Executive Women's Networking Blog

The Changing Numbers of Women on Wall Street, in the Workforce, and in Boardrooms

Frances Green — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:16:45 -0500

The New York Times recently published a few intriguing articles about women that I wanted to share with you.

Women are working in the financial industry in fewer numbers these days, despite more than 20 years of increased hiring and promoting, according to the article “Where Are the Women on Wall Street?” What is responsible for this decline? As The Times notes, fewer female graduates are seeking careers in the financial industry and women are abandoning the industry faster than men. And when women are laid off from a financial job, it’s harder for them to return to the industry because they face an environment that’s more hostile to women than men. While this is disappointing news, The Times adds, on a positive note, that women continue to maintain "a strong presence in some areas in finance, including wealth management."

Although there are fewer women on Wall Street, they have gained ground against men in the workforce overall. As the article “Women Now a Majority in American Workplaces” reports, women now outnumber men on the nation’s payrolls. Becoming the majority of the workforce is a milestone for women. But it’s hard to ignore that this exciting achievement is due to the recession hitting men harder than women. The Times points out that men tend to work in economically vulnerable industries – manufacturing and construction – while women tend to work in more stable industries – government, health, and education.

Finally, the article “Getting Women Into Boardrooms, By Law” reports that Norway, Spain and the Netherlands have passed laws that will place quotas on corporations that mandate the number of women they must have in top-level positions, with a 2015 deadline for compliance. The Times notes that other European countries are considering similar legislation.

The issue of imposing quotas is controversial. On the one hand, as a general proposition, some consider the imposition of quotas to ensure diversity is viewed as laudable and to others it is viewed as undermining what women have accomplished in terms of gender (particularly, women’s) equality over the past three decades. Some observers cite quotas as tantamount to so-called "reverse discrimination." On the other hand, quotas can remediate “systemic discrimination.” In the US, quotas, as a general matter, must be judicially sanctioned, whereas "goals or targets" are invariably linked to a good faith effort that stops short of discriminating against others. Thus, while quotas are implemented under limited and particular circumstances, corporations do set targets and goals to to ensure diversity in their workplaces.

Which of the three articles above interests you the most and why?

A Benefit for the People of Haiti

Frances Green — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:01:55 -0500

If your schedule permits, please join us on March 12, 2010, for an event in Manhattan to raise funds to help the people of Haiti. Daniel Boulud and other chefs will graciously donate delicious treats for all guests to enjoy. The benefit also will feature music, art, and a silent auction. Click here for more information.

Money raised at the event will be given to World Hope International, a faith-based relief and development organization that is deeply committed to the long-term, sustained rebuilding of Haiti after last month's tragic earthquake.

Please save the date. I hope that you can make it!

New Statistics: Part-Time Lawyers Are Small in Number and Mostly Women

Frances Green — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:28:33 -0500

I just read a new press release by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) that I would like to share with you. Entitled “Most Lawyers Working Part-time Are Women – Overall Number of Lawyers Working Part-time Remains Small,” the release highlighted statistics featured in the 2009-2010 edition of the NALP Directory of Legal Employers. NALP discovered that 5.9 percent of lawyers worked part-time in 2009, up from 5.6 percent in 2008. This information was based on data from 1,475 individual law offices and firms and more than 140,000 lawyers. (By the way, the percentage of part-time lawyers is far below the percentage of part-time employed individuals in the U.S. workforce as a whole, which was estimated to be nearly 14 percent in 2008.)

As noted by a related article in The National Law Journal (NLJ) entitled "Number of Part-Time Attorneys Sees Slight Boost," the increase from 5.6 percent to 5.9 percent of lawyers working part-time “reflects the fact that some lawyers -- usually women -- have no choice but to go on a part-time schedule or quit their jobs because of family obligations.” The percentage increase probably would have been bigger if the economy had been stronger.

Of particular importance, the NALP statistics indicate that women work on a part-time basis more than men. For example, 13 percent of women lawyers work part-time, compared to 2.4 percent of male lawyers. Approximately, 73 percent of all part-time lawyers were women -- and women accounted for nearly 90 percent of part-time associates and 66.1 percent of part-time partners. The number of part-time women lawyers varied geographically. For example, approximately 16 percent of women partners worked part-time in Chicago and Washington, DC, while less than 8 percent of women partners worked part-time in New York City.

The NLJ article notes that some flex-time advocates believe that part-time schedules for lawyers should be encouraged in a weak economy. “Lawyers can get the schedule flexibility they want while firms can reduce their salary costs at a time when workloads tend to be lighter.” Plus, part-time work may reduce the need for layoffs.

Two Surveys Look at the Number of Women Partners at Law Firms

Frances Green — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:39:46 -0500

As 2009 draws to a close, I’ve noticed a proliferation of annual surveys. Two, in particular – one by The National Law Journal (NLJ) and the other by Law360 – captured my attention because they’re focused on the number of women partners at law firms. The survey results were a mixed bag. While the number of women partners rose slightly in 2009, only 18.47 percent of all partners are women, according to the NLJ. In the article "Women Still Number Too Few in Partner Ranks," Law360 expressed concern that while women make up approximately half of law school graduating classes, many women are “leaking out” of the pipeline, whether due to family reasons or unfair stereotypes. However, Law360 also pointed out that some corporate clients are applying pressure on law firms to become more diverse, which will benefit women attorneys.

I am proud to be a member (partner) of a law firm that has a long history of hiring, retaining and promoting to firm governance talented women attorneys, when other firms might have turned them away primarily because of their gender. I am not at all surprised that my firm, EpsteinBeckerGreen, ranked among the Top 20 law firms for the high representation of women among its partners in the NLJ and Law360 surveys or that, earlier this year, The American Lawyer conducted its first "Women in Law Firms" study and ranked my firm 8th in the nation among all of the 200 largest firms for its percentage of women attorneys and among the top 10 firms with the highest percentage of women partners.

While I am pleased and honored with these rankings, I am confident that my firm will continue to attract and promote qualified women. This difficult economic environment provides opportunities, as well as challenges. There are qualified women attorneys with varied experience and skill sets that have been outsized from firms and/or corporate legal positions and this is a great time to identify great talent!!

How does your firm rank in the NLJ and Law360 surveys? Is your firm taking any special steps to beef up its number of women partners and include them in decisionmaking roles within firm governance?

Sponsoring Events that Enlighten and Empower Women

Frances Green — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:02:27 -0500

During my career, I have encountered many worthwhile non-profit organizations that promote the interests of women. It’s vital that for-profit firms and companies become involved with women’s organizations—especially as event sponsors. Sponsorships not only provide the women's organization with critical financial assistance, but also help in marketing the event.

I am very pleased that my firm, EpsteinBeckerGreen, has been involved with numerous women's organizations, such as the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) and Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC). NAWL is the leading national voluntary organization devoted to the interests of women lawyers and women's rights. The CCWC promotes the career advancement and success of women attorneys of color, as well as global diversity in the legal profession and workplace.

EpsteinBeckerGreen has been proud to sponsor programs that enlighten, empower, and encourage women, as well as give back to the community. For example, during the Autumn of 2009, my firm:

Sponsored the CCWC's "5th Annual Career Strategies Conference" in Las Vegas, NV (Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2009).
Sponsored and co-hosted NAWL's National Night of Giving in Atlanta, GA (Oct. 21, 2009). This charitable networking event benefited Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta, an organization that empowers girls to make good decisions and create healthy lifestyles. At this event, approximately 500 items were donated to Girls, Inc. -- ranging from sporting equipment to school supplies.
Is sponsoring the "Fifth Annual General Corporate Institute" in New York, NY (Nov. 5 - 6, 2009). This NAWL event will provide attendees with a unique opportunity to network with a dynamic group of women in-house counsel from across the country. I, along with my EBG colleagues Lynn Shapiro Snyder and Amy Traub, will speak on topic "Focus on the Fundamentals: Labor and Employment law for the Non-Labor and Employment Lawyer." For more information about this event, click here.

Has your firm or company been involved with sponsoring events that promote the interests of women? If no, please encourage it to consider event sponsorships.

Are there any women's organizations that you would recommend to firms and companies for sponsorship opportunities?

Using A Returnship Program to Relaunch Your Career

Frances Green — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:35:03 -0500

I just found an interesting article on theglasshammer.com called "Goldman Sachs Returnship (SM) Program Helps Top Women On-Ramp Into Finance." In it, we learn about Goldman Sachs' "returnship" program, which lasts eight weeks and begins on October 19, 2009. The program will offer training and guidance to help highly skilled women return to the financial workforce after having taken voluntary breaks that may have lasted anywhere from a few years to a couple of decades. While participants are not guaranteed jobs at Goldman Sachs at the end of the program, Goldman Sachs has hired more than half of the participants from last year's returnship program.

What are "returnships"? They are similar to internships, except that returnships are targeted toward experienced workers who want to return to the workforce full time. The returnship program may or may not pay the participants, and it may last weeks or months.

Goldman Sachs isn't the only entity that offers returnship programs. There are many others. For example, the Columbia Business School and Bank of America jointly offer a program called "Greater Returns: Accelerating Your Career," which provides networking and training opportunities for executive women who would like to return to the corporate world. "The Greater Returns" program will be held in October 2009.

An excellent tool for locating returnship programs is the iRelaunch Comprehensive List of Career Re-entry Programs Worldwide, which was last updated in July 2009. The list covers programs in companies, universities, foundations, and other organizations. I highly recommend that you review this list, if you are transitioning back to a career after an extended break.

Have you (or anyone you know) participated in a returnship program? If so, please share with us your experiences with the program.

Discussing What Women Lawyers Want

Frances Green — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:20:56 -0500

Recently, the Ark Group’s WOMENLEGAL 2009 forum brought together gender-diversity thought-leaders in New York for an important conference on women in the legal profession. The forum focused on the key career issues facing women lawyers today, and practical solutions for both women lawyers and law firms regarding retaining and advancing women in the legal profession.

Carol Frohlinger’s excellent article, “What Women Want,” thoroughly covers the forum in the June-August issue of WOMENLEGAL Magazine.

Among the many specific topics discussed at the forum were: leadership; management structure and practices; measurement and tracking of progress toward career goals; communication and training; and reward and recognition. Rain-making generally was among the subjects emphasized by speakers as “career critical.”

My colleague, Maxine Hicks, the Managing Shareholder of EpsteinBeckerGreen’s Atlanta office, stressed the importance for women to understand that business development is the currency of law firms. “Billable hours determine your current income but how you use non-billable hours determines your future income,” she said, as part of a panel titled “Current and future outlook on impediments to women’s success: effecting change and taking action.”

Please read more about this invaluable forum in Carol’s article. Which pieces of advice offered by the panelists do you find to be particularly helpful?

Helping Female Leaders Succeed

Frances Green — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:47:43 -0500

I recently read an enlightening study by Development Dimensions International (DDI) -- “Holding Women Back: Troubling Discoveries and Best Practices for Helping Female Leaders Succeed” -- which reveals that, worldwide, women are simply not getting the same career opportunities as men. The study is based on responses from 12,800 leaders in 76 countries and approximately 1,500 organizations. However, the study also offers advice on how to overcome such challenges.

We learn that, in addition to earning lower salaries than men, women are often overlooked when employers single out “high potentials” -- employees who have strong leadership potential. High-potential employees are placed in accelerated development programs to foster their leadership skills. The DDI study reveals that the gap between men and women in high-potential programs widens as management levels increase: “there were 28 percent more men than women in high-potential programs at the first level of management and 50 percent more men than women in such programs at the executive level.” As a result, fewer women than men reach senior leadership positions.

The study provides seven tips for organizations and five tips for women to help female leaders succeed. For instance, the study recommends that organizations implement a formal succession plan to ensure that objective standards are followed when choosing replacements for key leadership roles. When an organization in the U.S. health care industry, for example, had a formal succession plan in place, “nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of the executives were women.” However, without a succession plan, only “one-third (36 percent)" of the executives were women.

The study also urges organizations to, among other things, set up objective standards to evaluate job performance; monitor salary programs to eliminate any pay disparities; give women access to leadership training and development experiences; and provide mentors who can encourage women "to be more proactive about seeking new positions" and less critical of their qualifications. (Interestingly, the study noted that, at Hewlett-Packard, women applied for job openings only when they thought they would meet 100% of the job's listed criteria, while men applied if they felt they met just 60% of that criteria.)

I encourage you to read “Holding Women Back: Troubling Discoveries and Best Practices for Helping Female Leaders Succeed” and then let us know your thoughts about it. Has your firm or company provided you with leadership training and opportunities?

Female Bullies in the Workplace

Frances Green — Wed, 13 May 2009 10:21:51 -0500

I read an alarming article about female bullies in the workplace in the May 10th print edition of The New York Times. This article, “Backlash: Women Bullying Women at Work,” reports that “40 percent of bullies are women” and they choose “other women as targets more than 70 percent of the time.” Women are often targeted because they're perceived as less confrontational and "less tough than men."

The Workplace Bullying Institute claims that almost 40 percent of all (male and female) workers have experienced bullying. (Bullying involves verbal or psychological hostility for at least six months.) Unfortunately, many employers are not dealing with this problem.

It’s not surprising that the stresses and pressures caused by the recession are bringing out the worst in people. With many men dropping out of the workforce, women have become the working majority. But will the increasing female workforce result in an more and more female bullies?

As The New York Times article points out, bullying is caused by numerous factors, including “frustration, personality traits, perceptions of unfair treatment” and a variety of stresses. Some women feel that supporting their female colleagues will backfire and aggressive behavior is necessary for career advancement.

The article mentions some corrective steps, such as encouraging women to work for a common cause and coaching programs that include role-playing exercises and group discussions. Creating an environment that's nurturing and supportive may help eliminate bullying.

I highly encourage you to read “Backlash: Women Bullying Women at Work” and tell us your thoughts. Have you encountered female bullies at your company or firm? If so, how have you handled the situation?

A New Way of Networking

Frances Green — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:49:39 -0500

Because of today's unstable job climate, it's not unusual for professional women to develop a "me vs. them" attitude towards co-workers in an effort to defend their turf and opportunities.

While our troubled times may breed such negativity and competition, Sylvia Ann Hewlett has seen the opposite--professional women lending a helping hand to each other. In the Forbes.com article "Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead," Hewlett writes that some professional women are participating in a new way of networking by forming "personal boards of directors" or networking peer groups that offer advice and support to help colleagues weather the recessionary storm and find new jobs.

Hewlett's article spotlights Subha Barry, Merrill Lynch's former head of global diversity. When Subha felt that her career would be jeopardized by Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch, she "convened a personal board of directors: a diverse group of eight professional women from banking, accounting, human resources and the law." As the article notes, the board members weren't Subha's best friends, but people who knew her from prior jobs and professional associations. The board identified Subha's "strengths, values, goals, options and next steps," offered advice on which job fields to pursue, and put her in touch with others who could provide further assistance. Subha noted that her personal board gave her a feeling that she always had people to turn to.

The article also provides examples of other peer groups, including Lehman Brothers' alumnae, who recently created a network that provides women with "emotional support, practical assistance, and professional development."

I highly recommend that you read Hewlett's inspiring article, as well as the accompanying slideshow "In Pictures: Seven Tips for Great Networking," which contains more useful networking advice.

Have professional women formed networking groups at your company or have you encountered such groups outside your work? If yes, please let us know your experiences with them.

Negotiating to Advance Your Interests

Frances Green — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:31:13 -0500

I found an excellent article in the Negotiation newsletter that I wanted to share with you on the topic of "women negotiators." (See my March 13, 2009 post for information concerning the EpsteinBeckerGreen Women's Initiative networking event on this topic.) The article, What happens when women don't ask, focuses on the pitfalls that women encounter when they try to negotiate -- or fail to negotiate -- to advance their interests. The article also provides advice on how women should ask for what they need without creating a backlash. You can access a copy of the article HERE.

Negotiation is a monthly newsletter published by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, and for more information, please visit: www.pon.harvard.edu. The Program on Negotiation home page features more information about the Negotiation newsletter and offers a complimentary article to download.

Are you encountering any obstacles or pressures that dissuade you from negotiating to advance your interests?

Equality of Pay in Recessionary Times

Frances Green — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:48:14 -0500

Two interesting articles were published this month that highlight current pay disparities between men and women.

In the New York Times article entitled "Why Is Her Paycheck Smaller?" (March 1, 2009), author Hannah Fairfield asks why women still continue to earn less than men do in the same job. She then provides some answers--such as men typically have more experience and log in more hours than women. Also, women tend to work in the lower-wage service sector, while men pick higher wage jobs in management and business. The article also features an interactive chart where you can learn how much more or less women earn than men at specific jobs.

Meanwhile, The Bureau of National Affairs' Daily Labor Report (DLR) states that the share of nonfarm payroll jobs held by women actually increased during the first year of the recession (see "Economic Outlook: Women Boost Share of Jobs in First Year Of Recession, Near Historic Parity With Men," March 2, 2009). Even though women lost 617,000 jobs in 2008, men lost 2.4 million jobs during the same period and account for almost 80% of all job losses. By the end of 2008, the men's share of the U.S. workforce fell to 51.7%. If this drop continues, women may soon make up the majority of the workforce. However, even if women and men reach numerical equality in the workforce, the article notes that women are still far from achieving equality in pay.

Equal pay is a hot-button issue these days because more and more families depend solely upon women's earnings to meet their financial obligations. Obviously, these families want the "mommy breadwinner" to earn as much as men, so that there's more money to spend.

Both articles mention some of the steps that the U.S. government has taken to equalize pay among men and women. For example, the recently enacted Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 expands a worker's right to sue his/her employer for inequality of wages. Also, as Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) noted in the DLR article, President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus program "contains significant efforts to save or create jobs in education and the service sector, where women dominate."

What opportunities are presented for women in the wake of an "economic tsumami"? How can we position ourselves in the new economy to take advantage of the changing professional environment?

Tips and Strategies for Getting Ahead

Frances Green — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:21:47 -0500

Please join me at this great upcoming event:

"Why Women Don't Ask"

An Evening Networking Event sponsored by the EpsteinBeckerGreen Women's Initiative.

Featuring Guest Speaker Victoria Medvec, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Center for Executive Women, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Many successful and accomplished women find it difficult to negotiate for themselves. In an interactive program, Professor Medvec will explore the reasons why women don't ask and the consequences of not negotiating. She will offer tips and strategies for getting ahead - and for getting what you want.

Date: Thursday, April 30, 2009

Time: 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Location: Estrela Penthouse, Le Parker, Meridien, 119 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019

Registration Fee: $25.00

To register, click here.

More Women Serve on Corporate Boards

Frances Green — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:24:02 -0500

The Spencer Stuart Board Index 2008 recently caught my attention and I would like to share a few of its findings. The index examines the state of corporate boards and governance among S&P 500 companies, and looks to see how boards have changed during the past decade. Although not focused solely on women, the index outlines changes in the corporate governance landscape that could mean major opportunities for first-time women directors, and for women who want to serve on corporate boards but who are not an active CEO.

The index's statistics indicate that more and more women are serving on S&P 500 boards:

Eighteen percent of new directors are women (while that percentage is slightly lower than in recent years, it's higher in the longer term).
Almost 89% of S&P 500 boards include women (up from 85% in 2003).
Fifty-six percent of S&P 500 boards include two or more women directors, while 16% include three or more women directors (up from 41% and 11%, respectively, in 2003).
Women make up 15.7% of independent directors (that's an increase from 13.1% in 2003).
I'm pleased to see those findings and hope that the percentages continue to rise.

I recommend that you read the Spencer Stuart Board Index 2008 and tell me your thoughts. Has your company made an effort to increase the number of women directors? At my firm, two women attorneys serve on the board of directors, and we're trying to add more.

Launching a Successful, Business-Oriented Women's Initiative

Frances Green — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 10:06:49 -0500

The current issue of Women Legal Magazine features a "masterclass" article that I wrote called "Showing the Way: A how-to guide to launching a successful women's initiative." Although tailored to law firms, the information provided in the article can apply to women's initiatives at other types of firms and companies.

I note in the article that, traditionally, women haven't been given the same opportunities as men to become leaders and business generators. However, a women's initiative focused on business development can level the playing field by providing women with the training and skills needed to bring in new clients or customers and enhance the firm's reputation and revenue.

What are the factors of a successful women's initiative? In a nutshell, I believe that the initiative must start with:

Commitment (women perceiving a need for the initiative)
Feedback (finding out your women's needs and tailoring the initiative to them)
External focuses (creating activities that showcase women's talents outside the firm) and internal focuses (providing resources to enhance women's business development skills)
A business plan that includes a mission statement, an organizational structure of the initiative, and benchmarks for success
Financial and other support from the firm's leadership

Once created, the women's initiative needs to establish the following programs to achieve its business development goals:

Mentoring
Networking
Marketing/Self-Promotion

It might surprise you that men and women may fear that an initiative will provide women with unfair, special treatment. However, such fears are unfounded because when a woman becomes a better business generator, everyone at her firm will benefit.

The initiative also must toot its own horn. The article mentions that marketing and public relations departments need to spread the word about the initiative's activities and accomplishments and keep women informed of upcoming events. Such publicity also helps bolster the firm's reputation as a good place for women to work.

Finally, my article recommends regularly monitoring the results of the imitative and making adjustments to reach stated goals.

I invite all of you to read "Showing the Way: A how-to guide to launching a successful women's initiative" to learn more about the points mentioned above, and then share your thoughts. Has a women's initiative helped you in your career?

Good News, Bad News About Leadership Opportunities for Women

Frances Green — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:29:34 -0500

The Wall Street Journal recently featured an interesting article entitled "Women Leaders by the Numbers," which highlights the progress that women have made in business and politics, as well as the barriers to advancement they continue to face.

The good news is that women leaders are making a positive impact. The article points out that the next session of Congress will include more women Senators and Representatives than ever before. Also, research reveals that the public seems increasingly comfortable with the idea of a woman leader in 19 key jobs. Women-owned businesses are growing faster than other U.S. firms, and Fortune 500 companies with the most women leaders experience a financial advantage--that is, "a 35% higher return on equity and a 34% higher total return to shareholders than those with the least number of women."

The bad news is that only 20 percent of the top leadership roles are held by women. It's rare to find a woman CEO at a Fortune 500 company. Studies show that the public still perceives men to be better leaders at jobs requiring assertiveness and forcefulness. Because women are not properly represented in most traditionally male-dominated industries, that perception is unlikely to change anytime soon.

The article ends on a high note, by indicating that our struggling economy may give women more chances to lead. Because women are "good consensus leaders" and "good team leaders," they may be better suited than men to help their companies stay afloat during the maelstrom created by the recession.

I highly recommend that you read "Women Leaders by the Numbers" and tell us your thoughts. Are more women obtaining leadership roles at your company?

At my law firm, EpsteinBeckerGreen, there has been a concerted effort to create more women leaders. Our women's initiative provides training and opportunities to enhance business development and leadership skills. I'm pleased to report that two of the five core practice steering committees at my firm are now led by women.

Hillary and Sarah Help Change the Face of Corporate America

Frances Green — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:13:13 -0500

Our good friend and colleague, Lynn Shapiro Snyder, recently wrote an intriguing op-ed article for Pink magazine online entitled "Hillary, Sarah and Wall Street." In her article, she notes that two high-profile politicians -- Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin -- have changed the image of leadership in a way that can benefit women in corporate America. Lynn raises a good point by noting that if a man is ready to select a female candidate as the president or vice president of the U.S., he also should be ready to select a female candidate to help run his company, as either a board member or CEO.

Lynn authored the article in her capacity as the founder and president of the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation. This is a great foundation which helps senior executive women in the health care industry improve their businesses and grow professionally.

We highly recommend that you read Lynn's article, which is available by clicking here.

Please give us your thoughts on whether the women of the 2008 elections will make a positive difference in corporate America. Will it be reflected in increased participation in leadership positions?

Why Women's Initiatives Work

Frances Green — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:50:19 -0500

We recently read an article that disputed the value of programs or organizations devoted to the networking of women, which made our blood boil. The author of the article, “Death by Committee: Is a Women’s Initiative Meeting Worth Your Time?” American Lawyer Magazine (June 3, 2008), asked, are women's initiatives adding value to the women they serve? Are they useful to the organization? Do they espouse skill building and networking that are necessary for advancement? The author also proposed that women's initiatives "may do more harm than good."

As the founders of the EpsteinBeckerGreen Women’s Initiative, we couldn't disagree more with that proposition. After all, we’ve seen first-hand the positive impact of our programs on EpsteinBeckerGreen’s women attorneys. We wrote a Letter to the Editor of American Lawyer Magazine in defense of women’s initiatives. We noted that the author of the June 3rd article assumed that the only worthy purpose of a women's initiative is to focus on work/family and related issues. However, that simply isn't the case. Women's initiatives that focus on increasing a women’s access to potential clients through internal and external networking and strengthening leadership skills through mentoring are also extremely valuable to women.

A copy of our complete Letter to the Editor is set forth here. We want to know what you think of women's initiatives. Have they helped you in your career?

Male/Female Pay Disparities Exist, But for How Much Longer?

Frances Green — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:48:57 -0500

The results of a new survey concerning pay disparities among men and women made us cringe. Based on 25 years' of information collected by the federal government, the study reveals that men who hold a traditional view of a woman’s role in society make more money than men who are egalitarian and more modern thinkers. Although we felt that the results aren't earth-shattering, we were unhappy to see how large the pay gap is. As reported in the Washington Post, "Men with traditional attitudes about gender roles earned $11,930 more a year than men with egalitarian views and $14,404 more than women with traditional attitudes." Also, women with egalitarian attitudes about the role of women in the workplace tend to earn slightly more ($1,500) than women with traditional attitudes about the role of women.

On a brighter note, the survey indicates that more and more Americans are becoming egalitarian in their perspective of the women's role in the workplace. And researchers suggest that "disparities in income might recede as egalitarian views become more prevalent."

In our opinion, no one should be rewarded for being sexist. Also, the traditional view that women should stay in the kitchen doesn't make sense in today's crumbling U.S. economy, where many families’ survival depends on the woman earning a salary.

What were your thoughts when you read the survey? Have you encountered traditional-minded attitudes about women at your job?

Welcome!

Frances Green — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:47:37 -0500

The "winds of change” are indeed blowing in our Nation and throughout the world economy, as we look forward to an election year and, hopefully, new and good things to come here in the U.S. At least one thing is certain: Women have been propelled to the forefront of the “change” dialogue. Whichever side of the political dialogue you are on—and even if you are not on any side—it is fair to say that, with the campaign of Hillary and the advent of Sarah, women are front-page news.

The purpose of this blog is to help business and professional women, like you, share information and ideas on many topics that matter, such as balancing work and family, the dos and don'ts of networking, overcoming gender gaps and sexism in the workplace, rainmaking and client development, and improving leadership qualities and skills. We also hope that, through your feedback, we will learn from each other’s experiences, make new contacts and develop rewarding professional relationships both online and off—that is, in real life. We couldn't think of a more exciting time to start our conversation with you all (more than 36 million women participate in the blogosphere each week! (Blogging’s Glass Ceiling, www.nytimes.com, July 27, 2008)).

Our mission to help women develop professionally isn't new. Six years ago, we established the EpsteinBeckerGreen Women's Initiative, which provides informal opportunities for the women at our Firm to network with other women executives, along with the chance to learn or improve a skill. Our Women's Initiative has held many successful networking programs, including golf clinics, cooking classes, media skills workshops, wine tastings and self defense classes around the country, and there are two new programs scheduled next month.

We hope that you enjoy our blog and feel inspired by it. We look forward to getting to know you as you learn more about us.