Pru Goward’s Agenda for Women in NSW
March 13, 2012
By Amy Lyden, Australian Businesswomen’s Network Advocacy Advisor
As part of International Women’s Day celebrations, I attended a briefing by NSW Minister for Women Pru Goward on 6 March. Being new to the role (since April last year), Goward is ramping up the Office for Women’s Policy and now has a very focused agenda.
Goward has a strong pedigree in the women’s policy space. She was the Executive Director of the Office of the Status of Women in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (1997-99) and also the Australian Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner (2001-2007). She was also the recipient of a Centenary Medal in 2001 for services for women’s rights.
Goward is now the Minister for Family and Community Services and the Minister for Women. She is determined to work on breaking the cycle of disadvantage for women and will work closely between her portfolios to do this.
Goward shared her focused agenda for Women’s Policy in three key areas:
-
Reducing violence towards women and general family domestic violence.
There is an alarming upward trend of violence against women. Goward is implementing a number of initiatives to tackle this problem and is working with many NGOs to reverse this trend.
-
Creating a more integrated workplace by having more women in trades, more women in leadership positions (boards, executive roles, etc).
Goward thinks we have had some success in getting more women in executive roles and certainly in the white-collar world. However, the world of trades is another story. There aren’t enough women plumbers, electricians etc. Goward’s view is that a helpful step in having greater gender equality is by having a more integrated workplace in Australia. We all do still need more women on boards and in leadership roles as well, she says. And although the current percentage of women on NSW government boards is 38%, that figure has not moved in over ten years! This is another area she will address.
-
Research/data about women in NSW
Goward has commissioned a “Report on the Status of Women in NSW” which will be launched later this year.
In order to bring attention to issues, you need to have facts. Empirical facts. Quite simply put, we need to know where we are starting from to know where we would like to be.
I applaud Minister Goward’s approach of such a focused agenda. Women’s policy is a HUGE area and it would be very easy to look at too many areas and achieve nothing. I am thrilled that there is an influential advocate for women in NSW parliament.
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY AMY LYDEN
- Government Reshuffle and Elevation of Small Business Portfolio
- PAID PARENTAL LEAVE – How Much and Who Pays?
- Wish Upon a Star – Disneyland is Still Benchmark for Exceptional Service
|
|
Amy Lyden - Advocacy Advisor – Australian Businesswomen’s NetworkAn entrepreneur and specialist in ecommerce and online strategy, Amy has had over 13 years of practical experience in these areas. Launching her first website in 1998 Amy was at the forefront of an online revolution without even realising it. Within a year this site became and remains today a #1 ranking site and global community of pet lovers that attracts over 4 million visitors a year. This Australia-based business, Bow Wow Meow, now sells product online to over 100 countries worldwide. Amy sold this business in 2007 and turned her energy to the nonprofit sector. Amy is currently the CEO of Australian Scholarships Foundation, an organisation that facilitates scholarships for education and training for people who work in the nonprofit sector. Amy is the recipient of numerous business awards including the 2006 NSW Telstra Business Women’s Awards for Innovation, the 2002 National Telstra Business Award and the Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World Grant. Amy is an Ambassador and former Chairperson for the Australian Businesswomen’s Network, an organisation that supports female entrepreneurs. Amy was also invited to serve on the Commonwealth Small Business Council, an initiative by the Federal minister for Small Business. Amy has been profiled in the following books: “Women’s Business, Women’s Wealth” by Amanda Ellis, “Female Entrepreneurs”, by Leiza Clark and “Secrets of Female Entrepreneurs Exposed!”, by Dale Beaumont. Amy is passionate about using technology to connect people globally for positive change.
|
When will your business reward you with financial freedom?
February 10, 2012
It takes guts to dream big when it comes to money, especially if you’ve come from a poor or middle-class background. And, while not all of us want to drive a Porsche or wear Chanel, most of us want to see our dreams come to fruition. Often, those dreams require money to be fulfilled.
If like me, you put a lot of heart, soul and hours into your business, and you want to know that you’re seeing some rewards. Those rewards may include the ability to be creative, to share a vision, to run a great company or to learn and grow. But, unless you’re taken care of financially, working hard to make a living may prove to be arduous and dissatisfying.
Wealth, according to bestselling author Kim Kiyosaki, requires delivering a product or service that someone is willing to buy. Whatever you have, she explains, is the result of what you do.
Three things to DO, in order to HAVE.
In her new book, It’s Rising Time!, Kim explains three things to DO in order to HAVE.
They are those three areas in summary:
- Aspire: Create the dream (the vision) and be clear on what you want.
- Acquire: Acquiring the knowledge, studying, getting mentored are all steps of gathering the skills and information you need in order to act.
- Apply: Putting what you’ve learned into action is the final, and arguably most important, step. Kim claims that many women get the first two steps right, but fail to take the third step, they fail to take action.
Here’s a free except from the book that goes deeper into the Aspire, Acquire, Apply model.
My story of ‘aspire, acquire, apply’
At 26, and with little experience behind me, I started my first business, Pow Wow Events with my partner Peter Johnston. We sold the business 13 years later. And, while selling the business was a huge accomplishment (many small businesses are never in a position to be sold), what was great about the transaction is that we weren’t relying on the money for our financial security. (I’ll explain why in a little bit.)
My first investment property in the outer suburbs of Sydney.
In our 13 years of business, we had good years and bad years. In the end, we had more good years than bad, but the early days, especially, were really tough financially as we struggled to define what we were good at, what we could do that was profitable and how to maintain a sustainable level of income and to grow.
Here’s how Kim’s three steps to HAVING played out for me:
Aspire – to great work
Even though I didn’t know how we’d do it, I did have a vision for building a successful business that would make its mark in the area of education and transformation. For 13 years, we brought to Australia great speakers and thought leaders on all sorts of subjects, many of them innovative and new. We worked extremely hard to be the best we could be and to change the lives of as many people as possible through our work.
Acquire – knowledge for personal and professional gain
As much as I enjoyed introducing these speakers and experts to Australia, my own education was expanding as I learned how to run a business and also took on and learned from each of the experts we were representing. Wins on all sides.
I had to learn how to hire staff, to market, to do media interviews, to create newsletters, to write, to write manuals. I acquired a lot of knowledge on how to run my business.
And through access to great mentors and experts, my own knowledge about business and investing was growing.
Investing in knowledge about investing
One of the biggest and most useful things I did for myself in those years was to learn about investing. I’m not a numbers person, naturally. But, the vision of creating a passive income appealed to my over-tired and over-worked self. And, we were teaching clients about investing and had to be in integrity with the information ourselves!
Like many business owners, we invested a lot of the money the business made into growing the business. We hired new staff, upgraded premises and equipment, saved a little, spent a lot and bought things we really coveted.
In 1996, we read a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I’d known Robert from having been a student in his courses but this book and the way it simplified finances created a huge wave of hope and possibility in my life. I could see how I, on what was then an average income, could start to create wealth through investing.
Robert has gone on to sell millions of books and create great wealth through his real estate, and we were business partners for many years. He’s been a great mentor. However, it’s his wife Kim who has been the greater role model for me when it comes to money. Kim is self-taught in investment and finances and has encouraged millions of women to take control of their own financial future, separate to their (often male) partners, and to really understand how to create wealth.
Apply – take massive action
When we bought our first investment property, it was Kim who had shared her story of how much her hands were shaking when she did her first real estate transaction, whose words were etched in my mind. And it’s Kim who has gone on to dedicated years and energy into supporting other women in creating wealth, and for that I have the greatest admiration for her.
PJ and I have made investment a core part of our business and it’s what we both love. And, business was the vehicle for funding those investments and will continue to be. After committing to investing our business income into other assets, we started to reap the rewards of financial freedom – we could see a way out of the rat race of being stuck in a business forever. We could sell or walk, when we were ready to.
As business owners, we have the wonderful advantage of being able to take advantage of business tax law, to refuse to put a ceiling on our income. But, few of us take some of the money we earn and put it where one day, if we choose to stop working in our business, we will still have a passive income.
I’m really excited to have Kim as our guest on a webinar on 22 February to talk to women about her new book.
If you want to rise up from where you are today and go from where you are to where you want to be financially, I’d like to invite you to join me for this webinar. If you’re ready to have your business start to reward YOU with financial freedom, then join us on 22 February. You’ll find more information about the It’s Rising Time – Reach Your Financial Dreams webinar here.
I hope you can join me.
Best wishes,
Suzi
PAID PARENTAL LEAVE – How Much and Who Pays?
February 9, 2012
By Amy Lyden, Australian Businesswomen’s Network Advocacy Advisor
With the Coalition introducing amendments to the Paid Parental Leave scheme (PPL) this week, the Minister for Small Business Mark Arbib and Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, put out a media release this week condemning the proposed PPL changes.
Senator Arbib describes the PPL as a tax on business that will have a detrimental affect on small businesses, particularly small retailers.
Before we look at the Coalition’s proposed PPL, let’s review the current PPL which came into place January 2011:
- 18 weeks paid parental leave at federal minimum wage (approx. $570/week)
- no superannuation paid
- must have worked for a least 10 of the 13 months prior to birth or adoption of child
- must have worked for at least 330 hours in that 10 month period with no more than an eight week gap between two consecutive working days
- fully funded by the government
- administered by businesses (meaning that businesses will pay directly to PPL recipient)
The Coalition’s gripe with the existing scheme is that it is a burden to businesses to administer.
Also, 18 weeks at minimum wage and no superannuation (approx. $10,000) is not going to make a big difference to many families.
Let’s now examine the Coalition’s proposed PPL, which was released in 2010:
- 26 weeks paid parental leave at FULL salary up to $150,000 per annum
- including superannuation of 9%
- utilising the same work test and eligibility conditions as the current PPL
- be funded by a 1.5% levy on companies with taxable’s incomes OVER $5 million
- be paid and administered by the Family Assistance Office (not by the employer as is currently in place with the government’s PPL)
This is certainly a more generous scheme, with less red tape for businesses. Businesses with a taxable income over $5 million will fund the scheme. Smaller businesses will not be affected.
Yes, this PPL scheme will cost more.
But it will help support families better than the existing paid parental leave scheme.
It also acknowledges the importance of superannuation, which for many women is just simply not enough to retire on.
The bottom line is that if we want more women to participate in Australia’s workforce, we MUST provide workable solutions to help them manage as they have and adopt children. This WILL cost money. But the overall benefits to Australia economically and socially will by far outweigh the dollars spent.
What do you think?
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY AMY LYDEN
- Wish Upon a Star – Disneyland is Still Benchmark for Exceptional Service
- Government Reshuffle Means New Small Business Minister
- Charity: Water – “Technology Changes Everything”
|
|
Amy Lyden - Advocacy Advisor – Australian Businesswomen’s NetworkAn entrepreneur and specialist in ecommerce and online strategy, Amy has had over 13 years of practical experience in these areas. Launching her first website in 1998 Amy was at the forefront of an online revolution without even realising it. Within a year this site became and remains today a #1 ranking site and global community of pet lovers that attracts over 4 million visitors a year. This Australia-based business, Bow Wow Meow, now sells product online to over 100 countries worldwide. Amy sold this business in 2007 and turned her energy to the nonprofit sector. Amy is currently the CEO of Australian Scholarships Foundation, an organisation that facilitates scholarships for education and training for people who work in the nonprofit sector. Amy is the recipient of numerous business awards including the 2006 NSW Telstra Business Women’s Awards for Innovation, the 2002 National Telstra Business Award and the Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World Grant. Amy is an Ambassador and former Chairperson for the Australian Businesswomen’s Network, an organisation that supports female entrepreneurs. Amy was also invited to serve on the Commonwealth Small Business Council, an initiative by the Federal minister for Small Business. Amy has been profiled in the following books: “Women’s Business, Women’s Wealth” by Amanda Ellis, “Female Entrepreneurs”, by Leiza Clark and “Secrets of Female Entrepreneurs Exposed!”, by Dale Beaumont. Amy is passionate about using technology to connect people globally for positive change.
|
How Women can become Efficient Managers (as well as Great Leaders)!
January 10, 2012
By Janet Sernack, Compass Learning
We all know that to be successful and profitable business owners we need to manage our businesses effectively. However, what some of us have failed to realise is that success and profitability are also determined by the way we focus on maximising our businesses potential through the way we lead.
This blog aims to explore and introduce simple strategies for focusing on and improving how you manage and lead your business, the inherent differences between them and the importance of doing both effectively. Managing and leading as women being women — and not falling into the trap of behaving like a man!
Clear Vision of Desired Future Results
As business owners, having a clear vision of the results, or the desired future state you want to have is fundamental to success. Most often, we compose some kind of loose or structured plan which outlines what we need to Do to take us there. We then organise and manage our business assets through efficient processes and systems, which we then monitor and control.
Management is about doing things right!
Leadership is about doing the right things!
Whilst being so busy focusing on this, some business owners neglect to consider is who they are Being: how they are impacting, through their mindsets and behaviours, on themselves and their potential to be effective. They pay insufficient attention and lack intention as to what they are doing to impact and interact positively with others to ensure sustainable business success.
It requires a fundamental choice to decide who you are willing to Be as a Leader!
Once you decide who you are willing to Be, it’s easy to always Do the right things to Have what you want!
From my business consulting and executive coaching experience, without exception, those women who have the courage to take the time out to make this kind of choice as a Leader, find it much easier to do the things necessary to be a good Manager.
Sadly, one of the biggest issues facing most women in business is balancing Doing with Being. If you have ever been close to, or actually experienced burn out, you know what it means, to feel somehow, out of balance!
Personal Mission Statement for 2012
So to take the first key step towards establishing or regaining some balance, take some time out to compose your Personal Mission Statement for 2012.
Consider and answer these three questions:
- What kind of business (or future) do I want to Have?
- Who do I need to Be to create that kind of business (or future)?
- What do I have to Do: what are the key strategies and actions plans I need to implement to Have what I want and to Be who I want to Be?
Good luck. It’s a worthwhile exercise to complete at the start of an exciting New Year!
|
|
Janet Sernack – Compass LearningJanet Sernack successfully runs her own international learning and development consultancy, Compass Learning, where she makes a difference to small and large businesses by designing and facilitating customised culture change programs, leadership and top team effectiveness learning programs. She is a business and marketing management consultant, corporate trainer, facilitator and executive coach. She has also held senior management positions in the wholesale, retail and consulting sectors, most recently as a Senior Consultant at Corporate Vision Pty Ltd (Mettle Group) and as Marketing Development Manager with Grace Bros (Coles Myer Group).
|
1 Million Women Save Summit
November 17, 2011
Join the 1 Million Women SAVE Summit Wednesday, 14 December at Sydney Town Hall (483 George Street) 9am-11:30am for the 2012 Women’s Agenda. 1 Million Women will be highlighting the power to act that we all possess to fight climate change through the way we live our lives.
SAVE is about living more sustainably and being better off financially and the Summit will help save you $1000 or more in 2012 by showing you how to save energy, cut waste and pollution through simple actions that you can implement in your home, transport, food and shopping.
The SAVE Summit will be MC’d be Bernie Hobbs, ABC TV and radio presenter and Kim McKay, co-author of the True Green books. Performances by Katie Noonan and Melinda Schneider and an impressive list of guest speakers, including 1 Million Women Founder Natalie Isaacs.
Watch the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s In Her Shoes interview with Natalie Isaacs: Social Entrepreneur Seeks 1 Million Women to Take Action.
Other guest speakers include award-winning actor Noni Hazlehurst, award-winning TV journalist Helen Dalley, Youth Ambassador to the UN Samah Hadid, 7x world surfing champion Layne Beachley and Australian director of The Climate Group Caroline Bayliss. Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland and founder of the Mary Robinson Foundation Climate Justice, a voice for women in the developing world, will also make an appearance via video link and there will be live demonstrations, including a demonstration and recipes with Julie Goodwin, Australia’s first Master Chef.
Tickets are $25.
Read more and register now for the SAVE Summit on the 1 Million Women website.
Five Lessons from Business Mums
November 16, 2011
By Johanna Baker-Dowdell, Strawberry Communications
In writing my book, Business & Baby on Board, I’ve had the privilege to interview some amazing women who have combined their entrepreneurial traits with motherhood, so I thought I’d share some of the lessons we have in common.
Like many ‘mumpreneurs,’ I started my business after I became a mum (don’t ask me why I thought starting a new business while I was getting used to having a baby would be a good idea). I was looking for a way to combine my professional experience with being at home — and freelancing seemed the way to make it all work.
Some of the women I’ve interviewed had already established a business before throwing children and step-children into the mix, but there were still common threads. This started with wanting to find a career where we felt valued for our contribution, even if it meant working with a child on our lap, taking a sleeping baby to meetings or working at midnight when the house was quiet.
Here are five of the lessons we shared:
- Flexibility – is one of the main drivers for self-employment, whether it’s being available for your child’s sports carnival or simply working when it suits you.
- Be social – working alone with only a child/ren for company can be a lonely existence, so attend meetings with clients, go to work events and find a community where you feel comfortable, whether online or off, so you can share experiences and let off a bit of steam when needed. Not only do you get to exercise your adult communication skills, but you also stay in the loop for industry updates.
- Perfection is elusive – striving to be the perfect parent or the perfect business owner is hard enough because it’s not really possible, but when you try to be the best at both jobs, it can be very stressful. Find what works best for you and stick with it. If that is a combination of childcare/school and work, great; if it’s waiting until all children have started school and working school hours only, great; or if it’s only working on the business when the children are asleep, that’s great too. The point is to find the place where business and motherhood combine and then make it yours.
- Some days are write-offs – this goes for anyone doing anything, but it came up in my interviews a lot. Some days just don’t go to plan and there is no point fighting them. There’s always tomorrow.
- Parenting opens up new skills – how are your boardroom negotiation skills? Now think about brokering a deal with a two year old and answer the question again. Being a parent arms you with a whole host of skills that are vital in business. Don’t underrate them.
What lessons have you learned as a mum in business?
MORE GREAT POSTS BY JOHANNA BAKER-DOWDELL
|
|
Johanna Baker-Dowdell - Strawberry CommunicationsJohanna owns and runs writing and public relations service Strawberry Communications. The agency builds relationships with the media and key stakeholders on behalf of its SME clients. This service is provided through careful research and strategic communication, then maintained by telling the business’s story through amazing publicity and expertly crafted words. Strawberry Communications is based in Launceston and was launched in 2007. Johanna has more than 16 years experience in the media industry and is also a freelance journalist and blogger.
|
New Report – Australia losing ground in gender equity measures
November 4, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
While 85% of countries have improved their gender equality ratios over the past six years, for the rest of the world the situation is declining, most notably in several African and South American countries, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2011, which was released this week.
The Report index assesses 135 countries, representing more than 93% of the world’s population, on how well resources and opportunities are divided amongst male and female populations.
The report measures the size of the gender inequality gap in four areas:
- Economic participation and opportunity –salaries, participation and highly-skilled employment
- Education – access to basic and higher level education
- Political empowerment – representation in decision-making structures
- Health and survival – life expectancy and sex ratio
The rankings are designed to allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups, and over time.
Global results
Nordic countries (Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) continue to hold top spots, having closed over 80% of their gender gaps, while countries at the bottom of the rankings, including Pakistan, Chad and Yemen still need to close as much as 50%.
The developing world had some notable success stories. Lesotho, the Philippines and South Africa were more equal than the UK, which was 15th in the global list. Lesotho, which rose two places to 8th, is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa to have no gender gap in either education or health.
The Report shows a slight decline over the last year in gender equality rankings for New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom, while gains were made in Brazil, Ethiopia, Qatar, Tanzania and Turkey.
Australia’s results
Australia’s position has steadily dropped from 15th in 2006 to its current status of 23rd. This compares with New Zealand’s ranking this year of 6, the United Kingdom at 15, United States at 16 and Canada at 17.
The good news for Australian women is that within the individual areas, Australia was ranked equal first with 21 other countries in the Educational Attainment area.
For the other three measures, we ranked:
- 18th in Economic Participation and Opportunity
- 38th in Political Empowerment and
- 74th in Health and Survival
While Australia excelled in the Educational Attainment area, the Index highlights the fact that it has some way to go to match the leading countries’ achievements. Accordingly, the Australian Businesswomen’s Network will continue to represent its community by lobbying government and publicly advocating for the better public policy, especially in the crucial areas of childcare assistance, taxation legislation and equality and work.
Are there any issues you would like to see the ABN lobby for?
Please let us know by commenting on this post or emailing policy@abn.org.au.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY SUSAN MCGRATH:
- Is it time to ditch the pitch? ‘Elevator speeches’ in a world of social media.
- Serving on non-profit boards – good for you, good for the community!
- How to write a winning application letter
|
|
Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
|
Leveraging Relationships in Business: Transactional vs. Personal Relationships
October 4, 2011
By Lois Frankel, Ph.D., author of Nice Girls Just Don’t Get It, a book that examines the differences between nice girls and successful women in business.
Based on an interview with Suzi Dafnis for the herBusiness podcast.
When it comes to business relationships, women often make two mistakes: Number one, we don’t differentiate transactional relationships from personal relationships. Transactional relationships revolve around some kind of transaction for a short period of time.
For example, I may go to a street fair and bargain with a street vendor. Well, if you think you always have to be polite and kind because you may somehow damage the relationship or cause the other person to think less of you, then you’re not getting that this is a transactional relationship. In other words, it’s one that you can walk away from. Yes, you have to treat the other person with respect, but you have nothing to lose by trying to bargain.
And that’s opposed to a personal relationship where you say, “You know what – I need to put a little more time and energy into this relationship than I would a transactional one.”
Many women spend too much time on transactional relationships.
They try to make everybody their friends. But, guess what – you don’t need to have everybody be your friend! So, that’s number one.
The second mistake that we make is not leveraging our relationships. We’re good at building the relationships, but we’re not good at leveraging them. We’re not good at asking for what we want once we are in a relationship.
Things get done through relationships.
Through networking, we get information, assistance and support. We get the things that we need through our relationships and our network and you really can’t ignore that because life is too hard otherwise.
On the television show The Apprentice, Donald Trump brings in these celebrities and he usually divides them into two groups: men and women. He then gives them a challenge. Well, he did this once with the challenge of selling cupcakes.
The women put together a marketing plan. They tried their hardest to sell a lot of cupcakes, at something like $10 each, on the corner of a New York street. The guys just picked up the phone and called their friends and said, “Would you be willing to buy a dozen cupcakes for $5,000? The money will go to charity.” And the friends said, “Sure, I’ll take a dozen for $5,000.”
Now, what’s interesting about this is that I told the story in a workshop here in Australia, and a couple of the women said, “So the guys cheated?”
“That’s not cheating,” I said. “That’s using your relationships in a very smart way.”
Suzi: That’s interesting to me, because if the rules were laid down, where did we get the idea that it was cheating?
Lois: Yeah, exactly! Because the only rule was whoever made the most money would win the challenge. It didn’t say you couldn’t charge $5,000 for a dozen cupcakes, or you couldn’t call your friends and ask them to come and buy cupcakes.
Women fall short because…
they feel like they can’t go against established expectations. And as a result, they miss out on opportunities
Sometimes it’s about asking for a job. I’ve had women tell me that they knew that their best friend’s husband knew about a job opportunity.
“Well, did you ask him to put in a good word for you?” I asked.
“No, I don’t want to take advantage of an relationship.”
It’s not taking advantage. People can always say, “No.” Or they may say, “Yes.”
As women, we need to understand people will take care of themselves. We don’t always have to play the caretaker role. If people don’t want to support you, then they will tell you – and it won’t be the end of the world. But we must have the courage to ask for support and leverage our relationships.
Click the image to listen to the podcast interview with Lois Frankel by Suzi Dafnis on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website.
Books by Lois Frankel
 |
Nice Girls Just Don’t Get it 99 Ways to Get the Things you Want, the Success you’ve Earned and the Respect you Deserve By Lois P. Frankel and Carol M. Frohlinger Paperback |
 |
Nice Girls Just Don’t Get it 99 Ways to Get the Things you Want, the Success you’ve Earned and the Respect you Deserve By Lois P. Frankel and Carol M. Frohlinger Hardcover Order your copy from Booktopia today and save 45% off the retail price. |
 |
Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers By Lois P. Frankel Order your copy from Booktopia today and save 20% off the retail price. |
 |
See Jane Lead 99 Ways for Women to Take Charge at Work By Lois P. Frankel
|
 |
Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich 75 Avoidable Mistakes Women Make with Money By Lois P. Frankel Order your copy from Booktopia today and save 44% off the retail price. |
 |
Lois Frankel – Corporate Coaching InternationalLois P. Frankel, Ph.D., is an internationally recognised expert in the fields of workplace behaviour and female empowerment, and the president of Corporate Coaching International. In addition to her work with Fortune® 500 companies, Dr. Frankel is a sought-after speaker who’s been featured in Fast Company magazine and Entrepreneur and quoted in US national publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Fortune and The Wall Street Journal. Dr. Frankel’s books Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office and Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich are international bestsellers, translated into over twenty-five languages worldwide. Stop Sabotaging Your Career, a book based on her experiences as a pioneer in the field of business coaching working with everyone from CEOs to entry-level professionals, is a must-read for both men and women. And See Jane Lead is a virtual road map for any woman who wants to take charge at work. Nice Girls Just Don’t Get It is her latest book, published in April 2011.
|
Forget work/life balance; work/life fit is better for you
September 29, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
The Huffington Post, recently published, “Supermoms At Higher Risk For Depression: Study” – a pragmatic, powerful and practical piece about avoiding the almost universal guilt and frequent depression felt by working mothers.
Key points include:
- Mothers are better off at home if that’s really where they want to be and they’re better off working if that’s where they really want to be. Such a simple – and powerful – statement!
- Own your choices – this is a particularly good point for mothers who would prefer to be at home, but have to work. You don’t have to love your job, but if you know in some fundamental way that you made the right decision about working, you’ll be more comfortable going forward than if you’re always questioning yourself.
- Find your work-life “fit” – not balance. Why? Because “balance” is a guilt word; it implies you have to have everything on an even keel and that if you give to one side, you take from the other. “Fit”, on the other hand, is about doing whatever works for you. When balance is out of the equation, so is the guilt that comes with trying to achieve it.
- Align your expectations with reality. Staying stuck with expectations that aren’t coming true leads to depression and guilt.
Click here to read the full article, which includes a list of six practical tips to banish working mothers’ guilt for good!
My response:
Over the past forty years, the feminist mantra that “women can have it all” has subtly turned to show its dark side, that in order to have it all, “women must do it all”.
Current research shows that despite the advert of modern feminism, working mothers – even those engaged in full-time work – still do most of their family’s housework, cooking, shopping and childcare and hands-on caring responsibilities for other family members, such as aged relatives. Easily a 70-80 hour working week, when travelling, working and domestic work is taken into account.
Against that backdrop, the expectation that so many women put upon themselves, to manage the perfect home, be the perfect mother and have the perfect career, or run the perfect business, is a recipe for emotional and psychological disaster.
The work/life balance myth has added to this pressure, causing women to question why they can’t find that elusive balance that would enable them to hold all the parts of their life together.
Unfortunately, the only structural and long term solution to the woes of Australia’s working mothers that I can see lies in the hands of government. Not an ideal situation, but all we have to work with.
The government is already recognising the importance of quality child care, by planning to staff early years child care centres with qualified teachers – a step in the right direction. But that is of little use to mothers whose children are currently on a two to three year waiting list to access their centre of choice, or who aren’t able to use child care centres because they close too early.
Like it or not, it’s a fact of life that many mothers are not in the privileged position of being able to collect their children by 6 pm. Child care centre operators should be encouraged to recognise this and extend their hours to a more realistic timeframe, with the government subsidising their additional operating costs, to avoid the ridiculous situation of centres charging $1+ for every minute a parent is late collecting their child. Outside school hours care should also be subsidised in the same way.
Family day care is not everyone’s choice and parents should not be forced to put their child into that model of care because nothing else is available.
I would also like to see the use of accredited domestic support services made tax deductible, to increase their affordability to all working Australians (I say “working Australians” because some groups of non-working Australians already receive subsided or free domestic services) and open up employment options in the home services field, thereby reducing the ongoing drain on government funds caused by able-bodied people accepting unemployment benefits.
Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011
MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS
- Approaching Your Boss – a Mentoring Perspective
- Grammatical glitches that spell “disaster” for job applicants
- Making A Good Impression: 7 Keys To A More Professional Image
|
|
Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
|
Board quotas – are they the answer?
September 24, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
Australia’s peak shareholders’ body recently said women should be appointed to company boards according to their abilities, not arbitrary quotas, according to The Australian newspaper. And Federal Opposition Women’s Affairs spokesperson Michaelia Cash restated the Coalition’s opposition to gender quotas, in response to Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey’s call for women to occupy a mandated 30 per cent of boardroom positions.
Meanwhile, Governor-General Quentin Bryce used International Women’s Day to call for board quotas, saying they are needed to break the “old boys” stranglehold over Australian business, and Australian Minister for the Status of Women Kate Ellis has stated that quotas were a last resort but that the government was leaving this option on the table.
But are we targeting the real problem in our discussions about quotas and getting more women onto Australian boards? I don’t think so.
I see the lack of women on boards as just a symptom of a much deeper problem that seems to have had disappointingly little media attention paid to it.
The real issue – the problem that must be addressed before any sustainable progress can be made toward gender equity in corporate Australia - is Australia’s prevailing organisational culture that keeps women off boards, by restricting their access to the C-suite executive roles that are feeder positions to corporate directorships.
I recently undertook a piece of research relating to factors that affect women’s representation on boards in Australia. I only used significant Australian and international studies that were up to two years old, so my sources were somewhat limited, but even so, they identified no less than sixteen separate and evidence-based factors that currently block women’s ascendency to the board table.
Just a few of these factors were:
- the culture of mateship that continues to pervade Australian boards
- a lack of transparency in board appointment processes, and a failure to articulate and assess applicants against clear selection criteria
- the fact that boards usually recruit from restricted pools of applicants that are already known to, or referred by, their members
- board members’ tendency to “appoint in their own image”
- the fact that significantly fewer males than females see gender diversity on boards as a strategic corporate priority
- organisational expectations of a straight-line, always-available, geographically mobile career model
- the fact that board feeder positions – senior corporate C-suite roles with line management responsibilities – are predominantly filled by men
- the lack of support for women who wish to continue to build their careers after having a child, or taking on caring responsibilities; for example, personally tailored return to work programs, telecommuting and the provision of quality, flexible child care
- the lack of high level female mentors to assist other women get onto boards and into board feeder roles within an organisation
And this is despite the fact that evidence has proven over and over again that having women in leadership positions and on boards is good for business, not only by leading to improved financial and corporate results, but because it leads to improved governance, enhanced public perception of the organisation and better employee attraction and retention.
The introduction of quotas would certainly improve the gender balance on Australian boards, and would do so over a very short period of time.
But the introduction of quotas would also have the potential to encourage lip-service, forced compliance, a public questioning of the worthiness of the incumbents who were appointed under the quota requirement and a nagging worry in the minds of the incumbents themselves, about whether their appointment stemmed from merit or tokenism.
So regardless of whether Australia eventually does nothing, goes down the forced quota pathway or takes the voluntary target option, one thing is obvious.
To address the organisational culture that is the fundamental cause of the lack of gender balance on Australian boards, we need strong corporate leadership that champions gender equity for all employees, from the new recruit to the executive team and the board.
Until corporate Australia has the strategic foresight and pragmatic business sense to use such leadership to implement change across Australia’s business sector, the best that will be achieved is the continued implementation of spin-doctored, band-aid solutions which, to the detriment of the Australia’s business sector, will temporarily mask the obvious symptoms, but do little to stem the growth of the real problem.
Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011
MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS
|
|
Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
|
