Episode 13: When women ask women for a raise

March 4, 2013

In this show we look at women and negotiating, but from an angle I'd never thought about until recently. What happens when a female employee asks a female boss for more money? Many women claim female managers recoil when they ask them for a raise. Why? And we return to the topic of women in technology. Why do so many women who work at tech companies perform 'emotional labor' roles rather than technological ones? 14 minutes. 

Show notes: here's the full story behind Ashley Welde's attempts to get a raise from her female managers (including details of who finally gave her a raise, un-asked). One thing I couldn't fit in the story is that Ashley's experiences have put her off female bosses. She prefers men because she believes they are likelier to advocate for her. Forbes Woman contributor Susannah Breslin feels the same way about male bosses, though for different reasons. Thoughts?

Sara Laschever is co-author of two books on women and negotiating and travels throughout the US giving workshops and talks on this topic.

Here's the piece in Dissent magazine about ex-Facebook worker Katherine Losse and the culture of Silicon Valley, which got Lauren Bacon thinking. Losse's book is The Boy Kings. And here's Lauren's blog post, 'Women in Tech and Empathy Work', which spurred our conversation.

Episode 12: Women of Kenya

February 3, 2013

Africa is becoming a continent of entrepreneurs, and a lot of them are women. Most of these run 'micro businesses' selling fruits, vegetables or consumer goods at roadside stalls, but when I was in Kenya last month I spoke to two energetic entrepreneurs operating in the formal economy. These are the types of business owners the World Bank says Kenya needs more of if the country is to reach 'middle income' status by 2020.

Tune in to hear event manager Lydia Kaindi (above), who has firm opinions on what's going wrong with Kenyan men while its women soar, and film producer Mercy Murugi, who works with young people in Kenya's, and probably Africa's, largest slum. 12 minutes.

Anyone who wants to know more about Kibera should read this wonderful piece on a day in the life of this sprawling Nairobi neighborhood.

Episode 11: Women of a Certain Age

December 13, 2012

What happens to your career as you get older? We know the few female CEOs out there are mostly in their 50s and above (with the exception of the wildly famous and fertile Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer). But for many women life at work takes on a different dimension as you age and deal with other people's perceptions of what 'older' means. So what do you do about it if you still love your career and want to stay in the game? Tune in to hear Leah Eichler, editor of Femme-o-nomics and r/ally, energy industry executive Gail McMinn and Financial Times columnist Mrs. Moneypenny discuss women, employment and age, and why it's never too late to change careers. 

You can read Leah Eichler's Femme-onomics and Globe and Mail column on women and age at work here, and take a peek at Mrs. Moneypenny's book on women's careers here.

Episode 10: Selling Stereotypes

November 15, 2012

In this show we look at how women come across in the media and how that affects the way we think about ourselves and what we might do with our lives. Did you know women only have 30 to 40 percent of speaking roles on TV and in movies? And when women do have a voice, we're often not exactly sparkling on the conversation front (but you can be pretty sure we'll be wearing a low-cut top). Thanks to the Tow-Kight Foundation for sponsoring this episode. Tune in to hear cable TV pioneer Kay Koplovitz, women from the Spark movement, veteran activist Gloria Feldt, Jennifer Pozner, author of 'Reality Bites Back' and reality TV producer Troy DeVolld thrash through the issues. 18 minutes.

If you'd like to follow up on any of the studies and articles I mentioned in this episode (and one I didn't), here are a few links:

Forbes Woman: Why Millennial Women Do Not Want to Lead

Women's Media Center 2012 report on the state of women in the US media

Kaiser Family Foundation study on young people and media use

Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media study on gender roles and occupations in the media

Girl Scouts Research Institute survey on how reality TV affects girls aged 11-17

Ambition and Power: bonus track

October 21, 2012

I gleaned a lot of interesting insights from my interviews with Caroline Turner and Nicki Gilmour for the ambition and power episode, which I released a couple of weeks ago. As I'm trying to keep the podcasts short, I often end up having to leave out some great stuff that deserves to be heard and debated. So I'm trying an experiment: I've put together a bonus track or 'extras' episode featuring some of the things I couldn't fit into the original podcast. Let me know what you think. Worth doing occasionally?

Episode 9: Ambition and Power

October 2, 2012

In this episode, we explore women's fraught relationship with ambition and power. Some of us are happy to describe ourselves as ambitious while others balk at the term. Power? No thank you, many women say. Things look nasty at the top. But having power is about far more than ruling the roost. 

If you want to read more about the Stanford promotions study mentioned in the podcast, you can do that here. Nicki Gilmour mentioned Her Place at the Table, co-authored by Carol Frohlinger. You can find out more about Nicki at The Glass Hammer and Caroline Turner at Difference Works.