The New Challenge for Women: Reshaping the Company

I entered the full-time workforce 30 years ago this spring – dubbed, I’m told, “the experiment.” Many of my new colleagues weren’t at all sure that a young woman was an appropriate addition to the then very senior, very male world of management consulting.

I was by no means alone as I entered the professional workforce in the 1970s – women were joining in significant numbers. Nor has my progress over the years been solely or perhaps even largely my own – many individuals, including many senior men, helped pave the way.Today, when we reflect on women’s role in business, there is a lot to feel good about:

Women's wages have risen in all states over the past 20 years.

Salaries of college-educated, full-time female employees in their 20s have surpassed the same-aged males in major cities like Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis, Dallas and New York. In New York City, these women earned 17 percent more than their male counterparts; in Dallas, this gap jumped to 20 percent.

In technology, female CIOs, chief technology officers, vice presidents and directors earned 1.4 percent more than male IT executives.

Female entrepreneurship has been growing at twice the national average since 1997. One in every 11 adult women in the U.S. owns a business.

58% of all U.S. college graduates are women, and the imbalance is growing. Almost half of all graduate degrees are earned by women and lines will soon cross. Expectations are that the education gap will widen.

Over half (50.6%) of all managerial, professional and related positions are held by women. This is a higher percent than women represent in the workforce overall (46%).

15% of all Fortune 500 corporate officer positions are held by women (2007) as are 15% of all Fortune 500 corporate board seats.

How do you feel about this? Pleased with the progress? Frustrated?

There are valid arguments for frustration:

The average full-time woman worker does not make as much as the average man in any state. At the present rate of progress, it will take 50 years to close the wage gap nationwide.

Thirty-seven percent of professional women are leaving the workforce – fewer than half are ever returning to full time jobs.

Today, some of the best and brightest undergraduates matter-of-factly opt for stay-at-home motherhood over a career. Forty-three percent of women between the ages of 21-25 say they would prefer to be home with children full time.

What is going on?

No big mystery – research has long shown that many of the norms of our industrial-age organizational cultures are unwelcoming to women and make it more difficult for women to succeed.

However, recent research has highlighted two factors that I believe are very encouraging for the future:

1. The same factors that make the workplace difficult for women make it almost equally so for men.

2. The same factors that make the workplace difficult for women discourage many of the behaviors companies are desperately trying to create today: collaboration, innovation, commitment.

Why is this good news? Because these insights should give every sensible corporation the will to change, based not only on a desire to make the workplace attractive to women, but also to make it more conducive to men and to the behaviors we are striving to achieve. Reshaping our view of work, creating what my colleagues and I call a “next generation enterprise,” is important for women, for men – for innovation – for team work.

And, the progress women have made gives us a substantial voice in the change. Remember, over 50% of all managerial positions today are held by women – and 15% of executive roles.

We are at a tipping point.

So, no time to rest on any laurels. The next challenge looms ahead – to reshape corporations – to make them better places for our daughters – and our sons – and ourselves. You battle-scarred veterans – women and men – who have opened the doors of opportunity, have given today’s young women the confidence that they can achieve whatever they choose. Now, let’s give us all humane workplaces that are worthy of being chosen.

I’ll be speaking at the Business and Professional Women’s National Employer Summit, “Women in the Workplace: Our Next Challenge” on June 20, 2008 in Washington, DC. I’d love to see you then. For more information, go to: http:/ /www.bpwusa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4750.

Comments

Tammy,

Thanks for posting this article! It’s amazing to see the statistics, and the effect women are having on our economy with our growing presence in the business world. And that women account for nearly 30% of businesses in the US, we’ve come a long way. With the market expanding exponentially via the internet, women can start up their business and take it on the path to success. I’ve been using Microsoft’s new Office Live Small Business to explore the opportunities the internet has to offer an entrepreneur, and it is just fabulous! It’s a one-stop shop that keeps all my business e-mails and invoices in order, I can check traffic stats for my website, and design professional webpages without any HTML experience (and I’m terrible with that stuff!).

There’s plenty of information on their website: http://smallbusiness.officelive.com

Oh, and I forgot to mention the best part! Not only does Microsoft host everything on your website, you get a customized “.com” web address for free! I highly recommend you and any starting entrepreneurs check it out. I work with Microsoft, so if you or any of your readers have a question, feel free to e-mail me at k-rosenberg@live.com. I am always around and would be more than happy to answer any questions! Again Tammy, thanks for the great read!

All the best,
Kimberly

- Posted by Kimberly Rosenberg
May 16, 2008 4:04 PM

Hi All --

I read another blog that I'd love to hear your views on. Check out the Wall Street Journal's "Zoe Cruz and Playing Down Your Mom Status at Work:"
http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2008/05/02/zoe-cruz-and-playing-down-your-mom-status-at-work/?mod=WSJBlog

The post makes me a bit sad in two ways -- I wonder if Ms. Cruz did feel that being a mom detracted from her credibility in the workplace? And, I wonder if senior women don't take a lead in creating more balanced and humane work environments, who will?

What are your thoughts?

Best,

Tammy

- Posted by Tammy Erickson
May 18, 2008 11:00 AM

ITs a long story of how I came to your blog - Twitter - Brian Solis - Susan Scrupski's blog to this one.

I like the fact "15% of all Fortune 500 corporate officer positions are held by women (2007) as are 15% of all Fortune 500 corporate board seats." I am proud of Indira Nooyi of Pepsi.

Just wanted to point out in the link at the end of the post http:/ /www.bpwusa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4750. there is a extra space between "http:/" and "/". just inc ase anyone copies and paste it like I did. I was interested since I live in the DC area :)

Shashi

- Posted by Shashi Bellamkonda
May 18, 2008 6:37 PM

Tammy,
A great piece and very timely for me as I am in the midst of reading a very good book, "Through the Labyrinth" by Alice Eagly & Linda Carli. The subtitle is indicative of its similarity to your entry - "the truth about how women become leaders." Also, along these same lines, I have recently written a blog entry on my personal blog entitled "Oh How Far We've Come!" [http://ninasimosko.com/blog/2008/05/16/oh-how-far-weve-come/] and would welcome your comments/thoughts.

Thanks for keeping these issues on radar for us all. Despite all of the progress in corporations and society, we do still have quite a ways to go. I can only hope that we are able to do so in the remaining years of my career life.

Regards,
Nina

- Posted by Nina Simosko
May 20, 2008 1:49 PM

Shashi,
I too am a fan of Indra Nooyi's and wrote a piece on a personal connection of sorts that I have to her. She is surely a remarkable woman, leader and an inspiring role model for all of us - both men & women.

Here's a link to my piece: http://ninasimosko.com/blog/2008/04/09/women-leaders-i-admire/

I welcome your thoughts.

- Posted by Nina Simosko
May 20, 2008 1:51 PM

Some one passed on a HBR article to me about women, careers and limitations. I am wondering if you have baby boomers writing these articles. I don't think the statistics and the analysts interpretation reflect how women under 45 feel. I think Gen X women feel in control of their families, lives and careers in ways boomers never were allowed to be. Now that we have some of that hard-won control, we’ve decided we don’t want it all – not at once any way. I think we are well aware that our careers with be on a slower track and we are OK with that - we are happier, less stressed and more focused workers because of it.

Heather Maines
Engineer and mom of 2

- Posted by Heather Maines
May 30, 2008 8:45 AM

All I can say is you go girls. As a woman myself I am proud that we are finally making our mark and getting the respect we deserve.Finally our clout is catching up with our education. Especially in management I always thought women never got the credit because they are seen as weak. With the expection Indra Nooyi, there are few high profile female CEO's, but that might change as more corporate boards realize the value and intelligence of female leaders.

- Posted by Margaret Nahmias
June 14, 2008 11:55 PM

Part of what I see happening with women in my generation (X) is that for most, financially they are better off staying home with their kids with the skyrocketing costs of daycare than they are working. I think too since we grew up latch key kids, we don't want our kids to grow up that way either, we want to be there for them and we recognize that in some cases we can choose to stay home. We recognize that we can not be everything, and be good at everything, so we choose.

I choose right now to put off having kids because our finances just don't allow for a child at this point - with daycare and other expenses, it works out to an extra mortgage payment for us - something we don't have as cost of living increases and raises are rarely given as companies look to outsource to cheap areas like India.

I work at a corporation, in the creative department, but we have several women in upper management and even a female CEO. Now I respect that they worked hard to get to their positions, but I find that once they reach those positions, they fall in line with expectations of the senior men in the organization. I have not witnessed evolution or changes in the workforce because of these women. I have watched them seek approval from their male counterparts.

Business was built by men, in a lot of places it's still "the good ol boys club." Men play be specific rules and some women learned to play by those rules to get advanced. Such a shame when women in those positions have the chance to effect real change, to be pioneers and make the changes, leave a legacy and instead choose to now play it safe to safeguard the position they've acquired.

- Posted by Mikita Westfield
June 17, 2008 11:28 AM

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