Overview of Women In Business
Glass ceiling or window
of opportunity?
Women have become more
common in today's business world. While the statistics would lead
us to believe that it is a sudden switch, it has actually been an
evolutionary process. Consider this:
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Between 1979 and 1992,
the number of women in the labor force rose at twice the rate
of men.
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According to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 58 percent of women age 16 and over
are now in the work force, compared with 76 percent of men. By
the year 2005, between 61 and 65 percent of women will be in the
labor force, compared with 74 percent to 76 percent of men.
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Men still hold a majority
of management positions, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis;
women held 30.5 percent of management jobs in 1992, up from 21.7
percent in 1982. The Journal predicts that it will take another
20 to 30 years for women to tip the scales to a more balanced
position in management and leadership roles in business.
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Women are the fastest
growing group of new entrepreneurs. According to the National
Association for Women Business Owners (NAWBO), one in 10 American
workers are employed by women-owned companies, more than work
for the Fortune 500 companies worldwide.
While significant strides
have been made by women in business, the Associated Press reports
that on average, women still have lower incomes and their careers
tend to be interrupted more frequently than men's. These interruptions,
usually a result of balancing family needs and raising children, can
be viewed as an opportunity to have it all. However, having it all
by managing a family, a business and a financial future is no easy
balance. The level of stress and anxiety displayed by women in the
television sitcoms of the 1990s , such as "Murphy Brown" or "Grace
Under Fire" is dramatically different than those of the women characters
in "Father Knows Best" or "Leave It to Beaver".
Is the goal of "having
it all" worth the price of "doing it all"? This is a question women
in business frequently ask themselves when exhaustion overtakes enthusiasm.
But success is not an individual race with a predetermined finish
line. It is a team relay. As Wendy Crisp, the director of the National
Association of Female Executives puts it, "We grasp the baton and
go as far and as fast as we can before handing off to a runner we
hope will improve the pace."
Learning from and teaching
others is more than a philosophy of successful women in business.
It is a strategy that will improve business in general regardless
of one's gender.
Next Chapter...
