Work:life Balance

Flexible work arrangements and policies that address caregiving roles result in paybacks for both employers and employees. Research shows that employees with a satisfying work/life balance are more productive, creative, innovative and motivated at work and are less likely to leave their positions. Flexibility also encourages gender diversity in the workplace by easing the way for women to stay on their chosen career tracks while providing caregiving to children and family members or pursuing other interests and responsibilities.

The Recruitment, Retention & Advancement of Senior Technical Women

Submitted by kpeterson on Sat, 03/27/2010 - 5:46pm

On October 1, 2009, 59 senior technology executives participated in the Anita Borg Institute’s 2009 Technical Executive Forum.

Even though an acknowledgement was made that the pipeline of technical women with technical degrees coming out of academia was insufficient, the group commented that the women who do graduate from these programs are not joining organizational cultures that are as receptive as they could be to gender diversity. This cultural disconnect was highlighted through the discussion of five main components.

1. The existing technical culture is biased against “those who don’t code”

2. The existing technical culture rewards “Hero” behavior and an “in your face” communication style

3. Risk-aversion is embedded in recruiting and advancement practices

4. The individual contributor track lacks a development culture

URL:

http://anitaborg.org/files/breaking-barriers-to-cultural-change-in-corps.pdf

Senior Technical Women: A Profile of Success

Submitted by kpeterson on Sat, 03/27/2010 - 5:37pm

A growing body of research has documented the underrepresentation of women in technical positions in US companies. Women hold 24 percent of technology jobs, yet represent half the total workforce. This underrepresentation persists even though the demand for technical talent remains high: computer occupations are expected to grow by 32 percent between 2008 and 2018.

In 2008, the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology and the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University conducted a survey of 1,795 technical men and women at seven high-technology companies in Silicon Valley. In this paper, we focus on senior technical women, who at only 4 percent of our sample represent a rarity in the technology industry.

URL:

http://anitaborg.org/files/Senior-Technical-Women-A-Profile-of-Success.pdf

Gender Discrimination Linked to Poor Project Management

Teaser:

New research suggests that technically oriented women could face gender discrimination in their jobs at high-tech firms in part because of mismanaged projects. Tech firms rely excessively on a "hero mindset" to save runaway coding projects that are poorly organized, and employees with family responsibilities -- often women -- are sacrificed as a result, according to the report.

Editorial:

"The Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement of Technical Women: Breaking Barriers to Cultural Change in Corporations" was published Monday by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the role of women at high-tech firms.

There's also evidence of bias against women in recruitment and job assignment in places where high-tech corporate cultures thrive on this "hero mindset" that "rewards a 'last minute' crunch where 24/7 work becomes necessary to 'save' a project, failing to acknowledge family responsibilities and flexibility needs," the report says.

A second report published Monday by the Anita Borg Institute, "Senior Technical Women: A Profile of Success," draws on a survey of about 1,800 participants from seven unidentified high-tech firms in Silicon Valley. It found that women now hold about 4% of the senior-level technical positions at high-tech firms, and an estimated one-quarter of all technology jobs. At the higher level, women more frequently end up in a manager job than men (36.9% of women compared to 19% of men), who are much more likely to be in what's called an "individual contributor position" in technical coding jobs.

Source:

CIO Magazine

URL:

http://bx.businessweek.com/the-glass-ceiling/view?url=http%3A%2F%2Fc.moreover.com%2Fclick%2Fhere.pl%3Fr2641571679%26f%3D9791

Date:

March 22, 2010

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

In Germany, Setting a Quota for Female Managers

Teaser:

Germany's boardrooms have long been a cherished male preserve. But that's about to change at one of the country's biggest companies, Deutsche Telekom, which has just unveiled a radical new plan to fast-track more women into management roles. By 2015, the company has mandated that 30% of its middle and upper management positions be filled by women.

Editorial:

Anne Wenders, a Deutsche Telekom spokesperson, says this is not a "tokenistic gesture aimed at political correctness," but a new way of thinking that could become a model for other German companies. "This is a revolution and it will change the way our company works," she says.

Whatever the company's motivations, the quota is still an audacious move for Europe's biggest telecom group — part of recent efforts to shake off its old-fashioned image and revamp its operations for the 21st century. Women currently only occupy 12% of the management positions at Deutsche Telekom offices in Germany — and none of the positions on the eight-member executive committee. In order to recruit more women managers, the company says it plans to introduce more flexible working hours and part-time positions, as well as expand its parental leave schemes and child-care services. It has also implemented a new "stay in contact" program, which helps women managers keep in touch with the office while on maternity leave.

Source:

Time

URL:

http://bx.businessweek.com/the-glass-ceiling/view?url=http%3A%2F%2Fc.moreover.com%2Fclick%2Fhere.pl%3Fr2642884118%26f%3D9791

Date:

March 22, 2010

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

The Corporate Gender Gap Report, 2010

Submitted by kpeterson on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 9:11pm

Leading companies are failing to capitalize on the talents of women in the workforce, according to the World Economic Forum’s Corporate Gender Gap Report 2010. It is the first study to cover the world’s largest employers in 20 countries and benchmark them against the gender equality policies that most companies should have in place but are in fact widely missing.

URL:

http://www.weforum.org/en/Communities/Women%20Leaders%20and%20Gender%20Parity/GenderGapNetwork/CorporateGenderGap/index.htm

Cultivating Authentic Ambition

Teaser:

Whether it's business (16%), law (18%), journalism (22%) or the military (11%), women leaders have yet to achieve critical mass. The question is why and what will it take to have a breakthrough in those numbers?

Source:

Forbes.com

URL:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/23/grooming-leaders-workplace-executives-forbes-woman-leadership-ambition.html

Date:

November 23, 2009

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Pipeline's Broken Promise

Submitted by kpeterson on Sat, 02/27/2010 - 10:39pm

The results of this study show that when it comes to top talent, women lag men in advancement, compensation, and career satisfaction. The pipeline is not healthy; inequality remains entrenched.

URL:

http://catalyst.org/file/340/pipeline%27s_broken_promise_final_021710.pdf

Member Organization:

Catalyst

Why Women Don't Make It Up the Ladder

Teaser:

A new study offers explanations for a great disappearing act.

Source:

Forbes.com

URL:

http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/16/women-glass-ceiling-leadership-managing-bain.html

Date:

February 16, 2010

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Motivations and Barriers for Women in the Pursuit of an MBA Degree

Submitted by kpeterson on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 2:10pm

Ultimately, women need to see that their potential sacrifices will result in positive outcomes in order for them to make the decision to attend a graduate business program.Clearly, “glass ceiling” issues are perceived as very real, and the possibility of facing these issues after a substantial investment in a graduate business degree is not an encouraging prospect. These might be bigger issues than schools can influence.

URL:

http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/2D881F31-42CB-4365-9A34-00DA2441908C/0/RR0612_MotivationsBarriersforWomen.pdf

Hedge Funds: Where the Girls Aren't

Source:

Fortune

URL:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/11/funds/hedgingwomen_fortune_111405/index.htm

Date:

November 11, 2005

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

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