This past week I attended an Empowering Women event hosted by the Professional Development Center here at Wake Forest. The event featured Janet Ward Black of Ward Black Law, an accomplished lawyer and former NC Bar Association President. Mrs. Black spoke about career building in general as well as women’s past, present and future roles in the work place. As one of only four women to ever serve as the NC Bar Association President, Mrs. Black shared with us several personal stories as well as pieces of advice for career development and improvement. Some cornerstone suggestions Mrs. Black shared with the group included the importance of showing up on time, following through on what you say you will do and networking in every opportunity possible. Mrs. Black also spoke to the continual deficits that exist between men’s and women’s salaries and how crucial it is for women to have a voice on the matter. According to her presentation, in 2005, for every $1.00 that men earned, women earned $.81, a yearly salary equivalence of $37,544 for men and $30,420 for women. At this current trend, women will not achieve pay equity until 2050. Mrs. Black also emphasized the presence of women in leadership roles in the corporate world citing the small percentage of women that hold the title of CEO in the Fortune 500 realm. Mrs. Black’s presentation drove home the importance of women networking with one another. She spoke about actively utilizing her connections with women in the corporate world whenever seeking a service in order to help facilitate an increase in business for women. It is simple things such as this, she stated, that can help women gain further credibility on the journey towards equity. As a female working in the historically male dominated field of Information Systems it was extremely inspiring to listen to Janet Ward Black speak about the increased visibility of women in a variety of fields. Her own accomplishments are a testament to what women are capable of achieving, and her call to action on gender equity was indeed empowering. I continue to feel inspired and enlightened by the many opportunities and resources provided by Wake Forest University! Individual site contributors are solely responsible for the content of this web site.
|
|||
Men and Women in the Workplace
Darcy, I am enjoying reading your Blog!! It sounds as though you are on a fantastic journey this year. One of the things I learned early on is that men and women think and communicate differently. Deborah Tannen has written many books on the subject. I read You Just Don't Understand (hugely helpful personally and professionally), and want to read Talking From 9 to 5 Women and Men at Work. As long as men hold the majority of powerful positions in the workplace -- and even after they don't -- women need to understand how they communicate! I loved your speaker's comment about women networking with women. We can be each others' worst enemy in the workplace, and we need to stop doing that! Best wishes to you, Darcy!! Maria T. Murphy