Women in the Workplace

The past few months, two somewhat conflicting reports about women (and their looks) in the workplace have come out.

In August, Reuters reported that attractive women were being overlooked for certain jobs. The study by the University of Colorado Denver Business School published in the Journal of Social Psychology concluded "Attractive women faced discrimination when they applied for jobs where appearance was not seen as important. These positions included job titles like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor."

Then, earlier this month, the New York Post reported that skinnier women earn significantly more than those who are of average weight or classified as obese. The study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that "being 30 pounds below the average American female weight of 164 pounds can result in roughly $10,719 more in annual salary -- above the average woman's pay of $40,000. Being 30 pounds overweight can mean making $9,873 less than average." I think that this may be more of a case of skinnier people being more energetic, healthier, and confident than the case of discrimination, but it is interesting indeed.

Lastly, the EU parliament voted in favor of a number of measures to strengthen maternity protection in Europe including a 20-week full maternity pay for new mothers according to HR Magazine. The proposal also contains "rules employers will be banned from dismissing pregnant workers until six months after the end of their maternity leave."

Moving Up and Moving Out

A few links for your humpday:

The New York Times provides a toolkit for women seeking a raise and an opportunity to move up within their company.

The New York Times also provides a toolkit for making yourself indispensable regardless of your gender in this Career Couch Q&A

The Associated Press via Yahoo! News says that more employees are jumping ship as a sign the economy is improving (H/T Wendy)

And, lastly, from EW, who says you can't be promoted in The Office?

Recession and the Job Market

The recession has taken its hits on the job market and we've covered a lot of it on the blog. But no one (at least in the Mainstream Media) seems to write more currently about it than the Wall Street Journal's Careers section. Here are a few recent articles:

I happen to catch a glimpse of the WSJ while in a meeting in a co-worker's office the other day and one of the titles on the front page was "Life on Severance: Comfort, Then Crisis" (picture on right from article). I think it was a very interesting article, but I wonder if the severance package that was described in the opening paragraph was one that was supposed to get people's emotions stirred up. There are people who are a few years out of college, stuck with tons of student loans, and making $35,000 a year who maybe got a month of severance. Then there is the $200,000-a-year CEO who they describe in the article who got a year's worth of pay as severance and has $100,000 in savings. I don't think many people are crying for that guy.

But the point of the article is an interesting one: there is a growing severance economy of unemployed Americans who use severance pay and savings to keep up their lifestyles. The 405 Club asks if severance pay is the new welfare? I don't think that's the case, but for many, it's providing that slowly eroding bridge until the next job offer. How much severance does you company give? Do you think it's enough or would you, if you made the decisions give more? It's an interesting dilemma for companies who then have to worry about keeping happy those who are left behind.

Two more good articles:

• From today's WSJ, word that workers returning from layoffs have struggled to recoup the earnings power as wage erosion threatens to slow the economy's recovery.
• Lastly, this article is supposedly from tomorrow's WSJ (I told you we're ahead of the curve), and says that women now hold half of all U.S. jobs because of the large hits in layoffs to male-dominated industries. This has upended roles about which spouse stays at home finding more women heading back into the workforce to support the family as a single-earner. Very interesting indeed.
  

Craigslist and The Rest of the List

Among the social networking and various online websites designed to attract job seekers and job posters alike, Craigslist, a website that is more well-know for selling tickets or finding apartments has become a go-to source according to the Wall Street Journal: click here

Personally, I think Craigslist has some advantages and some limitations for both job seekers and job posters, but it is an excellent site to use for posting an open position. It may not be as aesthetically pleasing as Monster or have the name of Careerbuilder or have the social networking opportunities of a Facebook or provide easy searchability like the New York Times jobs website...but with its growing audience and ease of use, it may be the place to be for Human Resource professionals and people looking for jobs in this difficult job market...

From the Boston Globe's Boston.com Monster.com Hiring Hub HR Center HR Blog (seriously, we like to give credit to the articles we post, but can they make this a little simpler?), despite a title that may seem to indicate a different subject, the New York Times admits that women don't just opt out for children: click here

Lastly, an interesting article from the Baltimore Sun on one jail's pre-professional/apprenticeship program: click here

De Paris

Women and Minorities Targeted to Fill Executive Suites, According to International Executive Search Organization

Industry Experts Recently Met in Paris to Discuss the Anticipated Executive Shortfall Crisis Throughout the World Due to Baby Boomer Retirement

PARIS – Women and minorities are the coveted demographic for executive search firms throughout the world to help meet the critical talent shortage at the top due to Baby Boomer retirement, according to industry experts who recently met in Paris to discuss this burgeoning issue.

More than 50 delegates from IMD International Search and Consulting, an organization of boutique executive search firms with locations in 25 countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia, gathered for a biannual conference in Paris in late November, where they discussed the phenomenon.

“In terms of age, origins, gender… there is a need to open the doors to new profiles and how organizations will manage to deal with the problem,” said Albert Hiribarrondo, chairman of the IMD International board, representative from France and managing partner of Sirca/IMD.

As the critical talent shortage worsens and nearly 80 million Baby Boomers in North America alone enter their retirement years, executive search leaders from throughout the world discussed the pressing question: Who will take their place in the executive suite?

“We must find ways to bring more women and minorities into management ranks, mentor them and give them the ability to then rise in upper management positions. Again, 30 percent of the current executive suite will be retiring within five years, it is a huge percentage, and we don't have anyone replacing them,” said Thomas Fuller, one of IMD International’s seven board partners, director of the Americas and general managing partner of Epsen Fuller/IMD based in New York.

The Paris conference included a dual celebration and gala dinner in honor of IMD International’s 35th anniversary and the 30^th anniversary of the host firm, Paris-based Sirca/IMD.

The critical demand for senior level executives led these industry thought leaders to meet and discuss how the corporate world will deal with changing demographics, organizational transformation, talent acquisition and diversity in the executive suite.

“To win the talent war we need to explore targets previously untapped. One of the largest targets is the female in management. Only two percent of the CEOs in the UK are female,” said Sherilyn Shackell, CEO of Highfield Human Solutions/IMD of the UK, and IMD Board partner.

“There must be an evolution in minds, in families and in society. Mothers must educate their daughters and tell them that things are open for them. The first step is the awareness that things have to change in order to tap into this phenomenal potential. My daughters grow up with this belief that they can behave the way men do, expect what they do, and be just as influential,” Shackell added.

Just 10 of the CEOs among the Fortune 500 companies were women in 2006, and only 20 Fortune 1000 companies had women as their leaders.

“Japan is notorious for not promoting ladies,” said Katsusuke Yokota, executive managing director of Human Associates in Japan. “Nevertheless, more talented women are now joining international companies that treat them more and more equally.”

While the lack of women at the top was echoed by the IMD partners from Italy, Japan, Korea and Germany, others said the trend seems to be moving toward more females in the executive suites in Spain, Denmark and Mexico. In Finland, the numbers are equal.

“In Finland women are considered as equal. Lots of money is put into the education system, in society it is normal that men help at home, but we still don't have enough women at top management positions, maybe because women are different in their behavior, they are not into competition as much as men, a female network is mostly composed of females,” said Mimma Silvennoinen, managing partner of IMS Talent in Finland.

At the Paris conference, IMD International announced the launch of a new global survey, “The Changing Face at the Top,” which will be released at its spring 2008 conference in New York as a follow up to its 2005 survey, “Mobility of Managers.” The survey will poll senior executives from the global 1,000 companies.

The baby boom generation is generally defined as the population born between 1946 and 1964. Employees in this demographic group range in age from 43 to 61, and are expected to begin leaving the workforce in 2008, as the first wave of boomers turn 62.

Paris was selected for the conference because IMD International’s Paris office, Sirca, is celebrating its 30^th anniversary and because of the city’s location at the center of Europe, where growth due to a robust economy is forcing corporations to confront the challenge of attracting talent to the executive ranks in the face of the world’s fast-changing demographics.

U.S. CONTACT: PARIS CONTACT:

Rosa Cirianni Estelle Carrere

rosa.cirianni@beckermanpr.com ecarrere@sirca.fr

(908) 781-6420 +33 1 44 55 33 55

Women in the Workplace

Amy Joyce writes about those companies that open more doors and allows more women into higher spots in the workplace: click here

Next, from the Pocono Record, an interesting article about University students offering new views on Human Resources Management: click here

Lastly, from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a report that talks about all those employees who missed work because of fake excuses: click here