Posts Tagged ‘ work life balance ’

Yahoo! Policy Can Turn Working Mothers Into CEOs

May 6, 2013
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Yahoo! Policy Can Turn Working Mothers Into CEOs

Due to work life imbalance last week, I am just catching up on the news that Yahoo has doubled its paid maternity leave for employees, added eight weeks of paid paternity leave to the company’s benefits package and will reimburse employees for up to $500 worth of “daily habits,” including laundry, house-cleaning and child care. Pardon the pun but, “Yahoo!” This is exciting news because most women who have had a baby will tell you it’s incredibly challenging to return to a work after a mere eight weeks. The one exception, of course, is the policy’s author, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer, who infamously returned to work two weeks after giving birth. But most women aren’t like Marissa Mayer, with the flexibility and perks of the corner office (including building an on-premise nursery near her office). In fact, only 42 women are like Mayer. That’s how many women are leading Fortune 1000 companies today. And if we have any hope of getting more women in or near that type of position, we need to do a much better job of making work life more manageable. Extending maternity leave is an excellent move, but only part of what’s great about the company’s [...]

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Talking About Gender at Work

April 22, 2013
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Talking About Gender at Work

I used to be that woman. You know, the feminist, at work. I tried not to be. I resisted for a long time. But as I neared my 40s, things just started flying out of my mouth. I questioned men when they referred to “girls” in the office or at client sites. “Are they under 18? No? Then they’re not girls.” I explained to a male coworker why it was problematic that he said of a coworker on maternity leave, “She probably won’t come back.” I asked my CEO why, when he was scrambling for a fourth to play golf with a client, he didn’t ask any of the female executives to tee off. I began writing: op-eds about the wage gap, then blog posts about gender bias in performance reviews. I started this blog. I knew it was risky business, being that woman, but I just didn’t stop. And then Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, published “Lean In.” And in doing so she’s removed the stigma of being that woman. Sheryl Sandberg has created a safer environment for us to have important discussions about gender at work, and for that I’m grateful. Recently I attended a breakfast sponsored by [...]

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Work Life Balance: It’s Not What You Think

April 17, 2013
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Work Life Balance: It’s Not What You Think

While writing “Mogul, Mom & Maid,” several women told me there was no such thing as work life balance. I disagree. From the time we open our eyes in the morning, until the time we fall asleep at night, working women are balancing competing priorities, constantly weighing everything we do against everything else we should be doing. We live our lives on a virtual tightrope. Read my thoughts on balance and having it all over at the Huffington Post. Click here for the post. Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/imuttoo/6445116271/

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How to Make Women Happy at Work

March 8, 2013
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How to Make Women Happy at Work

Just in time for International Women’s Day, Accenture has released the results of its latest global study on work life priorities. It’s no surprise to me having just interviewed 100 working women for my forthcoming book Mogul, Mom & Maid: The Balancing Act of the Modern Woman, women crave work life flexibility.

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A Day in the Life of a Working Mother

September 10, 2012
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This is the story of a working mother (who manages to keep her skirt out of the toilet). What’s your day like? Read "A Day in the Life of a Working Mother" by Hello Ladies at Britely!

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Six Things Not to Say to a Working Mom (and the One Thing She’d Love to Hear)

August 30, 2012
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Six Things Not to Say to a Working Mom (and the One Thing She’d Love to Hear)

School starts in one week and I’m bracing for the tears and the anxiety. Not my kids’. Mine. As I’ve written before, “Nothing strikes fear in the heart of a working mother like the last six weeks of school, except maybe the first six.” There are so many activities to coordinate: school supply shopping, orientation meetings, curriculum nights, fundraisers, and parent teacher conferences. The challenge of managing my September Outlook calendar makes balancing a multimillion dollar marketing budget seem like first grade arithmetic. I’ve been critical of my school district in the past; as far as I’m concerned, there is no excuse for notifying me that my child’s artwork will be on display in the town-wide exhibit the night before the art show. Actually, I think there are two possible excuses: lack of planning or lack or respect for parents’ time. So this year, I must commend the administration. Last night I visited the school website and on the school calendar I saw the dates and times for curriculum night, the Halloween dance, the winter concert, the spring concert and even the end of year carnival. Having this information is a huge help. I’ve already entered the events in Outlook, [...]

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Simple Ways to Help Working Mothers

June 26, 2012
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Simple Ways to Help Working Mothers

It seems like everyone is talking about working mothers right now. That’s great if it brings attention to the legislation and workplace policies like equal pay, paid sick leave, parental leave, affordable childcare and flexibility that are necessary to improve work life for working parents. And outside of an act of Congress, realize there are some simpler things we can do to make the life of a working mother, and father, more manageable. A working mother is like a circus performer: juggler, tightrope walker, even a clown who paints on a big, fake smile to get through the day. Drop one ball or lose your balance and it can all fall apart. So it’s little things that may seem like minor inconveniences to many, that can create incredible stress for us. For example: Last minute notices from the schools. Nothing strikes fear in the heart of a working mother like the last six weeks of school, except maybe the first six. May and June are packed with school concerts, field trips, projects that require trips to the art supply store and end of year picnics. So when, at the end of May, I needed to book an overnight trip for work, [...]

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Men Can’t Have It All Either

June 24, 2012
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Men Can’t Have It All Either

As evidenced by my recent lack of blogging, I’ve been really busy the past two months and unable to “do it all.” However I’ve been asked by several people what I think of the current Atlantic magazine cover story, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” written by former State Department official Anne-Marie Slaughter. So it seems like a good time to get back to work here. Slaughter was the first woman director of policy planning at the State Department, working for Secretary Hillary Clinton. The demands of life in Washington, and of working for someone else, after having been a tenured professor who controlled her own schedule, made parenting her two teenage sons too difficult and so she left the position to be with her family. What do I think? At first pass, I think, no kidding the life of a working mother is incredibly challenging – for women at the highest levels of success and those working at hourly wage jobs. I think many things contribute to having it all – a good boss, a good partner at home, well-adjusted kids out of diapers and out of trouble. And many things can make success difficult – a less [...]

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8 Tips for Work Life Balance

January 19, 2012
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8 Tips for Work Life Balance

I am so out of balance this week. Work has been very busy. I haven’t run. I hadn’t blogged (until now). I’ve played a few rounds of Farkle Frenzy with the kids but haven’t had any meaningful conversations with them. I just found out Rick Perry dropped out of the presidential race. Yesterday, a typical day this week, I woke up at 1:30 in the morning stressing about a work project. I didn’t fall back to sleep until 5. I got up again at 7, got a phone call at 7:55 about an interesting career opportunity, had a root canal at 8, was in meetings from 10 until 4:30, made a decision and a call about the career opportunity at 4:45, answered emails until 7, drove home, ate dinner and worked until 11. So how ironic that today I was the guest on Betty Everything sharing tips on balancing work and life. I never look at balance as a daily thing. I prefer to look at my life on a weekly basis and carve out time for the things I want. Maybe I should expand that to a monthly view! The fact is, some weeks are better than others and most [...]

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If I Were Santa

December 14, 2011
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If I Were Santa

If I were Santa, I’d be making my list and checking it twice. And here are the gifts I would give: For Our Daughters: The gift of self-esteem and positive role models The mass media perpetuates a message that women and girls’ value comes from beauty and sexuality – and it affects us. Sixty-five percent of women and girls have an eating disorder. Eighty percent of the op-ed pages are dominated by men. The number of women in senior management positions globally has gone from 24 to 20 percent from 2004 to 2009. For Corporate America: More women in leadership positions There is a large, and growing, body of research connecting women at the tops of organizations to a strong bottom line performance. However, women comprise 53 percent of new hires, but only 37 percent of managers, 26 percent of vice-presidents, and just 14 percent of executive committees.   For Working Mothers: Flexible work arrangements … and a day of rest The life of a working mother is challenging. Flexible work arrangements give parents the ability to work more flexibly and better manage the challenges of work and family. For Working Families: Passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act According to [...]

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