gun purchases. These voices didn’t speak for me. These voices […]
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