I stumbled across an article on Yahoo! Education today called “Great Jobs that Profit Women: Five Flexible Careers with Man-Sized Paychecks.” The career suggestions were nothing earth-shattering - personal financial advisor, psychologist/therapist, entrepreneur, education administrator and human resources manager. In fact, I think those career choices reflect the sad state of the inequality of men and women in the workplace. At least administrative assistant, customer service representative and paralegal weren’t on the list. Those seem to be the standbys that people suggest for women trying to find flexibility and a decent pay rate. Someday that will change, but I’ll save that inequality discussion for another post.

Today, I’m going to focus on three statistics in this article cited from the National Committe on Pay Equity:

1. In 2006, women earned approximately 25% less than men in the same jobs with similar qualifications.
2. The statistic above has not changed significantly for the past decade.
3. It is estimated that this wage gap will not close until 2057.

Numbers don’t lie. The gender gap is alive and well with no signs of closing anytime soon. What do you think about these statistics?

Tags: gender gap, difference in pay for men and women, equality, workplace equality, pay equality, women in business, women on business, businesswomen, national committee on pay equity, statistics men women workplace business

It’s a fact that women leave science and tech jobs in disproportionate numbers, and the gender gap is alive and well in both fields.  Until now, the reasons for the under-representation and high turnover haven’t been documented through a thorough research study. 

Well, it’s time to reveal the real reasons behind the gender gap in the science and tech fields.  Thanks to a study conducted by the Center for Work-Life Policy which will be published in the Harvard Business Review in June, there are hard numbers to support the secrets behind the gender gap in these industries. 

Unlike the suspicions of a former Harvard President who three years ago asserted that women are under-represented in the science and tech fields because they lack what it takes to excel in those fields (note, those comments prompted this study), the reasons behind the gender gap are quite disturbing.

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A survey of 1,200 women business owners conducted by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) discovered three interesting trends about female business owners.  According to a post on WomenEntrepreneur.com by Eva Gumpel, women business owners are going green, going global and giving back to their communities (dubbed the 3 ‘G’s by Eva).

The survey found that:

• 25% of women business owners are taking their businesses to international markets.
• 71% of women business owners are actively making their companies greener (by changing their products or their company policies).
• 53% of women business owners are giving 1%-5% of their profits to philanthropic causes.

Way to go ladies!

Each year, the Center for Women’s Business Research prints cards providing the Key Facts About Women-Owned Businesses.  The 2007 fact cards are actually small brochures that can be purchased in packs of 100 for $70.  The Center for Women’s Business Research suggests handing the cards out in meetings or conferences, but I also like the idea of including one of the cards in business plans, business correspondence and more.  When I read the facts on the cards, I couldn’t help but think of so many ways the cards or simply the information on the cards could be used to benefit a female entrepreneur or businesswomen’s organization. Continue reading »