The Downtown Women's Club womensDISH blog

Beating the boys - filly style

It was another tough week for women, we (and our daughters) have been once again put in the position of sacrificing our rights for the good of others. But, I'm not going to write about that - other than to say that if we had more women represented on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate, we might not be having these debates, or making these sacrifices that future generations are going to have to undo. 

Instead, I'd like to talk about Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra.

Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra are two race horses (fillies).  Fillies are female horses that are too young to be called mares. Rachel Alexandra won the Preakness Stakes in 2009, making her only the 11th filly to do so in over 100 years of racing.  Just last weekend Zenyatta became the first filly/mare to win the Breeder's Cup in 25 years.  Both fillies are in the running to be Horse of the Year.

Now I had to do a bit of research on this story as I'm not up on my horse racing lore.  After all, my first reaction when my dad said "the Filly won" last weekend, was to wonder if he missed the final game of the World Series.  But, then I became intrigued as to why this was such big news.  I hadn't realized that the winner's circle in horseracing was mostly an old boy's club.  And, here were some of the reasons I found explaining why fillies don't make good race horses:

• Fillies are naturally slower than the boys.
• Fillies get intimidated racing against the boys
• There isn't a pipeline of fillies as less fillies are born in every generation.

Well, now we have two fillies up for Horse of the Year.  Guess I'm not buying those arguments anymore on the horse track, in politics, or in the office.

Fun Fact:  Zenyatta was named after The Police Album, Zenyatta Mondatta (Zenyatta's owner Jerry Moss was the co-founder of A&M Records and helped launch the band, The Police). For more on Zenyatta's victory, click here.

Why your picture is worth a thousand words on social networks

Most of us put off having our picture taken because we never really like the results.  Yet, not having a professional photo is a bigger mistake now than it was several years ago  Why?  Because when it comes to Facebook, Twitter & other social networks, you photo is your  logo, company brand, and for the most part the one shot you have to attract your readers attention.

No matter what you think of our appearance, your best bet is to have a close-up picture of yourself smiling and here are a few reasons why:

1. On Facebook, that long-lost friend may only have your name and picture to go on when they search, so make sure they can tell it's you.
2. In the Facebook news feed or Twitter time line, where people get a constant stream of information, your friends and colleagues will start to recognize your posts by your picture.  These pictures are small, so you want them to be able to see you.  I would also recommend against frequently changing your picture often as people may not recognize your status updates and may miss your posts.
3. You should also consider using the same photo across different social networks.  As your networks grow, people may recognize you on one platform, like Twitter or LinkedIn, and look for you on the other.  It helps to make the connection if you use the same photo.
4. I’m really wary about putting photos of children on Facebook.  I put a few in my photo albums which are for only a limited group of friends to see.  However, I recommend against including them in your main profile photo.  Unless every single one of your Facebook friends has used their Privacy Settings to hide their friends in public searches, that photo is effectively in the public domain. Besides, we’re friends and business colleagues with you (not your children), and we want to see your smiling face in our news feed!
5. For more ideas about your photo, scan through your news feed on Facebook, or the Twitter timeline and see which photos catch your eye. 
   
6. As for why you should be smiling, well, let's just say no one wants to hang out with Mr. or Ms. Grumpypants in person ... or online.

Is your picture really worth 1,000 words?  I would say so, because if you can't capture anyone's attention with your photo, then it doesn't matter if you write 10,000 or more words. 

Looking for a photographer?  Click here to see a few of the photographers in our DWC+ Member Directory.

Diane K. Danielson is the founder and chief social media strategist of the Downtown Women's Club.  This post was based on an excerpt from The Downtown Women's Club Beginner's Guide to Facebook (eBook).  Free with a Downtown Women's Club DWC+ Premium membership.

Channeling your inner Sue Sylvester

Anderson Cooper's been on a kick about women in business since The Shriver Report, which is nice to see.  I actually thought the four women he brought together for this segment "Breaking into the Boys Club" boiled it down to some key points.  In a nutshell, women need to focus on: acting with power and authority, not caring what others think, building support groups, taking more risks, and using humor to our advantage.

I think one of the panelists said it best, "Women have to believe that our being in the workplace makes the world a better place."  

That's a great way to put it. However, I had to laugh when I started writing this post, because I couldn't stop thinking that they were describing one of my all-time favorite TV characters, Coach Sue Sylvester from Glee.  You want to see confidence? Check out this clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGtRO9MpGGo. 

So, the next time you feel the self-doubt sink in, just put on that tracksuit and channel your inner Sue Sylvester:

"Find your voice. Stomp that yard. All that crap."

As the Wage Gap Widens: Women Need to Ask for More Money by Guest Blogger Liz O'Donnell

This week's guest blogging piece by Liz O'Donnell couldn't be more timely.  We've been discussing the Global Gender Gap a bit this past week on the womensDISH.

New data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Committee on Pay Equity shows that the gender wage gap has widened. Women now earn .77 cents, on average, for every dollar a man earns. Last year’s data had women earning .78 cents for every dollar a man earned. This news is disconcerting on its own. When you couple it with the fact that women have surpassed men on the national payroll, it is even more disturbing. As more women take on the role of primary breadwinner, families will be supported on less money and there will be less cash flowing back into the economy.

Nobody wins in this scenario, which is why legislation, like the Paycheck Fairness act is critical. The Paycheck Fairness Act will expand damages under the Equal Pay Act and prohibit employers from punishing employees for sharing salary information with their coworkers. This bill was passed by the House in January but has seen little activity since.

While we wait for the lawmakers to take action, women should do their utmost to negotiate fair starting salaries and raises. When women are offered lower starting salaries than their male counterparts, it can handicap their earning potential for the rest of their careers. In fact, it is estimated women lose $434,000 in wages over the course of their lifetime. That's why negotiating the right starting salary is key.

Lee Caraher, president of San Francisco public relations and marketing firm, Double-Forte advises women to walk away from the wrong offer. "Find out the compensation in your area, know what your bottom is and be prepared to walk away. If the offer is on the low-end, work in a six month salary review based on performance with a concept of dollar amount not percentage. You'll get to your number faster with dollar increases than with percentage increases."

Negotiating raises can be trickier in today's economy. Says Caraher, "Today it is very important to know whether the workplace has frozen salaries, and for how long." She also tells women to find out if a company has rolled back any salary reductions. "You need to understand the context of what you’re asking for."

After you've researched the company and the market, examine your own assets. Be crystal clear about why you deserve what you are asking for and then put the request in writing. Finally, the most important thing women can do is to simply ask for what they want. Too many women hope their bosses will notice their efforts and offer them a raise. That just doesn't happen, especially during a recession. Men are much more likely than women to ask for a raise or refuse a first offer.

Liz O'Donnell writes about women, work, family and fashion. Read more from Liz at www.helloladies.com and www.theglasshammer.com.

Happy People are Productive People: 3 Tips for Maximizing Workplace Performance

This month's guest author post is by Cathy L. Greenberg, Ph.D. and Barrett S. Avigdor, JD, co-authors of What Happy Working Mothers Know: How New Findings in Positive Psychology Can Lead to a Healthy and Happy Work/Life Balance (Wiley, September 2009).

Every business, regardless of your industry, has to learn to do more with fewer resources.  On the people side of the business, that means you need to get the best performance possible out of your employees.  And, you need to do that without an outlay of cash for incentive bonuses, training or team meetings at 5 star resorts.

The secret to maximizing performance is to create an environment in which your employees are happy.   A happy employee is highly engaged, flourishing and has achieved an acceptable work life balance.

We know that high employee engagement leads to high performance.  Recent studies by the Corporate Leadership Council, Towers Perrin and Development Dimensions International, show that a highly engaged work force results in a 20% improvement in employee productivity, a 50% reduction in unplanned attrition and a 23% increase in customer satisfaction.  But employee engagement is just part of the answer.  To truly maximize the performance of your work force, you also need to create an environment where they can flourish.

1.  Create a positive environment

Human flourishing, according to Dr. Barbara Fredrickson of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is “to live within an optimal range of human functioning, one that connotes goodness…growth and resilience”.  When a person is flourishing, they are thinking with their entire brain and make more ethical and creative decisions.  In order for employees to flourish, they need a highly positive environment.  They need frequent positive feedback, an environment in which ridicule and gossip are not tolerated and they need to know that they will not be punished for making a well intentioned mistake.

2.  Manage based on expanding strengths

A strengths based approach to management can unleash tremendous productivity, creativity and enthusiasm in a work force.  As described in “Go, Put Your Strengths to Work” and other books by Marcus Buckingham, the strengths based approach empowers employees to shape their job into their dream job.  It begins with the employee identifying those activities at work that energize him (strengths) and those activities that drain him (weaknesses).   He then discusses those strengths and weaknesses with his team and his manager and together, they find ways to gradually give him more of the work that energizes him and to find strategies to shrink the amount of time he spends on activities that drain him.
 
3.  Be flexible wherever you can

Many employees, especially those with young families, put a high premium on flexible work schedules and feel loyal to employers who provide it.   We recently did a survey of over 1000 women around the world for our book, “What Happy Working Mothers Know”.  In answer to the question “If you make one change about your work environment, what would it be”?  26.3% said they would increase the flexibility in their work schedule.  Men crave flexibility too.

Happiness in the work place comes from positivity, working to your strengths and having the flexibility to find an acceptable work life balance.  And happy employees are high performing employees.

Disturbing trends for women in the US and what you can do about them

A few months ago everyone was trying to explain why women, who have more choices today than ever, are not as happy.  I don't know the answer to that, but within the past week there have been a few news items that show that all is not swell in the realm of gender parity in the United States.

First, there was the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report showing that the US slipped from 27th in the world to 31st. That's not the direction I would like our country to be going.  On the bright side, at least we're not Italy (#72).

A recent study from The Boston Club in Massachusetts likewise reported a decline in women executives at public companies. Among the key findings:

• The number and the percentage of women executive officers in the 100 largest Massachusetts public companies are at their lowest points since the Census began in 2003. In 2009 only 8.6% of all executive officers in these companies are women.
• The number of companies with no women executive officers reached a record high (56) since the Census began in 2003. This is an increase from 47 companies just two years ago.
• The percentage of women holding board positions in the 100 largest public companies in Massachusetts remains static, hovering between 11.0% and 11.5%; the total number of seats filled by women directors has ranged between 92 and 96.
• Thirty-eight (38.0%) of the Census companies continue to have no women on their boards of directors.

Then we had a very interesting article called The Mismeasure of Woman in the NYTimes by Joanne Lipman detailing how women fought for more equality in business, but at the same time have culturally lost respect.

Underscoring this last point is a recent study by the Parents Television Council about the increase in violence against women on TV.  Here are some of the major findings, which are extremely disturbing:

1. Incidents of violence against women and teenage girls are increasing on television at rates that far exceed the overall increases in violence on television.  Violence, irrespective of gender, on television increased only 2% from 2004 to 2009, while incidents of violence against women increased 120% during that same period.

• The most frequent type of violence against women on television was beating (29%), followed by credible threats of violence (18%), shooting (11%), rape (8%), stabbing (6%), and torture (2%).  Violence against women resulted in death 19% of the time.

• Violence towards women or the graphic consequences of violence tends overwhelmingly to be depicted (92%) rather than implied (5%) or described (3%).

2. Every network but ABC demonstrated a significant increase in the number of storylines that included violence against women between 2004 and 2009.

 

3. Although female victims were primarily of adult age, collectively, there was a 400% increase in the depiction of teen girls as victims across all networks from 2004 to 2009.

 

4. Fox stood out for using violence against women as a punch line in its comedies -- in particular Family Guy and American Dad -- trivializing the gravity of the issue of violence against women.

 

5. From 2004 to 2009 there was an 81% increase in incidences of intimate partner violence on television.

What can women do?  In all of these, we can stop playing the victim (in the TV case, literally ...). I know it sounds trite. But, here are some things within everyone's control.

1.  In the office.  Invest in your career rather than your closet. Learn networking, negotiating, sales, leadership, technology and other skills you need to put yourself on an equal or better footing than your male counterparts.  If you invest in yourself now, you'll be able to close the gender pay gap, and as a result you'll have even more money later to not only fill your closet but pursue more of your dreams. 

2.  In government.  Hopefully one of those dreams is to run for office.  One of the reasons the US has a low ranking in the gender gap is the lack of women in powerful positions in both business and politics.  While it might be hard to make sweeping changes at the top of corporate America, most positions in government are elected, and everyone gets a vote!  But first, we need more qualified women to run for higher office.  Even if running yourself is not your thing, then get behind a qualified female candidate - which means: donating your money, time and/or skills as well as making sure that you get out to vote on election day.

3. On television and at the movies.  Advertisers and movie producers are guided by the all mighty dollar.  Stop watching shows or movies that rate high on the violence to women scale (Heroes, Desperate Housewives, CSI, Prison Break). Trust me, advertisers will stop advertising and those shows will stop being made.

All of these things come down to speaking up. You have a voice; you have the tools (social networks); and you have the numbers in your favor.  Women now outnumber men on social networks.  It's time to step up and speak out online.  Perhaps our mantra should be rather than "Just say no" or "Just do it", how about "Just say it!" or "Just speak up!"  Thanks to technology, everyone has a megaphone.

Some good examples of this:

• The Motrin Moms getting an ad canceled that they found unacceptable.
• Bad online buzz for their new Pepsi AMP iphone app that was demeaning to women forced an apology from Pepsi.
• Savvy Auntie, Melanie Notkin is rallying women without kids to have a voice after realizing that Maria Shriver's A Woman's Nation report was focused almost entirely on "mothers."

Trying to change our culture is not an easy thing to do.  Right now I'm focused on changing the political landscape because that's the easiest place to start.  How?  Women need to use online tools to help get more qualified women elected.  It's easier to influence an election where everyone gets a vote, than a board of directors where women aren't even invited to the meeting. 

President Obama showed us how organizing online could influence an election.  C'mon ladies, let's get organized.  No matter which political party you belong to, we need qualified women on both sides of the aisle. We have Martha Coakley running in Massachusetts to be the 18th woman in the Senate (18 to 82 is not exactly parity or reflective of our society); yet it took a female senator Olympia Snowe to reach across the aisle and move health care reform along.

Please note that in all cases, one should vote for the most capable candidate, not just for their gender.  But, for those female candidates who speak to you and for you -- do more than just silently wish them well.  Use your keyboard to donate, volunteer and write down your support for others to see!  Once we diversify politics, the rest will soon follow.

So, it's up to you ladies, are you going to speak up or allow others to speak for you? 

Diane K. Danielson is the founder of the Downtown Women's Club and the author of The Savvy Gal's Guide to Online Networking (or What Would Jane Austen Do?).

Break out of that rut

This week I broke out of two ruts.  And I didn't even realize that I was in those ruts until I was out of them.

1.  Exercise program.

My exercise program is my first rut.  I love to exercise and it's a key part of my life.  I also try to mix my workouts up.  I'm in Week 9 of a heavy weight lifting rotation. There is some variety, but the exercises get old after several weeks.

This week, I decided to do my routine at the gym instead of at home.  Wow, what a difference!  Same routine, same equipment, but much more intensity.  I was sore for 3 days afterward.

2.  Career plans.

My career plans are my second rut.  I spent the evening in Harvard Square a few days ago.  I love Harvard Square and have such fond memories of being there back in my grad school days.  The energy, the people and the environment all re-vitalized me.

I came back from that evening, ever-more determined to take the accelerated Marketing Certification course.  I'm having a blast and learning a lot too!

What helped me break out of my ruts?  It was quite simply, a change in environment.  It was nothing fancy, no exotic vacations, but a simple change of scenery.

What can you do to break out of your rut?

Nancy Loderick

DWC founder interviewed by Joolwe.com on jewelry and style

Downtown Women's Club founder and CEO Diane K. Danielson was interviewed by Joolwe.com for her take on jewelry and style.  Some choice advice:

What’s the biggest mistake you’ve seen that people make while wearing jewelry? 

 

Too much and too matchy-matchy! Either the statement earrings, necklace, bracelet or rings … not all of them!

Read the complete interview at http://www.joolwe.com/blog/?p=1569.

US slipping in gender gap

Forbes.com gives us an overview of the latest global report on the gender gap. :

The World Economic Forum released its annual Global Gender Gap Index Tuesday, a comprehensive ranking of gender gaps across the world. As in past years, the Nordic countries came out on top, but the U.S. and UK slipped down the list.

...

The U.S. fell to No. 31, down from last year's No. 27 ranking and even farther from 2006's placement at No. 23. The U.S. has always done well on measures of education and economic participation, but has been held back by mediocre scores in women's health and political achievement. The U.S. gap in political empowerment is below the world's average, having closed only 14% of its gap. This year, small changes in economic opportunity--female labor force participation and wage equality fell slightly--pushed the U.S. down the list.

Click here for the full story.

Click here for the report.

International Museum of Women Announces Economica

News of note for our members interested in helping women around the world:

The International Museum of Women (I.M.O.W.), an award-winning non-profit social change museum dedicated to valuing the lives of women around the world, has just launched a new global online exhibition, Economica: Women and the Global Economy

Economica is a vivid and timely snapshot of women's global economic participation, featuring powerful voices, visions and images from around the world.  It shows that while women are uniquely impacted by economic volatility, they are often best equipped to offer new economic ideas and solutions.

Why did we decide to feature Women and the Global Economy? To put it simply, the economy is a woman's issue.  Check out these key facts:

• Women make up 70% of the world's population living in extreme poverty
• Women own only 1% of the world's land
• Yet, women are also the fastest growing group of the world's entrepreneurs and professionals, making up 53% of the world's current university students.

The economic status of women affects nearly every other important women's issue:

• A study in India found that women who own property experience significantly less domestic violence than women who don't own property, presumably because it shifts the family's paradigm of power
• Better job opportunities for women reduce their vulnerability to sex traffickers.
• Improved economic status increases reproductive health, decreases fertility rates and reduces global resource consumption.

To learn more about the economic status of women worldwide, take a look at this statement from Dr. Masum Momaya, the curator of the Economica exhibition.

In short, I.M.O.W. chose to feature the economy because it is one of the most important and pervasive issues affecting women today.  Through striking multimedia slideshows, expert commentary and compelling interviews, we highlight microfinance in South America, the food crisis in Egypt, the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, and so much more.

Plus, in our ongoing effort to feature the lives and voices of women worldwide, we encourage visitors to register, participate in the community forum, and submit work for potential inclusion in the exhibition.