Recently in the Workplace Category

One of the key aspects to running a successful business is staffing - the team you hire can make or break your business. The following article illustrates why it's important for women business owners to ensure that mid-level managers get the experience they need to continue moving up in the company; this is often a problem particularly for women, and business owners need to be aware of it when they make hiring and promotion decisions.

With that in mind, I want to share the following article by Becky Sheetz-Runkle from WomenOnBusiness.com (original post: http://www.womenonbusiness.com/women-executives-more-than-twice-as-likely-to-leave-jobs/).


Female executives are more than twice as likely to leave their jobs as men. This includes both voluntarily and involuntarily departures. Yesterday I was interviewed by a reporter writing for CareerBuilder on negotiating for women in business, and the data from a study by John Becker-Blease of Oregon State University, and his colleagues from Loyola Marymount University and Trinity College, came to mind. They analyzed data from Standard & Poor's 1500 firms to reach their conclusions. The researchers determined if departures were voluntary or involuntary based on evaluating public news accounts of each executive.

They determined that 7.2% of women executives in the survey left their jobs, compared to 3.8% of men. Based on their analysis, voluntary rates were 4.3% for women and 2.8% for men, and involuntary rates were 2.9% for women and 0.9% for men.

As reported in U.S. News, Becker-Blease said, "We really had to dig deep to tease out any systematic patterns behind these departures. . . We did find that women were slightly more likely to leave smaller firms, and firms with more male-dominated boards, but this was a small effect size."

For those women dismissed from their jobs, they suggest that mid-level managers may not be getting the opportunities and support that they need to advance. "Intriguing evidence suggesting that while the market may seem to perceive women as less capable business leaders, the disparity isn't really about gender, but about the experience those women bring to the table, " Becker-Blease said.

The researchers concluded that gender discrimination didn't rear its ugly head "at an obvious level."

Based on my research for Sun Tzu for Women, I think there's more to the story when it comes to women choosing to leave executive positions, and I'll be blogging about that very soon. Until next time...

Special Guest Blog by Lisa Gable, Executive Director, Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation

It started with 41 food companies, trade associations and non-governmental organizations coming together to help reduce obesity, especially childhood obesity. After a year, the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation has taken a look at what we have achieved and what we plan to achieve in the near future, in our annual report.

The 41 founding members have grown into more than 135 organizations, united to develop practical solutions to America's obesity problem by promoting healthy, active lifestyles. These organizations - including retailers, food and beverage manufacturers, sporting goods and insurance companies, restaurants, a professional sports association, trade associations, NGOs, professional athletes and the U.S. Army - talk to millions of people every day, focusing enormous attention on the problem of obesity.

We have been pursuing our mission in schools, the workplace, and the marketplace.
• Energy Balance 101, available for free online and at more than half our nation's elementary schools, provides valuable teaching tools to help young people achieve a healthy weight.
• Member companies - joined by First Lady Michelle Obama - pledged to reduce 1.5 trillion annual calories by the end of 2015 through new lower-calorie options, reduced calorie content of current products, or reducing portion sizes of existing single-serve products.
• Members began to comprehensively measure their wellness programs on an annual basis.

Over the next year, member companies will bolster programs in all of these areas through social media aimed at encouraging and supporting families to pursue healthy lifestyles that help curb and prevent obesity.

In the Foundation's first year, we've found enormous willingness to work together to address the critical national problem of obesity. This spirit of cooperation is the biggest asset we bring to meeting the challenge.

Lisa Gable is executive director of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a first-of-its kind coalition aimed at addressing the challenge of obesity - especially childhood obesity.
    
 

I recently read an article featured in the Huffington Post by Susan Solovic, CEO/Co-Founder of SBTV.com titled "Workplace Stereotyping: A Silent Productivity Destroyer", and it made me contemplate stereotyping factors in the workplace. One initially thinks of more obvious factors such as: race, gender, religion - but in reality: workplace diversity is much broader.

Additional factors in the workplace could include:

- Single vs. Married

- Children vs. No Children

- Baby Boomer vs. Generation Y

- Women - Married and Marginalized

- Domestic Lifestyle Choice

Stereotypes result in a damaging work environment - and all of the above factors listed could potentially harm your ability to work with others. As a business owner myself (WIPP), I pride myself on creating an open and productive work environment, where my employees can respect the diversity of everyone in the organization.

To read Susan's complete article, click here.