Two months ago, I gave birth to my first child, a beautiful little girl named Madelyn. When she was a week old, I was back to work. Because, as a freelancer, I didn't get maternity leave. Trying to meet a deadline while learning to be a new mom was exhausting. I was breastfeeding for the first...
I know a woman who lost her job. She knew it was coming. After all, she was privy to the numbers. Moreover, she’d watched as colleagues went into the boss’ office one-by-one, only to emerge and pack up their things. Now it was her turn. In the days leading up to her meeting – in a cruel twist,...
Sheryl Sandberg contributed many valuable insights to professional women in her book, Lean In. The one that hit me most squarely was her analogy of a career as a jungle gym instead of a ladder. Truer words have never been written, and I think this is a major contribution to the discussion of...
The most under-discussed aspect of Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In is her recommendation to pay attention to your choice of partner when planning your career success. We don't talk about it much, but I agree with her that it's the dynamic between working women and their support network - especially...
My second son just graduated High School and heads off to VA Tech next Fall. He’s the last one out of the nest and it’s got me thinking about the first half of my parenting life – the half where they are children. I’m grateful for so many things about being a parent, not the least of which is...
Study: What Moms Think: Career vs. Paycheck. (Working Mother Media, 2012) Finding: Attitudes determine outcomes in this research on women and work, but experience matters too. Women who are career minded are more positive about their careers. Male managers who have experience with working moms are...
The story our business culture tells us about success in business is that you can either be successful or you can have a life – but not both. The discussion storm around Anne-Marie Slaughter’s “having it all” article is swirling because it’s now apparent that this belief is not held by everyone....
On average, companies are paying women 77% as much as the guys in the cubes next to them, doing the same jobs. Traditionally this has been seen as a women’s issue, an issue of social justice, a reason for women ask for legislated change. However, I believe that this “fairness” argument has been...
January 1st is coming fast! If you’re like most of us, you’re knee-deep in year-end closing reports, next year budgets, family holiday planning and… stress! Work Life (much less balance!) at the end of the year is just crazy – largely because we’re scrambling to meet so many goals we set for...
2013 is right around the corner so it’s time to start evaluating our work-life balance success for 2012 and start setting goals for next year – professionally and personally. In this three part video series, and December webinar on the subject, we’ll look at ways to format and set goals that will...
