For better or worse, the gender pay gap (currently at $0.77 per dollar) is now a fact of life we all seem to accept, sadly, as each equal pay day for different gender and racial demographics passes throughout the year. Given that our paychecks are not only necessary to our survival day-to-day, but...
InPower Women Blog
When You’re In Power, Are Those Around You Threatened?
Sometimes when we begin to refine our understanding of power, and consciously work to bring more of our own power to the fore in our lives, it creates discomfort with – or for – those close to us, including colleagues, employees, friends and even spouses and children. If others have become used to you giving your power away, when you take it back this can surprise them, and sometimes even threaten them. This can be true when you are granted external power as well, and those around you are not used to the new level of responsibility you now shoulder. As I launch into the Take Back Your Power series of blog posts I think it’s important to acknowledge this dynamic and prepare for how to handle these situations.
Vaulting Into The C-Suite, Interview with Patricia Koopersmith, COO of The Clearing
Patricia Koopersmith is the very definition of a doer and a go-getter, and a glass ceiling breaker, but to her surprise this career strength turned out to be one of her biggest hurdles as she transitioned into the executive ranks as Chief Operating Officer at The Clearing, Inc., a strategic...
I’m Not Jaded: Don’t Discourage Our Future Female Leaders
Sometimes it's so easy to fall into negativity that we forget how much energy it saps from us. That's why we started InPower Women, to help restart the dialog about women, leadership and power. That's also why we love this post for female leaders by Kelsey, who reminds us that when we use...
Burkini or Miniskirt: Why can’t women make their own decisions about what they want to wear?
It’s a simple question that I don’t think we women ask ourselves enough: why can’t we decide what to wear by ourselves? Burkini or miniskirt, so to speak. It seems that women are “managed” in their fashion decisions to wear what’s hot, what’s hip, or what’s appropriate. Surprisingly, there aren’t...
The Art of Influence: Lesson 4 – Dress For Success?
InPower Women has begun a discussion on women, fashion and power, which is a great reason to repost this article Mary wrote a while ago. We love how Mary covers the issue of "dress for success", tying the power of being attractive to our own sense of confidence. Read the whole series! - InPower...
Forget the “Virtuous Woman” Myth, Enter the “Virtuous Leader”
Have you noticed how harshly we can view women leaders, especially in politics? Is it because of sexism? Or is there something more subconscious and deeply cultural happening? We have had women leaders in the past, but the ones that many of us know best from childhood are the virtuous women...
Archetypal Personal Branding: A Woman’s Best Business Friend
Practical experience and research both tell us that women struggle more than men to speak up and promote themselves. Even women who speak up often find it hard to “sell” themselves. If you’re on the corporate ladder this can slow (or stop) your climb; when you’re self-employed, it can kill your...
What Meryl Streep Can Teach Us About Mean Girl Bosses
Between Maggie Thatcher in The Iron Lady and Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep has played some pretty tough bosses in her movies. So when I got the umpteenth request from professional women - readers, clients and friends - to explain the phenomenon of lady bully bosses (i.e.,...
Five Steps to Start A Mentoring Circle
Did you know that according to this 2011 Linked In survey of 1,000 women professionals, while 80% said having a mentor was important, only 20% actually had a mentor? In my work as an executive coach and speaker, I notice how easy it is for many women to second-guess ourselves. We tend to focus...