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People
Tell Their Stories: Challenges
Women Face in the Workplace Heather
Shea Two of their biggest challenges involve the glass ceiling that still blocks women at many companies from advancing to their full potential and the formidable task of balancing career, family and personal lives. The Glass Ceiling Those women who can follow a dream or find support within an organization stay. Yet many women reach a point where they feel that nobody's interested in backing or training them. As a result, every 11 seconds, a woman leaves corporate America to start her own business reported The National Foundation for Women Business Owners. The number one reason why...is to pursue their personal dreams. Before making this leap, many of these new entrepreneurs bump up against a glass ceiling in their organization that says, "You can advance just this far, but no farther." In fact, too often, instead of cracking over the years, I've personally watched this glass ceiling turn to cement. When women discover they have a harder time than ever moving beyond that ceiling, they ask, "Why bother?" and move on to create work environments that are more supportive of their goals. Or, these days those who do break through sometimes look around and go, "I don't like what I see, I want to get out of here." Women need to be realistic about what's holding them back, however. The glass ceiling implies gender issues and these may or may not be the problem. There are other reasons some women don't get promoted. Sometimes, there's a skill they need to learn or a person they need to know, who can help them. There are other reasons women leave companies, too. Maybe they're not having fun anymore because opportunities are becoming more limited. Whatever the reason, when women feel stuck, it's time dust off their skills, look around and reinvent themselves. They need to ask themselves:
For instance, I recently co-authored a book with consultant and author, Chip Bell, called Dance Lessons: Six Steps to Great Partnerships in Business & Life (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco). I told him about the gender differences at work and he had difficulty at first believing that it was still such a major issue. Then, one time, he and I were invited to speak at a conference about our book. When it came time to give our presentation, the speaker introduced Chip and not me. Recently, we wrote an article together and the publication wanted to include Chip's name only and not mine. We insisted that my name be included as well, and Chip began to understand what I was talking about. When I was president and COO of The Tom Peters Group/Learning Systems, Tom Peters, who is very sensitive to women's career issues, couldn't believe that when I walked in to buy a car, nobody noticed me. Yet this type of occurrence is a common experience for women-no matter how accomplished we are-and despite the fact that we make 90% of financial decisions, buy 51% of tires, 75 % of NFL merchandise and are the main consumers of many traditionally seeming male products. It's just our culture and it is changing, sometimes, simply as a result of the sheer numbers of women who are in the work force and making purchases in the marketplace. But it's happening slowly. Making a Change We can help the changes along. One way is to know and educate people about statistics, such as:
If you do want to work for a company rather than start your own business, look for one that appreciates the importance of women and values them. For example, Hewlett Packard, recognizing a talent base and customer base of women, has a woman CEO. HP was also the first organization to develop an internal woman's network, where women at the company get together, talk about work issues and support each other within the organization. Look for successful women to mentor you. And, when you have an opportunity, mentor other women as well. Balancing Work and Family Another major issue for women at work is how to balance work and life. Fortunately, companies are recognizing that part of this balancing-taking care of family matters, including raising children, isn't just a women's issue, but a man's issue, too. Fortune magazine recently ran an issue on fathers at work and the impact that balancing work/family is having on them. Employers are also having to deal with the fact that many workers are single parents. Almost 80% of children in this country are raised in a single household sometime in their lives. This raises many new concerns for women at work. The question for some becomes not, "How do I break through the glass ceiling?" But "Do I really want to work that hard and make the sacrifices to my family that I need to make in order to break through it? More and more people, including successful and well-known women-and men, are saying, "My family comes first." The fact that I'm a single parent and supporter of two young children has definitely influenced the career choices I now make. It's important for me to have breakfast every morning and dinner at night with my children. I have canceled major presentations to make sure I show up at the Christmas play. I no longer work as a senior executive for a major organization. My strategic move has been to work as a professional speaker with an organization that would give me more opportunity to be home. From the start, I explained, "I'll work really hard for you, but what's important also is for me to spend time with my children. I'm a single parent and it's a necessity that I be there for them." That was a career choice I made. Yes, sometimes making these choices can be career changing, but what's most important is to be true to yourself and your personal priorities. The goal is not to choose work or family. It's to balance and integrate both worlds successfully. By the way, ask any woman about how she started her own company to spend more time with her children and she will laugh at you. Started your own business because you want to spend more time with your children is a silly notion. Get clear on which option you really want and which one is really true and practical for you. Whatever choices you make, women have experienced that the whole notion of "You can have it all" in work and life doesn't play out quite like they thought it would be. Working mothers, working fathers who are actively involved in their families and careers are exhausted. I recently asked my doctor about fatigue, and his response was, "Of course you're tired. You're a single, working mother. How can you expect not to be?" On that note, when balancing work and life, remember to take care of yourself first. So many women focus on taking care of others at work and at home that they forget about themselves. You know, in airplanes, they tell you to put the oxygen on yourself first...it's true on the ground, too. Overall,
the job market is changing, and more women and men are openly expressing
how important balancing work and life is to them. As a result, organizations
are discovering that in order to maintain top talent, they have
to be family-friendly.
Contact: Heather Shea at hspartner@aol.com, 513-792-6660. |