According to Off-Ramps and On-Ramps, a Harvard Business Review article by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Buck Luce, large numbers of highly qualified women are dropping out of mainstream careers. According to Hewlett and Luce, a survey of the class of 1981 at Stanford University shows that 57% of women graduates leave the workforce. Another survey of three graduating classes at Harvard Business School demonstrates that only 38% of women end up in full-time careers. In a recent conversation with diversity consultant Jennifer Brown, she reflected Hewlett’s findings that women are defecting from “extreme jobs” (jobs that demand a high number of responsibilities, tight deadlines and long work weeks) in large numbers.  As Brown put it, “everyone loses” when women leave the workforce in large numbers.

Most companies are beginning to understand the importance of diversity policies, at least from a public relations perspective. Minority buying power is estimated at $10 trillion of the U.S. consumer market, and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) buying power was recently valued at $743 billion. Women make 85% of all brand purchases. On top of these factors, new Gen Y talent has expressed a desire to see personal values like diversity embodied in an employer organization, and 86% would consider leaving an employer whose CSR values no longer reflected theirs.

However, apart from these more obvious business factors, something more meaningful is lost as a product of the female “brain drain.” Brown describes the skill sets acquired by women as they travel through their careers as almost a Darwinian endeavor. She explains that women learn to do more with less, they are resourceful, and develop a unique political awareness. These factors equip women to navigate through rocky waters, build the right alliances and relationships and seize strategic opportunities. Because women are more likely to leave and then re-enter the workforce, they often have diverse skills and more work experience than their male counterparts, and greater tolerance for risk.

Collaborative work style is another (generally) female trait that is often undervalued, but of key importance in the workplace. “Female” work styles include listening skills, collaborative approaches to problem solving, and the ability to multi-task and to synthesize a number of viewpoints effectively and quickly. While these traits are conducive to teamwork and a holistic view of problems and opportunities, they are also particularly integral to the innovation process.

Brown’s description familiarly evoked what many innovation practitioners refer to as “human centered design.” In one great article about design and innovation, the author describes the importance of emotional intelligence in the design and innovation process: “Empathy and the human connection is so fundamental to understanding our audience that without it, no amount of analysis, documentation, engineering or management will save us…In the world of business and design, the ability to acutely recognize areas of pleasure or friction could be the difference between a successful product and a bomb.”

While this author in particular discusses product design, “design thinking” refers to innovations in organizational design, service design, and even business strategy design. Characteristic of design thinking is the ability to observe and listen, gather ideas from a number of viewpoints and then synthesize ideas into offerings – all of which are traditionally attributed to female work styles. (For more on design-thinking and innovation, see NYT Article on IDEO Founder Tim Brown).

Placing a monetary value on the loss of women in the workplace is almost impossible to measure. Fortunately, a greater number of companies are embracing the importance of women. For instance, Ernst & Young has implemented flexible work schedules, teleworking infrastructure and peer networking – a combination that tripled the number of women partners in recent years (Hewlett & Luce). While it is not possible to fully quantify female working styles, I would argue that the skills acquired by women throughout their careers paired with brains wired for multi-tasking and collaboration make them natural innovators.  As traditional business models characterized by hierarchical order slowly evolve to become more inclusive, meritocratic structures in the future, women will undoubtedly be an important asset. Now, more companies must figure out not only how to retain them, but to better utilize their skills and experience in the meantime.

Information about the value of Employment Resource Groups for Women

Information about On Ramps and Off Ramps by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Buck Luce

Here is a direct link to the event at The Center.

We hope to see you there.

Where the ‘L’ Are the Women?

Date: Oct 21 6:00 Reception (refreshments and networking)
7:00 – 8:30 Panel and Q&A
8:30 – 9:00 After-Panel Networking
Location: The Center 208 West 13th Street NY, NY 10011

• Hear viewpoints from both non-profit and corporate leadership on the why and how of getting women out to participate.
• How are the non-profits working to attract women with their programming?
• What kind of support and activity are we losing out on if women don’t participate?
• The corporate world: how is the LGBT ERG (employee resource group) reaching out to women to get them involved and how can they be successful at doing so?
• Do women participate in some of the other ERGS (e.g. Latino, Asian, African American) and what can the LGBT ERG learn from them?
• What is the role of men to encourage women to participate: LGBT: men and women as allies
• This panel is sponsored by Mercer and hosted by The Center and Out & Equal.

More information after the jump.

Panelists:
• Glennda Testone, Executive Director, The Center
• Marjorie Hill, Chief Executive Officer, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
• Liz Zale, VP, Investor Relations and Executive Sponsor for LGBT and Allies Network, Moody’s Corporation
• Joan P. McKinnon, AVP, Talent Development, Founder, NYLPride, New York Life

Panel Moderated by Jennifer Brown, Jennifer Brown Consulting

Want more information?

Find this event on FSIX, Financial Services Industry Exchange.

Find more career events at The Center.

Read more about the Metro New York affiliate of Out & Equal:  The mission of Out & Equal Metro New York is to support the work of LGBT Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), HR professionals, diversity specialists, and community allies to affect positive change for LGBT employees in their workplaces. The Council accomplishes this by conceptualizing, planning, organizing, and facilitating both large and small-scale programs, which provide local networking and educational opportunities on critical issues facing the LGBT workplace community. These events are generously hosted by local corporations.  Jennifer Brown is Chair Emeritus of Metro New York Out & Equal.

"Retaining Talented Women"; Jennifer Brown speaks at WorkLife Congress 2008

Do you have a diversity event and need a panel moderator, a keynote speaker, or expert advice?  Reach out to JBC today.

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.”

The evening’s panel was moderated by Jennifer Brown, President of Jennifer Brown Consulting. Together, the panelists reflected and shared insight from over 80 years of combined communications industry experience. They were Harriette Cole, creative director of Ebony magazine, Melissa Lavigne, director at The Intelligence Group, Ginny Pulos, president of Ginny Pulos Communications, and Lorenca Rosal, managing director of corporate practice at Burson-Marsteller.

Some cross-generational networking at the event!
PHOTO COURTESY OF NYWICI & MARYANNE RUSSELL

The panelists agreed on the importance of understanding and accepting a diverse range of generations in the workplace. “Six different generations will be working together,” said Pulos. Cole added that it is an historic time in terms of who is being laid off; the job losses are being felt across every culture and generation worldwide. To help survive the turmoil, Lavigne suggested stepping out of your role and putting yourself in your target audience’s place to help you understand their intentions and how specific generations may approach issues differently. Brown reminded those present that “every moment of communication needs to be about the audience that perceives it.” The panel also examined the employer/employee and mentor/mentee roles across cultures and generations. Our appearance, attitude, body language, and audience perception can determine our success. The panelists offered several tips on how to package yourself to potential employers that transcend generations. From Rosal’s perspective, “when in Rome, do as the Romans” while maintaining your professional integrity and remaining within your comfort zone. Instead of using expressions such as “I think, I hope, I feel,” Pulos suggested using words that reflect a confident and assertive communicator such as “I believe, I can and I look forward,” regardless of the generation of the person you with whom you are interacting.

In addition, stepping outside of your traditional role can help build a greater appreciation for your cross-generational colleagues and possibly showcase your willingness to migrate into new territories or communication media. We can all benefit from working together cooperatively. As Cole acknowledged, “we need each other” during these challenging and changing times. In a merging global economy, cultures and generations will be forced to coexist more effectively; we can choose to embrace this philosophy or we will get lost.

l o s t i n t r a n s l a t i o n was presented by New York Women in Communications, Inc..