Working Women: Finding Balance and Equality in Creative Organizational Design: Part 2 of 5

Since the 1960’s, tens of millions of women have extracted time from their lives to accommodate jobs and careers. They married later, had fewer children, paid others to help, and persuaded men to do more chores. Many have been stretched to the breaking point. What happened on the road to gender equality? Too much work happened. “The reality is that our society hasn’t really changed the rules of the game - it’s only said: ‘OK girls, we’ll let you try. But we’re not going to change anything in the work culture’” (Swiss, 1996, p. 68).

In the book, Women Breaking Through, Deborah Swiss surveyed 325 working women across the nation on company initiatives to promote women. With the exception of a few, the women told her that their organizations remain stuck in some bad habits, and it doesn’t look as if things are going to change anytime soon. Deeply entrenched organizational attitudes have stopped gender reform in its tracks:
"Despite the media hype, the CEO breakfast meetings, the women’s conferences, and the progressive policies on paper, equal treatment and opportunity on the job remain a distant goal for too many women. Sometime in the last decade, the progress of women at work came to a quick halt, with too many business leaders saying one thing but practicing another" (1996, pp.1, 5). Sometimes inhospitable corporate cultures add to the stress. Many women feel their contributions are not recognized or valued, they are not taken seriously, or they are excluded from informal networks and training opportunities (Solomon, 2000).

Statistically, women make up almost one half of the nations workforce (Velasquez, 1998), yet a study by Catalyst, a women’s advocacy group based in New York, found that women represented only 11.9% of corporate officers in America’s 500 largest companies as of March 1999. Men still hold 93% of line officer jobs. These are considered high profile positions with profit and loss responsibility that can lead to top positions. Many women who achieve executive or management level are placed into staff positions such as human resources or public relations (Armas, 2000). Degrees don’t appear to be a factor. For the first time in history, women have more education than men. According to the March 2006 edition of Fast Company Magazine, females have exceeded males in obtaining bachelor and master degrees and within 10 years, the discrepancy will increase (Zolli). In addition, a 2001 census by the Society for Human Resource Management revealed that women account for 40% of PhDs (Phin, 2002).

With all this talent, why do women still face career barriers? Society has several reasons for why the glass ceiling exists, one being that women are not as comfortable promoting themselves as men. Lynda Obst, producer of Sleepless in Seattle noted, “Women will fight for everyone but themselves. Women need to learn to demand more, negotiate better and tougher, and walk away when the money is not right” (Mapping Out a Strategy, 2000). Many females have been taught that hard work alone is sufficient to put them on a par with men. Women tend to be over-preparers, making sure their work is technically correct, but not assuring that it will be noticed by influential people in the organization (Gale Group, 2000). Comfort zones can also play a role in the existence of the glass ceiling. Men will promote men because they feel comfortable with them, drink with them, play golf with them, talk with no inhibitions around them, and don’t have to explain them to their wives (Mapping Out a Strategy, 2000).

While assertiveness training can teach women to assert themselves in work and social situations, females are mostly blamed for placing family responsibilities ahead of their job (Hodgetts, 2002). Families can limit the time devoted to a fast track career and such activities are not as susceptible to legal challenges (Mapping Out a Strategy, 2000). A 2004 survey by the Center for Work-Life Policy at Columbia University revealed that more than a third of the 2443 American women surveyed had stopped working for some period of time and 60% described their careers as nonlinear (Graham, 2005).

Next week, part 3 will discuss The Changing Environment

Working Women: Finding Balance and Equality in Creative Organizational Design: Part 1 of 5

The Creative Process for this Article

5 Part Series

When I was a student in the Human Resource Development Master’s Program at Webster University, I was exposed to predominately female peers and professors. The women instructors were all professionals in their fields and had managed to climb the corporate ladder. Though very successful, none of them had children, and only one was married. On the other hand, the men instructors were all married with children. In most cases their wives stayed home to raise a family. I found this scenario disturbing. Why can’t successful, professional business women have both a career and a family? As my own life progressed, I began to find it more difficult to juggle all my responsibilities. Between a full time job, home responsibilities, three kids, and school, there never seemed to be enough time in the day. While I still feel that way, I have managed to seamlessly integrate all four aspects into each day. Because I am able to work from home, I have the flexibility to arrange my responsibilities in an order that suits my needs. I will admit, my life probably looks chaotic to many, and I really believe that my children’s teachers and coaches think I live a carefree life because I am always available for appointments and meetings. The downside to my complete integration is very little relaxation time. Home is also my workplace and study place.

I skim through approximately twenty five to thirty magazines a month. The subject matter ranges from Harvard Business Review to Self Magazine to National Geographic. Recently, several articles have been published about women very similar to me. Many find it necessary to work but difficult to raise a family and have a satisfying career. Let’s face it, not all women reap satisfaction from staying home and changing dirty diapers. We want to contribute to the workforce like men but we are tired of being punished if we also need to take care of family matters.

I decided to create an organization on paper that would benefit many women out there. Maybe someone will want to implement it. My organizational design is a culmination of influence from previous women instructors, reading material focused on working mothers and professional women, conversations with other mothers, design theory, and my own life experiences. I can truly relate to every issue discussed in my article and have concluded that women with dependent responsibilities need flexibility, support, and help so they too can enjoy a fulfilling career. The creative process was literally a gift from God. I was sitting at the kitchen table after making lunch for the family and suddenly my mind was flooded with design plans. I could hardly write fast enough to keep up with my thoughts. Since I am introverted, I need time to think things through. Over several days, I was able to fine tune some of the details. I kept asking myself, what would be an ideal environment for professional women with small children or other personal responsibilities, such as elder care or volunteer work? Is there a place where women could maintain their skills, have support and help, yet add flexibility to meet life’s demands? I hope someday there will be. My ideas will be presented over the next 4 weeks in a 5 part series, this piece being one of the five. I would appreciate any comments you may have.

Mediation

Last weekend I attended training classes in Boca Raton, Florida to become a Florida Supreme Court Certified County Court Mediator. Mediation is a process whereby a neutral third person, a mediator, acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute between two or more parties. It is an informal process with the objective of helping the disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable and voluntary agreement. In mediation, decision making authority rests on the parties.

Many businesses are choosing mediation over court because it is:

• Less expensive and does not require the presence of lawyers.
• Expedient in comparison to litigation.
• User friendly, meaning the process is simple to follow and a mutual agreement is reached. There is no judge deciding for you.
• Confidential and private. Court is very public.

Anyone can hang out a sign and call themselves a mediator. To find one who is qualified and certified for your particular situation:

• Get a referral from someone who has used a mediator.
• Call lawyers in your town and ask them about mediation. Some may perform the service themselves or refer you to people who do.
• Visit the Association for Conflict Resolution at: www.acresolution.org
• Visit a state or local mediation site. In Florida we have the Florida Academy of Professional Mediators www.tfapm.org
• Ask your county court house if they can refer mediators.
  

Do you have a story about mediation you would like to share?

Time Managment

Last week I talked a little about focus. Something that helps us focus on what is important is time management. Our perception of time is a direct result of how we choose to manage it. To make the best use of time, we must first identify our goals and prioritize our tasks according to importance. We must then establish a balance between the number of tasks we have piled on our plate, our available resources, and our ability to perform those tasks effectively. Tasks should be delegated to others when someone else can do it better, faster, or cheaper than you can.

Keep these points in mind:

• Your visions, values, and goals should guide the manner in which you use your time.
• Go for quality of time well spent rather than the quantity of activities you can squeeze into a day.
• Try to complete your most important tasks during your most productive hours.
• Learn to schedule in both personal time and work time on your calendar so you can stick with it better.

If you wonder where all of your time goes during the day, I found a free tool that might help at http://www.toggl.com . It allows you to time all your tasks and activities. I was surprised to find out just how long checking email really takes me. What eats up your time?

What Focus?

Do you ever look at your TO DO List at 5:00pm and wonder, “What happened?” Do you find yourself getting off-track during the day and starting other projects? If so, you are not alone. As a start up business owner, recent graduate from Regent University’s Doctor of Strategic Leadership Program, and mother, I find my days full of distractions. I can schedule all my work on a calendar, look at it 10 times a day, and still go off on a side adventure. We tend to be attracted to activities we enjoy doing and want to do them first or we stop and put out fires that come our way.

What really helped me to become more focused was creating purpose or vision statements for different parts of my life. Ask yourself:

What purpose do I want for my life?
What do I value?
What is my purpose at work? What am I here to do?
What ultimate vision am I trying to achieve?
What do I want to accomplish in each area of my life?
What do I want to be known for?

Now write out short purpose/vision statements for each of your life focus areas and post them where they can be read daily. When a new idea or distraction comes along, review your purpose/vision statements and see if it will help you attain what you are working towards. If it does, put it aside to consider after you finish your other planned activities or tasks. If it doesn’t fit, discard it or put it in a non-urgent file. Save it for the end of the day. Work on your most important tasks first (and save the distracting dishes or laundry for later).

What helps you to focus? I would love to hear your tips.