Newsletter May 26, 2015

Happy Monday!
One of the reasons cited for women’s lack of success in the workplace is their confidence levels. A new survey from Bloomberg suggests that women actually have reasons to be less confident – and that their attitudes reflect reality not a lack of confidence. An excerpt from the article: “A number of studies support Beninger’s viewpoint. Last year, we analyzed Bloomberg data and found that, even when they have similar levels of experience and similar educations, women with MBAs are paid less than men. Women also have a harder time than men finding a sponsor, a key figure who can act as an advocate for them in the workplace; are disliked as bosses by both men and women; and are more often penalized for trying to negotiate compensation.” The full article can be found here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-22/the-real-reason-men-are-more-confident-than-women-about-getting-jobs
The next article is from CNN on the bias that women on Capitol Hill face. According to the articles, there are unofficial policies in place to keep female staffers from spending time alone with their male bosses. Policies like these cast women in the role of temptress, masking it as a protective measure while placing the blame squarely with the women. It also reduces a woman’s career mobility if certain high level jobs are off limits. The full article can be found here:http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/18/opinions/drexler-women-on-capitol-hill/index.html
And lastly, there was a great article on ‘shoe gate’ aptly titled “Shoes That Put Women in Their Place.” In case you missed it last week, several women were barred from a Cannes film festival event for (horrors) wearing flats. High heels have become synonymous with female beauty and power, and yet beginning in the 18th century, for men, wearing heels was a sign of frivolity and less than rational thought. High heels were thought to be frivolous and better suited to women who were unfit for both education and citizenship. High heels were, however, linked to sex appeal and were the (only) featured clothing in 19th century pornography and on the pin-up girls of the 20th century.  In the 1980’s as more women entered the workforce, high heels were seen as part of a woman’s ‘power tools’ linking sex appeal to a woman’s professional power – the issue with this of course is that if one’s perceived power is linked to a woman’s sexual allure, the shelf life can be rather short. The article suggests that for the 21st century, “it should be clear that a woman’s power has nothing to do with her heel height.” The full article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/opinion/sunday/shoes-that-put-women-in-their-place.html?_r=0
We have a terrific line up of events for the summer months. Don’t forget we take August off, so sign up now for June and July.  Register early to avoid disappointment!
 
Kind regards
 
Christine

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