Episode 70: A Female Education

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“Our students do come out of here quite confident…they have a sense of self, a sense of poise and confidence I don’t see coming out of many of the co-ed schools.”
— Debora Spar
Photo by michaeljung/iStock / Getty Images
Photo by michaeljung/iStock / Getty Images
“It was harder to figure out on my own how to apply this belief that my thoughts were important. ”
— Michelle Fan

In this show we look at the merits a single-sex education and how that affects you as you enter the workplace. The US was a pioneer in the world of female education: it used to have hundreds of women's colleges, many of them founded in the 19th century. Even today more than 40 survive, and plenty of them thrive.

I interview Debora Spar (left), the president of one of the most famous and popular, Barnard. We talk about her efforts to bring Barnard some male energy, the all-female classroom, and Spar's views on emoting at the office. We also hear from three Broad Experience listeners who attended women's colleges - Ashley Pope, Jamie Buck-Tomek and Michelle Fan. In their cases, the colleges were Barnard and Smith. So does being educated among other women mean you have a better or worse experience when you enter a workplace designed by men, for men?

If you're not the listening type you can read a transcript of the show.

This episode of the show is sponsored by Foreign Affairs - if you go to ForeignAffairs.com/broad you'll get an entire three-quarters off a year's subscription.

Further reading: Debora Spar is the author of several books including The Baby Business and Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection.

A liberal arts education doesn't come cheap. Barnard and Smith are among the most expensive colleges in the US - each has a price tag of around $45,000 per year. And that's for tuition alone. They're about the same price as a year at Harvard (but cheaper than a year at Columbia).

The Women's College Coalition has more information about America's remaining women's colleges.

This is the episode of Freakonomics I mentioned on the show where they interviewed Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust.

Episode 69: Working with Other Women

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“Many women are shocked when their female boss is not nice to them. Whereas I don’t think they’d be as shocked when a male boss isn’t nice to them. ”
— Katherine Crowley

                                       Photo courtesy of US Marine corps archives

It's a cliché but it's true: many women dislike working with other women. They claim female bosses and colleagues undermine them, talk behind their backs, and generally make them miserable.

But what if you're part of the problem?

In this show we delve into the dynamics of female relationships, why they can be so antagonistic, and how you can help redress the balance. My guests are Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster of K Squared Enterprises. They host their own podcast on the workplace, My Crazy Office. They're also the authors of Mean Girls At Work.

Katherine Crowley (l) and Kathi Elster

Katherine Crowley (l) and Kathi Elster

Thanks to Foreign Affairs magazine, which is sponsoring this episode of the show. Head to ForeignAffairs.com/broad to get a year's subscription for $19.95 - that's more than 80% off.

Further reading: A number of pieces like this one on a recent Columbia Business School study claim 'queen bee syndrome' is overblown.

This piece on yet another study suggests female supervisors are in fact more supportive of junior men than junior women - and pay them more.

This is an article on women's preference for working with men (but note it's a fairly small number of women who say they want this set-up).

You can also read a transcript of the show.

Episode 68: Introverts at the Office

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“Men have had the advantage to some degree of having that strong silent type, that label that is sometimes valued or seen as an attractive feature. And a quiet woman is automatically assumed to be shy. ”
— Beth Buelow
Photo by XiXinXing/iStock / Getty Images

Last year I released a show on authenticity at the office - how authentic, really, can women be at work, I asked? For many women the answer is 'not very.' That said, the conversations on that podcast revolved around being too big a personality for your workplace.

A few months later I met a friend for dinner. She mentioned how tough it was to fit in at her office because she was an introvert in a sea of extroverts. I'd never thought about that side of authenticity - when your personality isn't big enough for your colleagues' liking. That's what this show is about: When and how to adapt to an extrovert culture, and whether quiet women are losing out because others don't see them as leaders.

Beth Buelow

I have three guests this week. Beth Buelow is a strong advocate for introverts and their talents. She hosts The Introvert Entrepreneur podcast and is the author of The Introvert Entrepreneur: Amplify Your Strengths and Create Success on Your Own Terms. My other guests are Lisa Sonnier (a 'reformed introvert'), who talks about managing introverts, and Frieda Klotz, the introvert who got me thinking about all this in the first place.

As usual, I'd love to hear from you - if you have something you want to add to this discussion please comment below.

And if you're interested in supporting this one-woman show with a $50 donation, you will get a Broad Experience T-shirt in return. All details are right here. Thank you so much to those of you who've already signed up.

Finally, here's a transcript of the show.

Episode 67: How to Make the Most of Your Time

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“Why are we so apt to blame work for hard choices when there are other reasons that we have to make choices as well? I think it’s because we’re still not entirely comfortable with women achieving professionally. ”
— Laura Vanderkam
Photo by Pogonici/iStock / Getty Images
Photo by Pogonici/iStock / Getty Images

Laura Vanderkam

We say it repeatedly - that we're 'crazy busy' and 'don't have time' for various things we enjoy, or used to. The pressure of work and life is too much.

Or is it?

In this show I talk to author and journalist Laura Vanderkam about women and time management. Her latest book is I Know How She Does It - How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time. Laura says many of us buy into a negative storyline about what's (im)possible as a worker and a parent. She argues there are ways to have a senior job and a family and not lose your mind - you just have to think creatively.

Thanks to Foreign Affairs magazine, which is sponsoring this episode of the show. Head to ForeignAffairs.com/broad to get a year's subscription for $19.95 - that's more than 80% off.

Further reading: If listening to the show has inspired you to keep track of your own hours for a week, you can download one of Laura's timesheets here: http://lauravanderkam.com/manage-your-time/

If you'd like to read more about that lawyer who quit Clifford Chance after at least one terrible day, here's her goodbye email.

And this Harvard Business Review piece, Why Some Men Pretend to Work 80 Hour Weeks, is by Erin Reid, the Boston University researcher who studied men and women at a large global consulting firm.

You can also read a transcript of the show.

And about that T shirt I mentioned at the end of the podcast...if you can support this one-woman show with a $50 donation I'll send you a Broad Experience T-shirt (below). Fill out this form with your contact details and size, and make your donation here at the site's donate page. Thank you!


Broad Experience Shorts: Non-Mom

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“Ironically today in America more than ever before there are fewer mothers. And we have made motherhood the ultimate way to be a woman.”
— Melanie Notkin
Photo by Maridav/iStock / Getty Images
Photo by Maridav/iStock / Getty Images

This week, a short show on professional women with no kids. I covered this topic last year and got more responses than I had on any other show.

This time I'm using part of my interview with Melanie Notkin that didn't get an airing in the original podcast. She's a big advocate for women with no kids - specifically women who always saw themselves as mothers but for whatever reason, haven't yet had children. She's the author of a book on these women called Otherhood.

I'd love to hear from you, so if you have a comment on this topic, please post it below.

And about that T-shirt I mentioned in the podcast: this is a one-woman show and I do it because I think the stuff we talk about here is truly important. If you can support my work with a $50 donation I'd be very grateful. You can donate via the donate page. After that  please go to this Google form to fill in your name, address, email, and most important, size. The order will be sent once the shirts have arrived and the donation has been made. Shirt is 90% cotton, 10% polyester. It displays the graphics from this website's banner, including the text 'a conversation about women, the workplace, and success'.

Episode 66: Men on Women

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“I was told [the job] was going to my female co-worker, and it enraged me. I thought, ‘This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. I expressed myself in the masculine...and you gave it to a woman.”
— Benjamin DeBoer
“I think it’s very easy for men left alone without any women in a group to have a boys’ club environment...and maybe there is a young man who feels uncomfortable with that but he doesn’t feel empowered to speak up.”
— Erik Michaels-Ober

Benjamin deboer

In this episode two men share their views on women and men in the workplace. One is straight, one gay, one works in tech and one in the arts.

We talk about how gay men can be sexist too, why society values masculine qualities over feminine ones, and what one company, SoundCloud, is doing to increase the number of female engineers who work there (including making its job descriptions less exacting).

Erik Michaels-Ober

And don't forget to check out my sponsor for this week at Doodle.com - they make setting up meetings a lot easier, and the basic service is totally free.

And now for the T-shirt news I mentioned on the show. Anyone who donates $50 to the show via the support page will receive a Broad Experience T-shirt like the one below. Yes, this is a ladies' shirt, but guys, if you're interested, I can definitely get a man's shirt made up as well.

Please go to this Google form to fill in your name, address, email, and most important, size. The order will be sent once the shirts have arrived and the donation has been made. Shirt is 90% cotton, 10% polyester. It displays the graphics from this website's banner, including the text 'a conversation about women, the workplace, and success'.

If you're female here's what I can tell you: these T-shirts are not overly large. I'm 5'8 and broad shouldered and I wear a medium, whereas with other T-shirts I can easily wear a small.