Joanne Cleaver
Blog Post List
June 3, 2011
Men want work-life flexibility just as much as women. So why are women still the ones carrying the message? Ah, the sweet sensation of validation. Finally, a think tank has thought what many work-life advocates have been saying for years: Men want work-life flexibility just as much as women do. That's the basic point of "Men and Work-Life Integration: A Global Study," released last month by the WorldatWork Alliance. For men and women of all ages, flexibility in work schedules is the number one most-desired workplace characteristic. Most say they want to spend more time with family, but...
MomsRising
Together
May 18, 2011
When short-term business goals conflict with high-minded work-life programs, work-life loses. Profits vs. flextime; team goals vs. job sharing; when deadlines are driving dollars, it’s all hands on deck, compressed workweeks be damned. Now, a new study by Alexandra Beauregard , of the London School of Economics, argues that managers should be held just as accountable for making the most of work-life programs as they are for wringing the most from any other company asset. In this, she’s just catching up with the recommendations we have long espoused through the Accounting MOVE Project (read...
MomsRising
Together
May 10, 2011
Women are edging close to an income cliff. Here’s why. There’s a reason why women gravitate to teaching and government administrative jobs: family-friendly hours, a clear career path and pay bands, which are supposed to minimize pay discrimination. But as the economy stumbles towards recovery, financially exhausted governments are cutting loose tens of thousands of employees. And, as the Wall St. Journal reported this weekend, t hat means that women’s jobs are slated for elimination. Because it tries to set a lofty example for those moneygrubbers in private industry, the Federal Government...
MomsRising
Together
May 2, 2011
Every employer pays for performance..right? Only believe it when your employer can prove it. There’s not a boss on this earth who doesn’t think he pays for performance. But ‘performance’ is often much more of a judgment call than one might think – even for jobs with quantifiable results, such as sales. Given pervasive cultural factors, men tend to ask for, and get, bigger raises and bonuses. Women tend to assume they are being fairly treated – until they find out they aren’t. By then, women have fallen behind and they often can’t make up the gap in pay or prestige. It’s time this tiresome...
MomsRising
Together
April 19, 2011
You’re stuck in your career. Don’t blame work-life issues. You need a sponsor. Feeling stuck? As you’re assessing the reasons why you aren’t moving ahead, don’t blame lack of work-life balance. According to the human resource consulting firm Mercer, the number one reason why women don’t move ahead in corporate careers is that they lack executive sponsors . The number two reason: insufficient operating experience. And the distant third: work-life conflicts. A sponsor is more than not-your-mother’s-mentor. A sponsor is a higher-up who knows your work and who is willing to put his reputation on...
MomsRising
Together
April 12, 2011
April 12 is Equal Pay Day. Chicago women will gather at noon at Daley Plaza! Pay equity is the thorn in corporate America’s side. Every company claims it pays equitably. No employer thinks that it contributes to the 19.8-cents-on-the-dollar pay gap. Yet the evidence keeps piling up. A long-simmering pay discrimination suit at Virginia Tech is finally going to trial. Advertising giant Publicis Group SA is hit with a $100 million gender and pay discrimination lawsuit. And of course, pay discrimination is at the heart of the Wal-Mart class action suit that has so many employers petrified. Kudos...
MomsRising
Together
March 30, 2011
Is the pay gap real? Women think it is...and that alone is a problem for employers.
MomsRising
Together
March 28, 2011
Only a cynic would find irony in the Wal-Mart Foundation's $2 million donation to Dress for Success. I'm a cynic, and after you read this, you will be, too. I love Dress for Success . I love the idea of outfitting women returning to the workforce with flattering, confidence-building interview and work outfits. I loved them when I showed up with a minivan packed with plus-size clothes I had dieted out of, and 12 pairs of size-ten high heels that I had tripped myself out of. (They get a lot of sizes 2 and 4. Bless their hearts.) And I love the goals of the Wal-Mart Foundation , which is trying...
MomsRising
Together