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For Women in 2011's Top Movies, it's Quantity Over Quality
Source: Chicago Tribune

By Lucas Shaw

Thanks to "Twilight"s' Bella Swan and the women from "The Help," it looks like Hollywood's glass ceiling for actresses is starting to show some cracks.

There were more females in the top 100 domestic grossing films of 2011 than there were a decade ago, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University.

But before women in the movie business start popping the champagne, they should know that the roles that actresses get a chance to play are not of the same caliber as their male counterparts. Moreover, the representation of women among the biggest grossing films in the United States only improved by a modest five percent since 2002. Females still represent just one third of all characters in last year's top grossing films.

"The findings are a mixed bag," Martha Lauzen, the center's executive director and the report's author, told TheWrap. "I was really heartened to see the percentage of female characters overall increase. People may say, 'Gosh, it's just 5 percentage points,' but when I see a jump that's very encouraging to me, because I know how absolutely resistant to change the film industry is."

Lauzen said that the numbers of female characters in movies have remained roughly the same from the 1940s to the early aughts, which makes the slight uptick in roles for actresses somewhat remarkable.

Not that all these parts were memorable. In the roles actresses did get last year, they were more likely to be stuck darning socks than they were to be seen commanding armies - or to put it in "Twi-hard" terms, Bella was left to moon about while vampires and werewolves did the fighting.

Entitled "It's a Man's (Celluloid) World," the report found that female characters were much less likely of to be portrayed as leaders. Overall, male characters accounted for 86 percent of cinematic leaders and females represented a meager 14 percent of the take charge crowd last year.

Moreover, most of the films that did hit screens were told from a male perspective, and that trend is actually getting more pronounced. Females accounted for 11 percent of protagonists in 2011, down from 16 percent in 2002.

The study also found that female characters remain younger than their male counterparts and are more likely than males to have an identifiable marital status.

In welcome news for Clint Eastwood, males 40 and over account for 50 percent of all male characters. Yet females 40 and over comprise 25 percent of all female characters.

Lauzen says that the preponderance of youthful females is impacting their onscreen depictions as followers, not leaders.

"One of the consequences of keeping female characters young is that filmmakers tend to keep them relatively powerless," Lauzen said. "When do we come into our power? It tends to happen for most people in their forties."

"All these females in their twenties and thirties are too young to have vast power."

The situation could improve this year. After all, "The Hunger Games" featured a bow-and-arrow-wielding female protagonist en route to a $624 million worldwide gross, and this summer brings two new warrior princesses in "Snow White and the Huntsman" and "Brave."

But Lauzen said she won't believe that things are fundamentally changing until she crunches the numbers.

"Every year, and I've been doing this study for over a decade, there are some high-profile roles for women and girls in films that can lead us to believe that things are a lot better," Lauzen said. "Until you actually count the number of characters, it's easy to have your perceptions distorted."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-womeninfilm-studybre84f017-20120515,0,797818.story FEMANOMICS: The Top Women in Venture Capital and Angel Investing
Source: Forbes

By Reuven Cohen

At Forbes, we love our lists. We have lists for just about everything. One of our more popular lists is “The Midas 100” of top tech investors. It’s actually a great list, but sadly, there is something lacking. Women. Apparently there are only 5 of them on the 2011 edition.

In a recent post over at techcocktail.com, Melissa Pierce, the founder of Pitch Conference takes it upon herself to create her own “The Midas 100? for women tech investors. She has taken the work of Cindy Gallop’s Twitter campaign entitled “Female VC’s Everyone Should Know,” where she listed over 50 female venture capitalists, and created a great listed she called “FEMANOMICS: 105 Women in Venture Capital and Angel Investment You Should Know.”

In her post, Pierce says “Building off of Cindy Gallop’s tweets and adding in the knowledge and collective brain power of my small but amazing network, I was able to put together a list of, not 5, not 50, but 105 [200+] women in the investing world that you should know.”

(Quick Update: I just received a message from @melissapierce on twitter noting that her list now tops more than 200 women investors. You can view the complete list she has put together via a Google Docs spreadsheet. She also notes that the list isn’t a “top” list, it’s just a list, alphabetized A-Z)

Here are the top first 20.

1. Rhnata Akhunova

2. Geraldine Alias – North Bridge Venture Partners

3. Cyan Banister

4. Amy Banse – Comcast Ventures

5. Rachel Botsmen – Collaborative Fund

6. Corinne Bright – Onset Ventures

7. Eileen Burbidge – White Bear Yard

8. Christina Cacioppo – Union Square Ventures

9. Marissa Campise – Venrock

10. Carmen Chang – NEA

11. CeCe Cheng – First Round Capital

12. Julie Chin

13. Meg Devine – North Bridge Venture Partners

14. Monica Dodi – Women’s VC Fund

15. Tracy Doree – MMC Ventures

16. Edith Dorsen – Women’s VC Fund

17. Lara Druyan - G&B Partners

18. Esther Dyson – EdVenture Holdings

19. Amy Errett – Maveron

20. Catarina Fake

*Note: If there is no venture fund listed, the women are private investors.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/reuvencohen/2012/05/15/femanomics-the-top-women-in-venture-capital-and-angel-investing/ Violence Against American Women Act Needs Strong Reauthorization Vote
Source: Chicago Sun-Times

BY JAN SCHAKOWSKY

Since 1994, the Violence Against American Women Act has strengthened communities and provided critical, life-saving support to victims of violence. It has helped millions of victims move from crisis to stability and has saved taxpayers millions in averted societal costs.

Unfortunately, for the first time in the act’s history, it appears as though we will not have a bipartisan reauthorization bill.

Battered women often suffer in silence because they fear losing their children, their home or their community. The stakes are even higher for abused immigrant women, who fear deportation and permanent separation from their children. Far too often, abusers hold all the power.

The bill Republicans have proposed in the House of Representatives — H.R. 4970 — is a step backward.

Ensuring that immigrant women are able to leave their abusers and aren’t forced to stay because of threats of deportation, or because they are afraid to come out of the shadows, has been a long-fought fight.

H.R. 4970 destroys years of work to protect immigrant women and creates more obstacles for these victims to report crimes.

H.R. 4970 would weaken and undermine the confidentiality requirements that victims rely on to ensure their safety, as well as the safety of their children. Victim safety is a core principle of the Violence Against American Women Act.

H.R. 4970 would allow for the consideration of uncorroborated abuser statements — raising the standard of proof for battered victims. It would also place unnecessary burdens on victims by requiring additional interviews for battered immigrants.

H.R. 4970 would limit the U visa protections that allow immigrant victims who cooperate with law enforcement to eventually qualify for a green card. The bill would add restrictive certification requirements that will only discourage victim cooperation with law enforcement. Many law enforcement agencies have called on Congress to increase — not restrict — U visa protections.

The Senate bill passed with bipartisan support on April 26. Every woman in the Senate, including Republican women, voted for the bill which would further strengthen and improve programs authorized under the act.

The House has a similar bill, HR 5331, that like its Senate counterpart contains critical programs that assist victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking as well as extends protections to immigrants, Native Americans and members of the LGBT community and their families.

We must remain firm in our commitment to ensure that all victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and trafficking have meaningful access to protection under the law.

It’s time to put partisanship behind and quickly pass a strong reauthorization of the Violence Against American Women Act.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/12555039-452/violence-against-american-women-act-needs-strong-reauthorization-vote.html Women Making Gains in Economics, but Progress is Slow
Source: The Boston Globe

By Megan Woolhouse

No woman won the John Bates Clark Medal in the first 60 years that the American Economic Association awarded the prize, considered by economists as second in prestige only to the Nobel. Last month, however, MIT professor Amy Finkelstein became the third woman in the last five years to gain the honor, which recognizes the top US economist under 40.

This recent history may be a sign of progress for women in the male-dominated field of economics, but it is advancement that is coming slowly. Just one-third of PhD economists today are women, a percentage that has changed little since 1995, according to the American Economic Association. And while the share of women with tenure in university economics departments has doubled since 1995, women still hold just one in eight of these positions.

“That’s saying to me there’s a problem,’’ said Susan Athey, a Harvard economics professor who became the first woman to win the John Bates Clark medal in 2007. There are “women out there who would be fabulous economists who for some reason were turned off from the field.’’

There are many possible reasons, from the choice between children and career that many professional women face to a lingering societal bias that discourages women from pursuing math- and science-related disciplines. But these don’t seem to fully explain women’s slow progress in the field.

The National Science Foundation, for example, found that the number of engineering PhDs granted to US women nearly doubled to just over 900 in 2010 from about 500 in 1995. During the same period, the number of women receiving doctorates in economics declined 7 percent, to 157 in 2010 from 169 in 1995.

Claudia Goldin, a Harvard economics professor, said the problem could lie in the way economics is taught. She said undergraduate courses are often too theoretical and abstract to win the attention of women who may want to engage in real-world problems.
MIT’s Amy Finkelstein has been recognized for her studies of the effects of Medicare and Medicaid.

PAT GREENHOUSE/GLOBE STAFF

MIT’s Amy Finkelstein has been recognized for her studies of the effects of Medicare and Medicaid.

That can lead women to consider careers in biology or psychology, where more than half of all PhDs in the field in 2009 were granted to women.

“Women lose attention more than men when people are called ‘X’ and ‘Y’ and they become abstractions. In psychology, they’re always talking about real people,’’ Goldin said. “If it was up to me, I would teach the [introductory economics] course differently. I would always remind people what the big questions are and [that] the biggest questions concern the everyday decisions people make.’’

Of course, Goldin added, the place of women in economics has improved since her early years teaching at Princeton University. She said she doubts a woman professor today would have the same experiences she did in the 1970s, when a “doddering old faculty member’’ handed her something to type.

It is also true that women are moving to the top of the profession. Women, including vice chair Janet Yellen, hold three of the five filled seats on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. In Europe, Christine Lagarde leads the International Monetary Fund.

Finkelstein, Athey, and Esther Duflo, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who won the John Bates Clark Medal in 2010, are among the superstars of economics. Athey was one of the most sought after young scholars after completing her PhD at Stanford University at age 24 and earned tenure at Stanford at 29. Duflo has done groundbreaking work on the economics of the poor, changing perceptions and approaches to attacking poverty. Finkelstein has gained acclaim for her large-scale studies of the effects of Medicare and Medicaid, the government health care programs.

Like many of the women economists interviewed, the three women winners of the John Bates Clark Medal said they never viewed their sex as an obstacle. Finkelstein, 38, said she rarely even thought about being a female in a male-centric field.

“I don’t think about it - it’s never been an issue,’’ said Finkelstein, the mother of two. “Though the fact I haven’t doesn’t mean those barriers don’t exist.’’

Duflo, who received tenure at MIT in 2002, said she didn’t think being a woman “posed obstacles for me at any point."

“There was an earlier generation of women for whom I think it was harder," she said. "Thanks to their effort and persistence, things are now much easier for women of my generation and you find women at the top everywhere."

Four of the five economists elected to the Executive Committee of the American Economic Association are women, including Goldin, the president-elect, noted James Poterba, president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Cambridge nonprofit that coordinates, publishes, and disseminates the research of the world’s leading scholars.

There are other signs of progress, including the large increase in the number of women gaining tenure, he said. But concerns remain, he added, that the share of women achieving the rank of full professor remains substantially below the share receiving PhDs or appointments as assistant professors.

"This has been the case for a long time," he said. "There is some evidence of a narrowing gap in the last decade."

Women who choose academia must navigate tricky career obstacles trying to balance a push for tenure at a time that often collides with the end of their childbearing years. Achieving tenure at a top school can take up to a decade.

Harvard’s Athey recalled being one of the first tenured faculty members at Stanford to become pregnant. Now 41, she is the mother of three, ages 8, 5, and 17 months,

"It’s a challenge," she said. "I personally feel incredibly thankful that I started [in economics] young and didn’t have that conflict."

When she mentors up-and-coming women economists (and that has included Duflo and Finkelstein) she advises them to buy a smaller car and a less expensive house and save the money for childcare. "It’s a better investment in your long-term career," she tells them.

Donna Ginther, an economist at the University of Kansas who studies women and minorities in the field, said she thinks the recession may draw more women to study economics, because of its profound impact on the lives of so many Americans.

"I think there’s a lot of evidence that for the women superstars, the sky is the limit," she said. "But for the average economist, the average man still has advantages the average woman probably doesn’t have."

http://bostonglobe.com/business/2012/05/13/women-making-gains-economics-but-progress-slow/UHmhgXzmNSLqhUSRMiWJ8O/story.html Older Women Bucking Trend of Fewer Births
Source: The Sacramento Bee

By Cynthia Hubert and Phillip Reese

The Great Recession has been tough on the baby business.

Just ask obstetrician Ruth Haskins, a private practitioner in Folsom who along with her colleagues has seen a dramatic drop in recent years in the number of women scheduling appointments for prenatal care.

Or business owner Kerri Kaye, whose upscale Starlight Starbright baby store, which serves customers from Sacramento to El Dorado Hills, has watched sales dip as jobs have disappeared and budgets have become tighter.

Births in the Sacramento region fell by 9 percent between 2007 and 2010, according to California Department of Public Health figures, a pattern that continues to play out across the state.

But as they celebrate Mother's Day today, one group of women is bucking the trend.

Women age 40 and older, both in the region and statewide, are having more babies than ever.

About 12 of every 1,000 women ages 40 to 44 gave birth in the region in 2010, up 5 percent from 2007 and up 31 percent from 2000. About 975 local women age 40 and older had babies in 2010, nearly a historical record.

Older women, many of whom seek fertility treatments to get pregnant, also are fueling a boom of multiple births, data shows. The rate of California births resulting in twins has doubled in the past three decades to 1 in 32.

In the Sacramento region, women who are older when they give birth tend to live in wealthier ZIP codes with relatively high numbers of college-educated residents, including east Sacramento, Folsom, Roseville, upper Land Park and Granite Bay.

They are women like Stefanie Anderson, 42, who is pregnant with her first child, conceived through in vitro fertilization; Jessica Light, 43, a veterinarian who gave birth to her seventh child last year; and Christine Krause, 42, whose newborn son, Maxwell, was a "surprise" addition to the family but no less a blessing.

"You see plenty of women in their 40s pushing strollers," said Doreen Nagle, a syndicated parenting columnist and author of the book "But I Don't Feel Too Old to Be a Mommy." Early in life, she said, "women are out working, going to school. They just have a lot more freedom than they used to."

Older women also tend to be "more comfortable financially," Nagle said, which can make a difference when deciding whether to have a kid in a tough economy.

Stefanie Anderson fits the mold. Anderson and her domestic partner, Megan, have joined the ranks of a growing number of gay couples who are having or adopting children.

A security manager at Intel, Anderson said she envisioned having a baby at 25 or 26. But her first marriage, to a man, was brief. She was on a fast career track and "it just never came to fruition," she said.

"I hit 40, and I wondered, 'Is this ever going to happen?' " she said. "Then I met Megan, and she's always wanted children.

"I'm satisfied with my job and I'm well set financially and otherwise. So it's looking like a very good time to do this."

Given her age, Anderson was concerned that conception would be difficult using her own eggs. Instead, the couple sought out donor eggs and sperm and "everything fell into place perfectly," said Anderson. She is nearly four months pregnant and looking forward to presenting her parents with their first grandchild.

Social, medical changes

Women over 40 still account for only a small percentage of those giving birth – 4 percent in Sacramento. But older moms face less of a social stigma today, and medical advances including tests for genetic defects have made pregnancy and childbirth less scary to women in their 40s.

"I think people tend to look at young women in their 20s who are having babies today as less responsible because they haven't had careers yet, aren't stable enough yet, are not necessarily prepared," said Haskins. In past generations, she noted, women who delayed having babies because of their careers were judged more harshly.

It remains medically riskier for older women to carry and deliver babies. Women giving birth after age 40 are about four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related factors after giving birth than women in their 20s, although such deaths are still rare, according to the state Department of Public Health. They also are more likely to undergo Caesarean sections and have babies diagnosed with autism. Genetic conditions including Down syndrome are more common among youngsters of older mothers.

On the other hand, doctors these days are armed with better knowledge and technology with which to manage older women's pregnancies, said Haskins.

"In the old days doctors would look at a gal over 35 and not even think about the possibility of pregnancy," much less discuss with them the risks of certain common medications on a developing fetus, she said. Now, pregnancy-related conversations with older women are routine.

When Krause became pregnant last year with her unplanned baby Max, her third child, she underwent genetic testing for the first time. Before the births of her daughters Samantha, now 12, and Allison, 8, "I waived those tests," she said. "But I knew the risk factors would be higher at my age." The tests came out fine.

Krause, a full-time mom whose husband, Matthew, manages a logistics company in Roseville, had an unremarkable pregnancy although she suffered more morning sickness and fatigue than she did while carrying her daughters.

"I had a lot more nausea and heartburn. I was a lot more tired," she said. "It definitely was different this time."

But in other ways, said Haskins and others, women in their 40s may be better equipped than their younger counterparts to handle the stresses of bringing a new life into the world.

"Older women seem to enjoy their babies more," Haskins said. "Their careers are more established. Maybe they can afford nannies. They have broad social networks. They seem more patient. Some of them have waited a long time, so they really, really appreciate their babies."

Light, a dairy cow veterinarian who lives in Rancho Murieta with her geologist husband, Jeff, and their seven youngsters ages 6 months to 13 years, certainly does.

She had her first baby when she was 30, and her last one just six months ago.

"Getting up in the middle of the night to nurse an infant right now, it's jarring at first," said Light. "But by the time I get to the crib, I feel fortunate that I am able to spend a half-hour with this new baby.

"When I was 20 I don't think I would have felt that way. But now, in my 40s, I'm at the top of my game, and I have learned to live in the moment and be grateful for everything that I have been given. I don't waste any energy wishing this kid would sleep more at night."

Economic issues ease

Kerri Kaye and her business partners, her sister Kristin Salmans and friend Karen McConnell, opened Starlight Starbright in Folsom with moms like these in mind. Women in their 30s and 40s with higher disposable incomes "are the largest demographic" for the baby store, she said.

"We offer a boutique experience with merchandise and brands you can't find everywhere," including upscale clothing, shoes and furniture, Kaye said. "These are items they can be proud to buy and will be in the family for a long time, maybe passed down to future generations."

The store, which opened about eight years ago, "took off right away. We had a huge response," she said. Business tailed off as the recession dug in, but sales are starting to improve, said Kaye.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/13/4486113/older-women-bucking-trend-of-fewer.html Habitat for Humanity New York City and Lowe's Team up for National Women Build Week
Source: MarketWatch

By press release

Author and television personality Julie Edelman, aka, "The Accidental Housewife;" local women volunteers from Habitat for Humanity-New York City; Teresa Edwards, five-time Olympian and former WNBA coach and player; and Lowe's Heroes, all representing "The Build Generation," raised their paint brushes at the New York City Housing Authority's (NYCHA) Taft Houses Youth Chorus Center today in recognition of National Women Build Week. Held May 5-13, the week-long event is a nationwide initiative of Habitat for Humanity's Women Build program developed in partnership with Lowe's.

This year's theme, "The Build Generation," reflects the event's goal to recruit and train women volunteers, as well as welcome the next generation of Habitat Women Builders - young women, ages 18-24 - to help support Habitat's mission to create affordable housing and revitalize communities in need.

Today, the women volunteers in New York City are helping revitalize the NYCHA Taft Houses Youth Chorus Center, which provides residents, ages nine to 21 with intensive vocal training and lessons in music history and choreography. In addition to teaching music fundamentals, the Chorus also fosters self-esteem among its young musicians.

"Community revitalization addresses quality-of-life issues in neighborhoods and helps create resilient and sustainable communities," said Rachel Hyman, Acting Executive Director. "We are so pleased to bring together all these dedicated women volunteers for this particular revitalization project during National Women Build Week. We hope the work we do here today will help inspire the next generation to carry on Habitat's mission."

Edelman, spokeswoman for the New York project and a long-time Women Build supporter, built with women in Paterson, New Jersey, in addition to leading the volunteers revitalizing the Youth Chorus Center.

"As a mother, I understand how important 'community' is in the safe, healthy development of our children," Edelman said. "It's so important to share our knowledge and passion with younger women, equipping them to join us in this effort to create affordable housing, revitalize communities and build a better world for us all. And I can't imagine any better way to celebrate this amazing initiative than having women of all ages helping women leading up to Mother's Day!"

Lowe's, underwriter of Habitat's Women Build program, has committed more than $1.3 million to the 2012 National Women Build Week in support of 275 participating affiliates. National Women Build Week is one of the major initiatives supported through Lowe's five-year, $20 million pledge to Habitat. Lowe's conducts "How-To" clinics at stores to teach women construction skills, enabling them to support Habitat projects across the country

"Lowe's has been the proud sponsor of Habitat's Women Build program since 2004," said Marshall Croom, chairman of the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation. "Women Build encourages women from all ages and walks of life to pick up their hammers and build affordable homes alongside local families. Lowe's salutes all the women volunteers who take time to build this week and values the difference Lowe's and Habitat are making in the lives of families across the nation."

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo sends his greetings to New Yorkers in celebration of Women Build Week: "I applaud your commitment, enthusiasm, and support for this valuable goal. You are true 'builders' in every sense of the word and tremendous inspiration to each and every New Yorker."

The U.S. Census Bureau reports more than 12 million children -- one out of every six -- are living in poverty in the United States, where more than 70 percent of Habitat's U.S. houses are built in partnership with women heads-of-household. According to the Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of New York State, in New York City, more than 40 percent of renters pay 35 percent or more of their income towards rent-- this represents more families in need of affordable housing. Habitat's Women Build program recruits, educates and inspires women to build and advocate for simple, decent and affordable houses in their communities. Since the inception of Habitat's Women Build program in 1998 more than 1,900 Habitat for Humanity Women Build houses have been constructed in partnership with low-income families.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/habitat-for-humanity-new-york-city-and-lowes-team-up-for-national-women-build-week-2012-05-12 Ask an Expert: Women in Business Have Come a Long Way
Source: USA Today

By Steve Strauss

Q: My wife is both a terrific mom and a terrific businesswoman. So on this Mother's Day, I would just like to say thank you to her, and to all of the great moms out there who juggle life and business. —Zachary

A: Like many people, I have been fascinated with this great season of AMC's Mad Men. It is interesting on so many levels, not the least of which is the struggle and challenges of women in the workplace. And in that regard, the indomitable Peggy Olson is our favorite character. Her spunk, great attitude, smarts, and dedication have, and will, take her far.

Similarly, Don Draper's new wife Megan is a fascinating character. Rather than the ditzy airhead we (I) anticipated, it turned out that she, too, is an incredibly capable young woman, bursting with creativity and mad skills.

But what neither of these women will ever be is a mompreneur. I grew up in the '60s and, as the show so ably depicts, it was a different era. Women tended to be either stay-at-home moms or women who worked. Rarely did the two mix. Witness Joanie leaving her son with her mom so she could go back to and run Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce.

There have been so many advancements in the workplace in the recent past that it is hard to pick one that is the most important — technology, mobility, laws, attitudes — work today is radically different than even a generation ago. But even with these seismic shifts, it would be hard to say that the change in attitude by and towards women at work is not the most important change; number one.

I once had a boss who had to straddle the old and new world. Coming of age in the '70s as she did, she seemed to think that the only way she could be effective at work was to be tougher than the guys. And boy, was she tough.

These days though, it seems that no such compromises need to be made.

When the Secretary of State is a woman, when The Masters has a problem on its hands because the CEO of one of its biggest sponsors, IBM, is a woman, we are clearly in a new world where equality does not mean out-manning the men. Rather, it seems to mean that a person can bring their own strengths to the table and succeed or fail on her own merits, period.

That is the world I want to see my daughters grow up in:

A world where a woman can realistically think she can become president (Go Mara!)

A world where a woman does not have to choose between being a mom and being an entrepreneur. (According to the AP, roughly 67% of all home-based businesses are owned by women with children.)

A world where women get equal pay for equal work (Background: Lily Ledbetter worked at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Gadsen, Ala. After she learned that she was being paid less than her male counterparts, she eventually sued the company. But because she waited until near retirement to sue, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against her because, they said, she had in fact waited too long. In his first act as president, President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act which mandates equal pay for equal work.)

So on this day after Mother's Day, I would just like to thank all of the great moms out there (including my own sweet wife) who have changed the world and who continue to make our business life so vibrant.

Today's tip: Sign of the times: My daughter, who is a freshman in college, really dislikes "feminism." "Why?" I ask her. "Because women are already equal to men, Dad. Duh. There is nothing to fight about." Little does she realize how much she owes women like my old boss, and before that, the Peggy Olsons of the world. These brave women made it so that a young woman today takes equality for granted.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/strauss/story/2012-05-14/mothers-day-women-in-business/54909954/1 Should Pregnant Women Be Accommodated in the Workplace?
Source: Time.com

By Bonnie Rochman

Earlier this week, a coalition of legislators introduced the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, designed to encourage employers to make nice to their pregnant employees. If they need extra bathroom breaks or help lifting heavy things or a chair to sit in, employers shouldn’t balk.

But many are. Complaints about pregnancy-related work discrimination have soared 50% since 2000. Consider the case of Angie, a train conductor in Mississippi whose employer wouldn’t agree to accommodate her when she presented a doctor’s note limiting the amount of weight she should lift. Employees at her workplace routinely helped each other out, but her employer forced her to take three months of unpaid leave rather than assign her to lighter duty. She contacted an advice hotline maintained by Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), a nonprofit law firm that focuses on employment and educational equity for women, but there wasn’t much ERA could do in the absence of comprehensive laws championing pregnant women’s rights to reasonable accommodations in order to keep working.

Just seven states — Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Alaska, Texas, Illinois and California — have some sort of pregnancy accommodation legislation; New York is in the process of trying to pass a law. California’s is among the most protective for pregnant women: it guarantees the right to job-protected — albeit unpaid — leave and mandates a pregnant woman’s right to be transferred to another position if medically necessary.

Given California’s generosity toward pregnant working women, one might wonder if litigation has gone gangbusters there in the 12 years since its law took effect. And that’s precisely the subject of a new report, Expecting a Baby, Not a Lay-Off: Why Federal Law Should Require the Reasonable Accommodation of Pregnant Workers, released Friday by ERA. It tracks all pregnancy discrimination cases filed in California since 2000 and finds that there just 23 — about two a year. The number of federal law discrimination charges have increased by 54% since 1997, but the charges filed in California dropped, perhaps because the law’s existence compelled employers to negotiate.

“At a time when American families are struggling to make ends meet, it’s imperative that we do everything we can to keep people in their jobs, and this is especially true for pregnant women on the verge of having another mouth to feed,” said U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), one of the legislators who introduced the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, in a statement.

Related legislation is particularly important to low-income workers, who tend to be those most impacted. Most women who file pregnancy discrimination claims work at lower-paying jobs in demanding physical environments. “We see that male firefighters who throw out their backs are given desk jobs, but women who are pregnant don’t get them,” says Noreen Farrell, ERA’s executive director. “There is an ability to provide accommodations, but employers don’t want to.”

The legislation is important because other protections out there — namely the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), part of the Civil Rights Act — are limited in their application. The PDA, for example, requires employers to treat pregnant workers similarly to the way they treat other workers who may be sick or disabled. But it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison as most pregnant workers are neither sick nor disabled. “There is a gap in how these laws have been applied,” says Farrell. “Some employers say they will provide light duty for people who are injured on the job but not for pregnant women because they are not injured.”

To further complicate matters, some workers are afraid to ask for accommodations for fear they’ll be placed on leave. “They don’t want to start taking leave months before they give birth,” says Farrell. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides workers with just 12 weeks of job-protected leave. “They can’t risk starting leave at month three because by month seven, they’ve got no more time left. Even if their employer agrees to keep them on, they’re no longer getting paid.”

All of which is why ERA, along with a host of other organizations, is really hoping the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act will eventually get the seal of approval. “The law has allowed women to continue working at a time when they need to shore up their financial resources and continue to have company health care,” says Farrell. “It’s a win-win for businesses to be able to hang on to happy, well-trained employees.”

http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/11/how-much-should-pregnant-women-be-accommodated-in-the-workplace/ Women in Intelligence Seek Balance in Life, Value in Work
Source: CNN

By Suzanne Kelly

Nada Bakos used to go work with a Glock strapped to her thigh. The former targeting officer for the CIA started her intelligence career as an analyst in 2000. But then 9/11 happened.

"Everybody's life changed," said Nada Bakos who, like many other women who were serving as analysts prior to the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, moved to the counterterrorism and eventually made the switch to the operations side, which meant she wasn't just analyzing the data on the bad guys, she was going after them.

She didn't yet have a family when she accepted her assignment as a targeting officer in Iraq, working alongside special forces in the hunt for the now-deceased terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. She won't share the details of exactly what she did to help find him, but she saw definite advantages to being a woman in the arena, noting that she sometimes had a very different experience than her male counterparts when it came to working within the norms of the culture.

"I got a completely different response than the men did," said Bakos, describing one particular effort to gather information. "How is a 26-year-old white male gonna walk up to a woman in the Middle East and say 'Hey, why don't you talk to me?' "

After a couple of years, Bakos realized that she knew more about Zarqawi than she did about many of the other men in her life. That, in part, was a wake-up call to do something more: She wanted to start a family. But she was deep into her career on the operations side. That was a problem.

"The difference between men and women is that it's really hard for women to live the lifestyle of a case officer," said Bakos. "If you have a significant other, it's hard for you both to be employed. I was 37 then and I can't really say, 'Hey, let's interrupt your career and you can carve out what you need."

At least 160 other women feel her pain. Women from the CIA, the National Security Agency, Naval Office of Intelligence and dozens of other agencies met last week in a hotel conference room in McLean, Virginia, to try and find a better way.

The "women in national security" conference was sponsored by Working Woman Media. Carol Evans, president of that group, noted the unique environment in which these women compete.

"These women work in a very unusual industry," said Evans. "National security is still a very heavily male industry, and many of these women, as they will say throughout the day, are oftentimes the first in their field to be a woman -- the only person in the room who's a woman. So when we bring women together in an industry like this, they just feed off of each other, they catch each other's energy, and they build relationships."

And relationship-building while navigating a career in intelligence and national security is key, according to Letitia Long, the only female director of any of the 16 agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community.

Long, who spoke at the conference, insists that work-life balance is something she has to work at every day.

"I'm passionate about what I do, so I often want to stay to do that last e-mail or sign that last memo, or ensure that I'm prepared for the next day. But we do have to remind ourselves that if we are going to be at the top of our game, if we are going to be rested and ready to lead, we have to take that step away and ensure we are keeping that work life balance," Long said in an interview with CNN's Security Clearance.

"These are ... some of the most stressful positions that are in the work force, and if we are able to balance this, then perhaps there are some secrets that we can share with others so that they can balance also."

Long said that part of the stress is dealing with a culture at the agencies that needs to change.

At the agency Long heads, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, women make up about 31% of the work force, and the attrition rate is slightly higher than that of men. As director of the agency, Long feels that balance has to change if the country is going to build a stronger, more diverse, national security work force.

"I do notice that women bring a different perspective when we're talking about the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and our core mission, of GEOINT, as men and women are looking at imagery, they see things differently," Long.

"We all are a product of our background and our upbringing," she said, "and women will just tend to notice different things in an image than men will. Or if we're looking at pattern of activity, they might notice something that a man might not and vice versa. A man will notice something that a woman will not, because they don't see it as important or they don't see it as relevant, yet something that's not relevant today, might be relevant tomorrow."

The deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, David Shedd, agrees. With women making up close to 35% of his employees, he sees distinct advantages in finding a work force more in balance when it comes to gender.

"Women as a rule tend to have stronger intuitive skills, and in the world of intelligence, where you are often dealing with less than perfect information, that intuitive nature is important," said Shedd. "Men tend to be more fact-based."

Shedd also offered advice to the women attending the conference. When a woman from the NSA stood up and told him that she personally struggles with how effective she is at her job because when she makes an unpopular decision, instead of being seen as a strong leader, she is referred to as a word that rhymes with "witch," he agreed that some misperceptions still exist.

"As a man, I can tell you when no women are around, men still say that type of woman, you used the 'witch' word, but the man, he's just strong-willed and strong-minded," said Shedd. "I am very familiar with that. Changing the culture is critical."

Shedd advocates for women in intel to build a strong team of mentors and call on them often, and to set clear goals rather than being afraid to show their ambition.

Bakos, the former spy mom with the Glock, is on that path now. She retired from the CIA, has two kids and is looking for consulting work. She still feels like she has much to offer, and she advocates for a change of culture within the intelligence community. And for letting strong women find a way to live both lives.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/11/us/intelligence-agencies-women/index.html Meet Fortune 500's Female Powerbrokers
Source: CNN

By Rose Hoare

Fortune's latest ranking of America's 500 largest corporations includes more women CEOs than ever before.

Women lead 18 of the 500 companies, including Hewlett-Packard (10th) run by Meg Whitman and IBM (19th) run by Ginni Rometty, both of whom started within the last year.

Other executives to have shattered the glass ceiling include Patricia Woertz of agricultural processors Archer Daniels Midland; Indra Nooyi who is CEO of Pepsico, Irene Rosenfeld who heads up Kraft Foods; Ursula Burns who is CEO at Xerox and Sherilyn McCoy at Avon.

Rometty is IBM's first female CEO and Xerox chief Ursula Burns is the first African-American woman to head a Fortune 500 company. The top five female CEOs on the list all held positions in strategic planning before being appointed.

There are an additional 21 female CEOs in the Fortune 501-1000, some managing steel, oil and energy companies.

Lists like the Fortune 500 typically generate debate about how to improve female representation in governance positions.

Catalyst, a nonprofit research organization advocating for more women in business, found that in Canada women hold 14.5% of board seats, a figure that rose by only half a percent between 2009 and 2011. In America, women hold 16.1% of board seats, an increase of less than half a percent from 2010.

About 10% of the top 500 U.S. companies, and almost 40% of Canada's 500 largest companies have no women on their boards, according to Catalyst.

In the UK, where only 9.8% of FTSE250 companies are lead by women, and 44% have no female board members at all, a report by former trade minister Lord Davies estimated that, at the current rate of change, it will take 70 years to achieve gender balance in the boardroom.

Baroness Mary Goudie is founder of the 30% Club, which encourages company chairs to commit to achieving at least 30% women on UK corporate boards. She notes that, while there is a record number of women CEOs in the United States, "on the other hand, you've got hardly any women on boards.

"The United States doesn't have the same regulatory situation as boards in the UK and parts of Europe. In the UK you can only do two terms on a board, so we're seeing a turnaround for women, whereas in the States, people seem to get on a board and stay for a lifetime, almost. The pipeline is blocked forever."

Despite this, Baroness Goudie feels female CEOs can influence the make-up of boards. "They can try to influence the chairman of their company by saying, 'Look at the shortlist: How many women are you bringing on?'"

They may also indirectly benefit others aspiring to senior positions. "A number of women CEOs have children. They are looking to make change and to encourage the pipeline. There'll be a few who won't be helpful but the vast majority of women CEOs are doing all they can to encourage other women to go after these jobs."

More from Leading Women: Want more female execs? Sort out the household chores

Companies with fewer females in senior positions might be shooting themselves in the foot.

Catalyst has also analyzed the performance of F500 companies with women board members. It found that, from 2004 to 2008, the Fortune 500 companies with the most female board directors outperformed those with the least -- by 16% on return on sales and by 26% on return on invested capital.

Companies which had three or more women on boards for at least four of those years outperformed those with the lowest rates of female representation by 84% on return on sales, 60% on return on invested capital and 46% on return on equity.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/08/business/f500-leading-women/index.html

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