Women shoulder financial burden

More women step up financially

By Lisa Fickenscher

Photo by Buck Ennis

As the recession grinds on and job losses pile up, more women are taking the reins of the family finances. Some have become the sole breadwinner, while others have returned to work to supplement their family’s diminished income.

Unlike in past recessions, a significant factor driving the trend this time is the higher proportion of job losses in sectors typically dominated by men—construction, manufacturing and finance.

By some estimates, the number of women working could surpass the number of men during this downturn. It’s more likely that women will only temporarily take the lead until men find their way back into the work force. Nevertheless, the shift is a significant one. Women made up 47.4% of the work force nationwide in March, up from 47.1% in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It may not be their choice to go back to work,” says Jennifer Brown, who heads her own workplace consulting firm, “but the silver lining is that this group of women will cause greater diversification in corporate America.”

Other workplace experts worry that if women are the majority of workers, old gender stereotypes will resurface. “I think there could be a backlash,” says Ilene Lang, chief executive of Catalyst, a nonprofit organization that focuses on women in business. Women who occupy just 16% of the top positions at Fortune 500 companies will be vulnerable to losing their jobs, Ms. Lang fears, because men are perceived as better leaders in tough times.

But for women in the trenches, such macro issues barely register. They are simply reacting to their new circumstances.

The following profiles tell the story of three women who have been touched by the downturn in ways that are intensely personal, and yet are being replayed in homes across the city and the country.

Resettling in NYC

On Jan. 11, Jenn Raithel Newman flew to New York City, leaving her husband, Jim, and 4-year-old daughter, Lyla, behind in their Phoenix home with no idea of when she would return.

Her goal was clear: to find a job that would support her family.

The former stay-at-home mom was attempting to overcome a 14-month trail of financial ruin, one that culminated in the couple’s bankruptcy filing and the loss of their home. Her husband lost his job as a permits coordinator for Lennar, a national home builder in Phoenix.

The Arizona State University grads could not find employment, despite their frantic efforts.

“At some point, survivor mode kicks in,” says Ms. Newman, 32. “We had to cast our net more widely. We had no money, no more savings.”

Turning to Manhattan, where the couple had lived five years earlier, was a gamble. But a close friend offered her couch, and Ms. Newman’s parents agreed to help her financially while she searched for work.

She had been an executive assistant for 10 years. “In New York, the feedback I was getting was, why had I not been working?” says Ms. Newman. “I was up against people who had been recently laid off.”

Undeterred, she landed a job in mid-March as an administrative assistant at New York University’s College of Nursing—and immediately flew to Arizona to bring her family to their new apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

“We are thrilled to be together again,” says Ms. Newman.

Returning to work

When the stock market began crashing last fall, Laura Stein and her husband, Gene Wolsk, moved all of their investments to an account they’d held for the past 21 years, one that seemed to defy the market chaos around them.

On Dec. 11, when Bernard Madoff was arrested, the retired couple realized how disastrous that simple transfer would turn out to be.

“That very first night, I knew I had to go back to work,” says Ms. Stein, 63. At age 80, her husband, a prominent former theatrical producer, is battling health problems and is unable to work.

Ms. Stein switched to a familiar mode: writing. She is the author of the best-seller The Bloomingdale’s Eat Healthy Diet. Now she is trying to re-create her success with an updated version based on a seminar she started in East Hampton, L.I., “Eat Healthy Your Way.”

Her idea is to eventually offer the program online, but getting up to speed on the technology to market the diet in the digital age has been her greatest challenge.

Working seven days a week on the project, Ms. Stein concedes she needs to execute her plan fast. “Our total income does not cover our expenses. There is a significant shortfall,” she says.

In the meantime, the couple is planning to move out of their home in Montauk, rent it for the summer and eventually put it up for sale.

“My life before was just wonderful,” says Ms. Stein. “This is paradise, but it seems like a dream now.”

Double duty

Lisa Concepcion Giassa has held on to her job with a public relations firm, but her husband, Alex, has not been as fortunate.

The six-figure income he had as a mortgage broker dwindled to $30,000 last year and has nearly dried up now.

The couple, who live in Bergen County, N.J., are struggling with the imbalance in their relationship as Alex, 38, investigates a career as a dog trainer and Lisa supports his endeavors as well as their household.

“I’m saving for both of us,” says Ms. Giassa, 38. “And I’m the only one contributing to the account we use for vacations.”

This year, Ms. Giassa encouraged her husband to volunteer at a local animal shelter, where he got the idea to train dogs passed up for adoption. She envisions him starting a business, one she can help promote and be a partner in.

But the uncertainty of that dream and his lengthy unemployment have taken a toll on their marriage.

“He knows it’s been hard on me,” she says of Alex, who was her college sweetheart. “It’s something I wrestle with. I know he didn’t ask to be in this situation.”

Are you attending or did you meet one of our consultants at a NALC event?  Send us an email:  info@jenniferbrownconsulting.com.

Jennifer Brown at NALC

Here are the details:

Wednesday Tim is speaking on the Specialty Issues Track
Innovating in a Downturn: Using AGs and ERGs as Business Partners and Communications Networks

Thursday Jennifer is speaking on the Experienced Leaders Track
Increasing Multi-Generational Representation and Collaboration in Affinity Groups: Seizing the Opportunity

From the NALC web site:

New York City, Sheraton Hotel and Towers

In corporate America’s war to attract and retain top talent, diversity is front and center. People of color, women, the LGBT and disabled communities have made huge strides in advancement by forming thousands of groups inside corporate America to work together for culture change and address the way companies do business with diverse markets. On February 25-26, in New York City, Diversity Best Practices and Working Mother Media are hosting the third annual Network and Affinity Leadership Congress (NALC). This congress brings together network and affinity group leaders from America’s top companies for leadership training, networking and to share best practices.

This is the ONLY event of its kind bringing together leaders from all types of network and affinity groups from all industry sectors to examine ways to increase their groups’ value to business.