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News For You - October 2005We have developed this page to give our visitors the opportunity to see what's new, at a glance, in the business world and how it relates to our program. Take a moment to browse and see what's of interest to you! What Women Want: A Rebuttal to the Times
What Women Want: A Rebuttal to the Times A recent New York Times trend piece on over-achieving women headed for homemaking sparked furious debate; the authors argue for a new frame. Louise Story’s article, “Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood” (New York Times, Sept. 20), refueled debate in a world where anecdote trumps evidence, leaving the public misled and researched baffled once again. But rather than grant these stories more power, researched and the press must widen the angle, refocus the lens, re-release the facts, and guide the emphasis back to where it belongs: on the American workplace at large. Last week’s outcry suggests a growing weariness with yet another false alarm about women opting out. Response to the article was quick: Letters printed in the Times the following day flagged the extreme class and race bias implicit in Story’s piece; high-profile editors publicly interrogated journalistic standards, and women wrote letters to editors urging broader coverage of a wider range of women’s work/life concerns. In the article, authors Linda Basch, Ilene Lang, and Deborah Merrill-Sands reframe the national conversation about women’s options, choices, and needs by letting the facts speak for themselves: Fact: Few American women can afford to opt out. Gen X women are not alone in their quest for flexibility. The idea of work/life balance appeals to more and more to men. According to the Families and Work Institute, 44% of all Americans consider themselves “highly overworked.” The Next Generation: Today’s Professionals, Tomorrow’s Leaders, a Catalyst study of 1,263 men and women born between 1964 and 1975, found that 55% of men and 64% of women report coming home from work “too tired to do some of the things I wanted to do.” When looked at with men as well as women in mind, obstacles preventing “work/life balance” are no longer “women’s issues,” but issues affecting society at large, and the fabric of all our lives. Source: AlterNet, October 3, 2005 Men Do Numbers, Women Do Strategy Recruiters see a clear difference between male and female applicants. The Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive business-school survey reports there are clear differences recruiters have observed in male and female MBA’s. Men are perceived as forceful, if sometimes overly pushy leaders, as well as more adept in math. Women, recruiters agreed, tend to interact more effectively with clients and colleagues and excel in strategy and communications. However, there are many exceptions to these generalizations: Some women are math whizzes, while some men score high in emotional intelligence. Still, recruiters in the survey praised female graduates as insightful, conscientious and collegial, and they consistently described men as results-driven leaders with superior quantitative-analysis skills. One survey respondent replied that “Sadly, my general observation is that many gender stereotypes still apply.” The advice seems to be that both should develop more well-rounded skills. The corporate recruiters who hire the most MBAs aren’t surprised by the Journal survey findings. Edith Hunt, Managing Director and Global Recruiting Chief at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., believes that the results are generally good news for female graduates. “Relationship skills and the ability to work well across an organization, especially as globalization increases, will serve women well as they go forward,” she says. On the qualitative issue, she finds that women who apply to Goldman are quite focused on investment banking and have prepared well for it through their academic and work experiences. “By the time we see women in our applicant pool, they have decided they definitely want to do some aspect of investment banking,” she says, “and they’re strong or stronger than the men.” In addition to differences in personal skills and attributes, recruiters in the survey also observed that priorities and interests tend to vary by gender, with men much more concerned about the pace of their career development and women more interested in the corporate culture and personal fulfillment. Marissa Raflo, a survey respondent and business analyst at the agricultural products company Cargill Inc., sees two primary areas that women MBAs prioritize higher than men: lifestyle and culture fit. Indeed, in a GMAC study of 2005 MBA graduates, women were more likely to cite “achieving something you personally value,” a company’s “high ethical standards,” and a “positive organizational climate” as important in their career choices, while men gave more weight to salaries and opportunity for advancement. Source: The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2005 The Ugly Truth is Horridness Among Women is Here to Stay Columnist Lucy Kellaway asks the question, are women’s high levels of emotional intelligence more of a liability than an advantage at work? According to Nan Mooney, author of I Can’t Believe She Did That! Why Women Betray Other Women at Work, women are torn between the desire to bond with and support each other, and the desire to compete – and the two “clash horribly.” Mooney argues that women’s instant intimacy with each other can also be a source of conflict, as intimacy thrives when the two people are equal. But, when one gets promoted or favored over the other, the relationship could get unpleasant. On a positive note, women are less hierarchical, more nurturing, and extremely efficient and hard working, making them good leaders for the companies of the future. After all, when you step away from the stereotypes for a minute, there are always going to be people at work you can relate to and those you can not, regardless of gender. Source: Financial Times, September 19, 2005 Fewer Female Lawyers in Philadelphia? Andrew A. Chirls, a WolfBlock partner, acknowledged that women remain underrepresented in the ranks of Philadelphia lawyers and that firms need to do more to retain them. Overall, the survey conducted by the Philadelphia Bar Association found the typical Philadelphia lawyer to be a 49-year-old white male whose wife works full time. The media income for the surveyed members was $109,000, up from $93,000 in 2000 (340 of the association’s 13,000 members participated in the survey). Nonetheless, the survey found that while women are a minority of all Philadelphia lawyers, they are a clear majority among those under age 35. This indicates to some that women are leaving the profession, probably to care for children. These breaks in a career bring critics to contend that women may “lose ground to their male counterparts in the pursuit of lucrative and powerful partnerships that would keep them in the profession longer.” However, that pursuit often includes a 60-hour work week, which is not always compatible with human life, argues Marina Angel, Temple University law professor. A published study by Angel found in the Pennsylvania’s largest firms, women represented a large majority of part-time lawyers (79%) and a small majority of partner positions (less than 18%). Angel stated, “The profession has to carefully look at itself and what it’s doing for its clients and its workforce,” as real change will require a fundamental rethinking of the way law firms do business. She recommends one solution, “Stop using billable hours as the measure for good lawyering.” Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 20, 2005 Organized executives don’t measure success by the hours spent working. Success today is the time you spend doing what you want. Bill Dugan, publisher of the newsletter The Organized Executive, doles out advice to senior-level professionals at some of the world’s top companies on how to accomplish more in less time. The readers are executives whose successful careers are matched only by their satisfying personal lives. It is clear that professionals today face a merciless toll of demands on their time. The Organized Executive includes tips such as:
Source: Executive Focus, September 2005
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