Everything About Business Except The Bottom Line: FunnyBusiness

Where are all the negotiation coaches?

In the 2002 Overdue Media comic strip the man says to the woman: "I was reading that, even in libraries,men make more than women."

Woman: " Yes, that's true."
Man:"So...when do I get my raise."

While news that women earn less than men is not new news, what does seem to be emerging is a new thinking on the issue -- women can do something about it if we would just learn to negotiate. Jory Des Jardin wrote about this in a February Post called Think negotiating for more money is petty? Hope you like your job."

The pay gap is back in the news today thanks to  research by American Association of University Women that confirms what many women believe--the pay gap is alive and well and thriving in the U.S. The reality of that pay gap has been challenged in recent years by people like Dr. Warren Farrell who wrote a 2005 book Why Men Earn More. According to Publisher's Weekly,

"Why do men earn more than women? Because they deserve to, argues this contrarian challenge to feminist conventional wisdom. Men work longer hours at more dangerous and disagreeable jobs. They more readily accept night shifts, hardship postings to Alaska and entrepreneurial risks. Men get in-demand degrees in engineering, while women get degrees in French literature. Female librarians earn less than garbagemen, not because of discrimination, but because so many applicants compete for the safe, clean, comfortable, convenient, fulfilling jobs women prefer. Indeed, the author insists, statistics show that women and men with equal experience and qualifications, doing the same job, for the same hours, under the same conditions-get paid the same."

Which is why I found it fascinating that the Associated Press article by Ellen Simon in the The      Washington Post stresses even with outside factors, the gap exists.

Even after controlling for hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors known to affect earnings, the study found that one-quarter of the pay gap remains unexplained. The group said that portion of the gap is "likely due to sex discrimination."

In writing about the report in the Daily Kos, MissLaura has already received 68 comments to her post. Karichisholm was the first to comment.

I'll go and dig in on the study, but there always seems to be one factor that's left out. It seems that men are more aggressive about negotiating salary than women.  I don't know what cultural norms cause that - except that maybe men are more likely to have overinflated egos - but it seems reasonable to me that there might be a 5-15% bump that comes from negotiating a better deal when you get hired.

The good news is that negotiation is a skill that with the proper training and practice can be mastered. So, where are all those negotiation coaches and where can we sign up?

Image Credit: Overdue Media
This is cross-posted at Blogher

Sock it to me

In the category of You Can't Make This Stuff Up, a bank started declining a yarn store's credit card processing because they became suspicious that the store was selling something other than sock yarn.

The banker's couldn't understand how anyone would spend $200 on sock yarn when you can go to the store and buy socks for under $10.

Had they just picked up the phone and called the store they would have discovered that the $200 fee was to become a member of a Sock Club -- think Fruit of the Month. Flower of the Month. Beer of the Month.

As a result, all of the membership fees were returned to the knitters,  the yarn store had to contract with a new bank, and design  and re-invite knitters to join the Rockin Socks Club.

Blogher Contributing Editor Debra Roby shared the story  of The Big Bad Bank and  Blue Moon Fiber Arts

Steph at YarnHarlot voices the opinion of many:

The ladies at Blue Moon also (and this demonstrates to me the depths of their class) have declined my offer to provide each and every one of you with the address of the bank and the Bank managers email address, so that you (ALL of you) could provide him with an expansive email detailing your feelings about sock yarn, his behaviour and the relationship between the two. I would not have had that amount of class. Knitters...say it with me. Freakin' muggles. They have no idea who they are messing with.

Steph's rant has already gotten over 500 comments...

The Blue Moon Story is getting lots of play on the knitting blogs. Fabric Dragon was so mad she said she could spit knitting needles

so after hundreds of knitters bought year long kits sending them fixes.. uh.. "kits" to knit socks every month from a yarn store. the bank cancelled their credit card servicing contract, and refunded everyones money... and basically royally #$%^& the store..... all because no one would buy a "sock kit of the month"...... and besides, the store is run by girls.... they dont do this crp to "collectable dustmagnet of the month" now do they?

And, as Knitting Psychos shared. The Rockin' Socks Club is back in business.

BLUE MOON FIBER ARTS ROCKIN’ SOCK CLUB - The website is NOW WORKING. If you need to pay for your club registration again, please do so now. According to the BMFA website, places will be held until the end of the month.

So if you joined the socks club and got a refund,visit the site soon to rejoin. Your "spot" is being held til the end of the month --after that, it will go to someone on the ever growing wait-list.

 

Dear Diary: Life as a Working Woman

  What are you doing on Tuesday, March 27th? If Joni Cole has her way, you will be keeping a day diary that could be featured in the next This Day In The Life book.

"Your day diary will cover the 24-hour period from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27, 2007. In essence, a day diary is part itinerary: what you did and when you did it; and part journal: what is going through your head and heart throughout that day.

Because the theme of this book is working women, we ask that you make sure to clarify your job duties when on the job, so that readers get a real sense of what it’s like to work as an administrative assistant, or a waitress, or an at-home mom, or a movie star. Of course, a complete day diary of any working woman also encompasses all those other job-related activities, thoughts, and feelings that occur throughout any given day, whether you are multitasking on the way to daycare, celebrating at lunch with a coworker about her positive review, or tossing and turning at night over recent layoffs.

By creating a day diary and allowing us to share it with our readers, you will be contributing to the book’s power to reveal the reality of women’s working lives across the country."

    This will be the third in the series of This Day In A Life books. Unlike the previous two books,  this one is specifically targeted to working women. "We want to feature an unfiltered view of working women whether it comes with a paycheck or not," said Joni.

For transparency purposes, Joni is a personal friend whom I have the highest respect and trust. As bloggers,we share a great deal about our lives and work everyday.  Having someone take our  day diary and edit the entry for a book is a different issue.

I can only say that Joni is a writer's writer, If you decide to participate you will have the opportunity to work with one of the most special people you will ever meet. To be part of this writing project, you'll need to complete a confirmation form saying you plan to keep a day diary.

Joni says in the last book 600 people committed and 500 submitted their diaries. The book featured 34 complete entries and excerpts from more than 200 other diaries.

Just click here to get your confirmation material. Have fun.

This is cross-posted at Blogher
 

Another Year. Another Survey Finding Fault With Women Bosses

Let's start with the artwork to support this story highlighting a recent study out of Spain,reported in a London paper, conducted by German psychologists, saying that women bossses don't mentor, support,or promote other women.

At the end of the post by Rob at  Businesspundit, he offers the link where people can purchase the poster.

Yeah, I'm going right out and getting that one.

Then there are the headlines promoting the story that was originally posted in the London Times on December 31,2006. The Times Headline: Office queen bees hold back women's careers.
Businesspundit offers this headline:  Are Women's careers held back by other women?
RWDB-J.F. Beck's headline goes for a big bang: If Women Ran The World- KABOOM, and Bostonworks- The Job Blog headlines with:Note to Queen Bees It's Time To Buzz Off.

The problem with all these headlines and the festive artwork that is someone's idea of humor, is that it assumes this study, conducted in Spain with about 700 people, is valid and relevant. The headlines assume that just because someone did a study we should be treating it as if it is gospel.

Yes, the study is  fodder for clever headlines. Yes it's controversial--at least if you are a woman in business-- but does it deserve carte blanche coverage without any discussion about the validity of this study?

If you go beyond the headlines, you will immediately begin scratching your head and asking,"Were study participants Spanish? German? British? American?" Just how many women executives are there in Spain?

If a cross-cultural sample was used, are there any differences in the cultures? The Times article doesn't provide any of this information, instead choosing to report the findings as truth or is that truthiness?

The research, carried out by Garcia-Retamaro and her colleague Ester Lopez-Zafra, has just been published in the journal Sex Roles. They used 705 participants living in southern Spain to evaluate the credentials of a male and female employee of a make-believe corporation who were proposed for promotion to a managerial position as a production supervisor. After reading a description of the role and company, the participants were told to read each potential leader’s CV and imagine their characteristics and likely success by evaluating them on several issues related to the job. This included looking at the likelihood that the candidate would receive an increase in salary, whether they had the right skills and if they would win the acceptance of colleagues. They also assessed how likely they might be to receive promotion and were asked to take into account stereotypical traits of men and women such as sensitivity or aggression. The study says: “Female participants had a stronger tendency than male participants to view the female candidates as less qualified than the male candidate . . . they also thought that the female candidate would fare worse in the future in her job than the male candidate.”

So far, only one blogger has chosen to view the story with a skeptics eye. After posting the story in Hit&Run Nick Gillepsie asks.

Given the level of fictiveness built into the study (not to mention the small sample, etc. etc. etc.), I'd be interested in seeing actual employment advancement figures. But can "705 participants living in southern Spain" be wrong? Hmm...

As is often the case, the comments to Gillepsie's post tell a story of stereotypes and personal reality. As this comment from Karen,

I have to say that my experience confirms the study's conclusions. The two worst bosses I've ever had, and my nominations for the two worst humans on the planet not in charge of third world countries were never-married women in their 40's. (I was in my mid-twenties and thirties when I worked for each of 'em. They're both in the late 50's now.) The three single men I've worked for -- one divorced with kids, one never-married, and one gay -- were wonderful. The married women were wonderful. (The one married man with housewife was pretty bad, but he was only in charge of my department for about six months, and was dealing with fifteen major disasters at once, so I can't form a stereotype from him being a bully.)

Now, my current boss is a never-married woman who's a few years younger than I am, and she's delightful. My guess is that the Boss Beasts' horribleness was a product of being in the first large wave of women with professional educations. They were raised to be wives and mothers but they never did that, and resented like hell those younger than they were who managed to combine the two life-patterns. My current boss was raised in a much more open climate. It will be interesting to track these results over time. My guess is that it will take about fifty years, but that eventually this problem will go away, to be replaced by something else equally intractable.

Anyone who has worked in PR or hired PR firms understands that the media loves to report on studies and that the media will often give studies a free-pass. In other words, the media rarely investigates the study,choosing instead to report the findings and then rely on their readers to determine whether or not the study has validity.

Sloppy reporting, lazy reporting.

This is cross-posted at Blogher

Once again, it pays to be a hare aka The Story of a Sun Country Flight Attendant

When she decided to become a flight attendant 17 years ago she could have as easily applied at Northwest Airlines. 

Instead she opted for Sun Country-- a smaller , privately owned airlines also headquartered in The Twin Cities  that offered lower pay and fewer benefits.

" At the time we were flying to Oslo Norway and I am fluent in Norwegian," she explained.

She stayed with Sun Country because these days the airlines doesn't have lay overs.

" We do turnarounds. I leave the house in the morning and I'm often home before the kids get back from school."

She says she started as the same time that one of her friends started at Northwest Airlines. At the time the friend was making more money. She had more benefits.

Today, the flight attendant at Sun Country makes more than her friend---Northwest has slashed attendants salaries by nearly 40%. Morale is horrid.

Most importantly, the Sun Country flight attendant likes her job.She said, " we have fun." Of her friend she says, " she's not having much fun these days." Then she shudders.

Image Credit: Hare and Tortoise Sculpture in  Boston'sCopley Square . Created in 1995 by Nancy Schon as a tribute to all the runners who have participated in the Boston Marathon. Click here to read about the inspiration behind this popular Boston sculpture.

The Burka as business attire

In southern Afghanistan ,it's becoming increasingly dangerous to be a working woman.Writing in Canada's Globe and Mail, Jane Armstrong reports on how these women are coping.

Last month's assassination of activist Safia Ama Jan, the director of women's affairs for the province of Kandahar, who was gunned down outside her house as she left for work, put a chill in the hearts of female professionals. It harkened back to the time when the Taliban were in power and women were routinely beaten, mutilated and killed for disobeying their restrictive edicts. The women now say the death threats are on the rise, but local police can do nothing to protect them.

At Monday's gathering, eight women sat around a table in a shabby board room, lamenting the rise in violence. They are educated, married women with families. Like nearly all Kandahar women, they wear burkas in public — and remove the head-to-toe covering once inside their offices.

“When I leave for work in the morning, I don't know if I will be coming home,” one working woman lamented during a Monday-morning meeting at a women's resource centre in downtown Kandahar.

I change my route every day,” she continued. “I wear a different coloured burka. Everyone has fear.”

The weekly meetings are a chance for female professionals to gather and vent about the current spate of violence against women in this troubled city.

In Afghanistan  it seems the only way a woman can work is by wearing a burka out in public. And yet, in Europe several countries ban women from not only wearing burkas but the hijab- the most common form of headcovering for Muslim women. 

The issue of banning burkas is now being discussed in the UK after politican Jack Straw said he would like to ban burkas.

The veil question has exposed a staggering level of thoughtless illiberalism, and not just where you'd expect to find it. Hot off the mark, the Express consults its readers about a ban on the veil:

 

"An astounding 97% of Daily Express readers agreed a ban would help to safeguard racial harmony." It's not quite clear how this ban would be implemented. (Policemen ripping veils from women's faces? Asbos? Flinging wearers in jail?)

 

In response to the debate in England, Bill Maher brought up the issue of banning Burkas on his weekly HBO program. Maher asked the guests  -- CNN host Lou Dobbs, Ben Affleck and  terrorism expert Danielle Pletka, what they thought of the idea of forbidding women in the United States from wearing burkas. Maher  is in favor of the ban --saying the burkas are a sign of oppression.

Dobbs agreed. Affleck warned that a ban would be a violation of religious freedom and the terrorism expert said despite her reservations of infringing on religious freedom, she too is in favor of the ban.

While burkas make me uncomfortable for a myriad of reasons, I agree with Affleck. So does David Edgar, a playwright who wrote an opinion piece about the Burka controversy in The Guardian.

And yes, the veil can be alienating to people trying to communicate with the person wearing it; it is sometimes (but not always) worn involuntarily, and (for me) is an expression of devotion to a non-existent supernatural being whose worship excuses all kinds of barbarism. But if we want to have a leg to stand on when we stand up for The Satanic Verses or Behzti or Jerry Springer, we must defend to the death the right to wear it.

Image Credit:  Flickr member Netjeret men Nefer

 

Sounds of Silence on Working Mothers Top 100

It's the type of topic you'd expect bloggers to well, blog about. For the 21st time,Working Mothers Magazine released its list of the Top 100 family friendly places to work. The news was greeted with relative silence--at least among bloggers.

To get on the list,companies have to complete a 550 quesion survey. They are ranked on seven criteria:

The application includes detailed questions about the workforce, compensation, child-care and flexibility programs, leave policies and more. The application checks the usage, availability and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them. That means it's not enough to have a great program if no one is using it.

WHAT'S MEASURED Seven areas are measured and scored: workforce profile, compensation, child care, flexibility, time off and leaves, family-friendly programs and company culture.

So what's with all the silence? Is it because women don't care, don't believe the survey, or is it because as working mothers they simply don't have time to weigh in on the significance, gains, surprises and trends listed in the top 100.

The one place that does seem to be having a conversation about the list is in the MOMania, a blog on the Atlanta  Journal-Constitution by Theresa Walsh Giarrusso. It's a conversation we've heard before: working moms should not have special work privileges.

From Brian:

My company is not “mother friendly”… and a good thing, too. I’ve got plenty to do without covering for someone else’s job too.

Now, if you want a realistic accommodation of people’s work/life demands, you could push for a WORKER-friendly company: one that treats all employees equally and recognizes that we ALL have obligations and responsibilities outside the office. But a “mother-friendly” company? Heck no, what a terrible idea.

From Not A Mom

I am a woman who chose not to have children, but I do have a life outside of the office. Why should mothers get extra flexibility in their jobs that I don’t? Personally I feel that ALL employees should have some flexibility in their hours, no matter what their family situation may be. We all have things we need to do outside of work. Not just moms.

From StayInvolved

At my company your schedule and flexibility with hours is not determined by your gender but by your position and business needs.

Sorry NoKidz, sounds like you work with some terribly selfish people. I recently had to balance work, motherhood and caring for a dying parent. Could not have done it without the help and support of my coworkers.

 

Here's a link to the top 100

Working Girls Can't Win For Losing

On the right we have Campbell Brown. Although Brown was on the short list for taking over Katie Couric's job on The Today show, Radar Online reported earlier this week that NBC execs say she never had a chance because she isn't a mommy.

NBC brass concluded that Today's core audience of stay-at-home moms would have trouble relating to a female host without rugrats of her own, banter about kids and spouses being as essential a part of Today's mix as cooking segments and Al Roker. (In fact, Brown wasn't even an honest woman until April, when she wed Fox News analyst Dan Senor.)

In writing about the Brown disclosure in  the BROADSHEET Column in Salon.com ( subscription required),Rebecca Traister wrote:

Apparently, the "Today" show's female viewers, including a core of stay-at-home moms, "would have trouble relating to a female host without rugrats of her own." It didn't help that Brown is something of a looker, and that the network felt her less-foxy viewers might have been intimidated by her beauty.

On the left we have Meredith Vieira. who was forced to leave her prestigious job at 60 minutes  in 1991 because she couldn't negotiate a family friendly contract. Vieira is the mom to three teenagers and whose husband is legally blind, has MS and a couple of bouts of colon cancer. She premiered on TODAY last week.  This from The New York Times

"At 52, Ms. Vieira is that rare television woman who doesn’t seem afraid of her age, perhaps because even with sagging skin and rippling smile lines, she looks amazingly pretty and vibrant on camera. She wore a sober black pantsuit that was casually elegant, not stuffy. Her manner, warm and self-deprecating, is easy on the eyes and ears"

And in the center, Katie Couric.  Since her debut earlier this month on the revamped CBS Evening News we have heard about the legs, the botox, the clothes, From Andrea Peyser's review in the New York Post,

Her face was Botoxed beyond normal human endurance, proving that even pampered, overpaid news babes possess the courage to suffer for their art.

And for the first time in history that a female was allowed to deliver a network's evening news alone, Katie chose to wear an unfortunate white blazer - the result, no doubt, of some jokester lying to her face when Katie asked, "Does this make me look fat?"

And the day after Labor Day, to boot!

So much written about nothing. Nothing  or very little written about their qualifications.
Does anyone know anything about Charlie Gibson's wife or kids?  Has it been in a lomg marriage or is he a serial  husband? What about  Brian Williams? Does his wife have any diseases? What about his kids?  Do the men  get spa treatments? A little microderm abrasion? Maybe a touch of botox or are we encouraging a couple of smile lines on their faces to add to their gravitas?

I actually don't have a problem with people commenting on the appearance of TV anchors or how the job affects their family life  as long as men are given the same scrutiny as the women.

It is demeaning, discriminatory and insulting when women are not judged on the same criteria as men. So go ahead talk about insipid white jackets and botox and legs-- and now let's put that same micrsocrope on the men.

It won't happen because to do so would be to marginalize their effectiveness and professionalism. Hey you want to talk about Meredith's smile lines and Katie's Botox? Do it over it lunch. But spending all this oxygen  in the media on who has kids, who'sa more sacrificing mom and who is sexier is on the same level as Forbes hideous article on Why Men Shouldn't Marry Career Women.

While the insights about botox and kids may seem harmless and just part of our culture ( those mommys love to read this stuff), it is irresponsible on the part of the leaders in media to continue to perpetuate covering the fashion and appearance of women news professionals.

If this were just ignorance at play, it would be one thing. But these are smart boys. They know exactly what they are doing.  By encouraging the discourse on Katie's legs, Campbell's childlessness, and Meredith's sacrifice they are sending a message to everyone about the way women need to behave-- the way they, the boys want us to behave.

A couple of thoughts to reporters; How about saying no. No more stories about Katie's Botox if in the same article you don't talk about the other anchors appearances. No more stories about their Mommyness unless you talk about their coworker's daddiness. And no more comments on clothing unless you 're ready to do nightly critiques  on the choice of ties these anchors wear.

Pump It UP Working Moms

Breastfeeding at work  has been on my mind for a couple of months. During the summer I happened to  chat  with a new mom who told me a story about her good friend who was asked to go across the street from her office to pump her milk. The woman worked for a legislator. When I asked if she would be willing to chat with me about the situation, she declined.

Earlier this month, Jodi Kantor wrote a wonderful article about working women and breastfeeding in The New York Times ( subscription required)

"But as pressure to breast-feed increases, a two-class system is emerging for working mothers. For those with autonomy in their jobs — generally, well-paid professionals — breast-feeding, and the pumping it requires, is a matter of choice. It is usually an inconvenience, and it may be an embarrassing comedy of manners, involving leaky bottles tucked into briefcases and brown paper bags in the office refrigerator. But for lower-income mothers — including many who work in restaurants, factories, call centers and the military — pumping at work is close to impossible, causing many women to decline to breast-feed at all, and others to quit after a short time."

Elderberry Jam, a blog written by a Quaker Nurse who lives on a small farm is one of those breast feeding working women.

"I have been back to work as a nurse on an orthopedic/neurological unit since mid-July. Our baby girl has never tasted formula, and she just turned 3 months old. That is thanks to an Ameda Purely Yours breast pump. The hospital has a nice lactation room for employees, but our surgical floor is so busy that I often only get one chance in 8 hours to pump. I have a 45 minute drive to and from work. You aren't supposed to go over 4 hours without pumping. So if it's been 5 hours by the time I get off work, I pump rather than add 45 more minutes. Pumping in the car to and from work would be IDEAL."

As someone wrote (which I cannot find right now) breast pumping while driving does seem like the ultimate parody of multi-tasking. It's also expensive. From a post responding to Kantor's article in Medpundit.

"Wealthier women can spend their way out of work-versus-pumping dilemmas, overnighting milk home from business trips and buying $300 pumps that extract milk quickly, along with gizmos that allow them, in what seems like a parody of maternal multitasking, to pump while driving to and from work. Just don't try it with a real baby."

Radical Catholic Mom has a lot to say about the cost of using a breast pumps.

"It’s not just lactation breaks and a clean place to pump that’s often lacking, but the pump itself. Efficient pumps that can extract milk during a work break cost hundreds of dollars to own; Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on breastfeeding, notes that her patients can’t even afford the $50 variety. So let’s see: You have no guaranteed pumping breaks, no clean, private pumping space, and you can’t afford a pump. Meanwhile, WIC offers vouchers for formula. Is it any wonder that by six months postpartum, only 29% of mothers whose education ended at high school still feed their babies breastmilk?"

Turns out concerns about breastfeeding for working women is not limited to the U.S. According to an article in INQ7.net, Maila Ager writes about Eduardo Zialcita, legislator who wants breastfeeding rooms available to all working women in the Phillipines. While Zialcita cites health benefits as a reason, he also shares that there is an economic benefit to the legislation.

"Besides, the lawmaker said breastfeeding would not only save lives but it would also impact positively on the economy of the Philippines. The lawmaker said if all lactating mothers would breastfeed their babies, the government could save 57 million US dollars or roughly 2.96 million pesos from milk formula imports every year."

Finally, Cribsheet, a blog for Twin Cities moms and dads hosted by The Star Tribune had a post  from Christy, from a waitress that reminded me why I love the sensibilities of the Twin Cities.

MN has a great law regarding a womans right to pump-as well as tax breaks for employers who provide a special room to mothers-please look up the law–we have one of the best. As for restaurants, I have worked at Old Chicago Uptown for 12 years, and have pumped for a total of 3 years while working there (2 different babies) and they were FABULOUS. I could go every 1 1/2-3 hours (depending on my babies age-I went back to work at 28 days post-partum) while the manager and other servers watched my tables–my husband was even allowed to bring in our baby in case the bottle was rejected that night. Since my experience, I know that there have been many servers at our various locations who have pumped no problem at work. I realize I am lucky to have such a great supportive place to work, I just wish everyone knew about our rights as nursing moms.

Image Credit:Galatically Stupid. This is cross-posted at Blogher.

What do Tom Cruise,Mel Gibson and Forbes magazine have in common?

They said a bad, bad, thing. Mel apologized. Tom got the boot.Forbes pulled its article. You can read my entire post at blogher.