Women

So I was catching up on my Tivo'ed Project Runway episodes the other night when I couldn't sleep. (I won't call it a guilty pleasure -- I will defend Project Runway 'til the end!)  Thought I could escape Gen Y issues for a brief spell? No sir. In this particular episode, the lovely Frau Klum challenged the designers to "design a look for recent college graduates who are starting their lives as independent professional women."

Independent? Really? Then why did all these young women BRING THEIR MOTHERS ALONG? Naturally, the moms started dominating the working relationship with the designers, and the designers started pitching to the moms rather than to the daughters/clients. In defending their designs to the judges, the designers would say things like, "Holly and her mother seemed really happy with it" -- a reminder that with Gen Y, parents are (almost) always part of the package. How old does Gen Y have to get before their parents back off? I'm intensely curious.

In any event, with the exception of the winning design by Jerell, these were some of the worst clothes you could ever see in the workplace. Or anywhere. Yikes. (Read the blow-by-blow here.)

"A British researcher reports that the male ego is often larger than his actual IQ. But you might be surprised by what women think of men's intellect."

Curious? Me too!

Read the Newsweek article here. It's interesting to think about how this plays out in the classroom and in the workplace.

It's been a busy weekend, wrapping up Round 2 business school applications and responding to people whose December LSAT scores came out yesterday. (Admissions officers love to mess with our holidays, don't they?) On the LSAT front in particular, there's been some ecstatic news for some, and some not-so-happy news for others. And for the not-so-happy folks, let me remind you not to wrap your whole identities around this test. It's a big world out there, and you don't have to let one test determine your place in it. (More on that here and here.)

In the universe of workplace issues, I gave an interview recently for a human resources magazine about Generation Y in the workplace. If you want to see what's on their minds over in HR, take a look here (SMB Human Resources). The same issue, at the same link, also has an interesting article about Facebook and MySpace in the workplace, and why some employers are saying, "no thanks."

And while I'll likely be posting again before Christmas, in case I don't, I'll close with one of my favorite pastimes, making fun of the worst of academia. From The Independent (London), "The Snowman: A Tale of Modern Masculinity":

Dr Tricia Cusack, an art historian, has, for the periodical New Formations, discerned inappropriateness in the very nature of Christmas: "Some members of cultural minorities in Britain find the central power relationship of Christmas threatening, not to speak of its whiteness - a white Christ, a white snowman."

It is the snowman that bothers Dr Cusack most - not just his threatening whiteness, but also his masculinity, his "phallic carrot-nose", his location in a semi-public space or garden "to substantiate an ideology upholding a gendered spatial/social system, marking women's proper sphere as the domestic/private, and men's as the commercial/public." The snowman "animates the garden or field with an anthropomorphic presence, a household god keeping nature in order."

Surely it was no accident that "in view of the western narrative of actual masculine domination of nature/female, ... out of virgin snow a male icon is built."

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I wouldn’t have guessed that I’d finish out the year 2007 by giving a talk at an event headlined by Jack Welch, but that’s what happened last week when I was a panelist at the Massachusetts Conference for Women, talking to thousands of women who came to hear about career choices, entrepreneurship, and all kinds of other goodies.

Welch was one of the keynote speakers, and while I overheard quite a bit of grumbling from attendees about the fact that a man was giving the keynote address at a women’s conference, I personally couldn't care less if he were a man, a woman, or an alien sex. A chance to hear what's on Jack Welch's mind? Sign me up. Here are some of the highlights.

What makes a great leader?

Welch says there are 4 E’s and a P of Leadership.
(More on the four E's here, here, and here.)

Energy – Leaders are people who love to "go, go, go." They possess boundless energy and get up every day ready to attack the job at hand.

Energizers – Leaders know how to spark/motivate others to perform. They outline a vision and are able to direct other people to carry it out. Energizers know how to get people excited, and they are able to give credit when due and accept responsibly for mistakes.

Edge - Those with edge are competitive types. They know how to make the really difficult decisions, such as hiring, firing and promoting, never allowing the degree of difficulty to stand in their way.

Execute - The key to the entire model. Without measurable results, the other E's are of little use. Executers recognize that activity and productivity are not the same, and they are capable of converting energy and edge into action and results.

Passion – You’ve got to have passion in your work. If it’s not making you wake up happy every day, don’t do it.

Networking is Secondary

“Networking is nice, but the key is to OVERDELIVER and make your boss smarter. Show your boss you have what it takes.” “Delivering the goods” is huge. Go the extra mile if you want to move up. Do not look for other reasons or ways to get promoted – DELIVER.

Work-Life Balance

“Work life Balance? Who made up that term? There’s no such thing! There are work-life CHOICES.” Then he told a story of how he pretty much never saw his kids when they were growing up because he made the choice to run GE.

How to Recruit Talent – Things to Look For

1. Authenticity – Are they real?

2. Resilience – Not “if” they get back up on horse, but “how well.”

3. See Around the Corner – What’s next? Keep your superstars.

Closing tips from Jack

1. Boredom is deadly. Get pushed by your mentors and peers to the next level.

2. Never be satisfied – keep reaching and stretching.

3. See yourself where you want to be. Jack says: “I see myself as 6 foot tall, with hair.”

Enjoyed this article in today's WSJ about a Harvard Business School graduate and former investment banker who now works as one of the country's few female high school football coaches, in Texas no less. An excerpt:This spring, Ms. Myers interviewed for a job at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas where she had served as the tight ends coach in 2003, the year the team won a Texas state championship for private and parochial schools. She said the team's new head coach, Bill Persinger, told her he couldn't hire her because there are too many people who doubt that a woman truly understands the physical and aggressive nature of football -- or could be capable of imparting it to the players.

Mr. Persinger said he mainly wanted to hire someone with more experience in his offensive system, but that Ms. Myers's gender, and the likely protests that would come from parents if she was hired, were factors in the decision, too.

To get her current job at Prince of Peace, she disguised her gender by applying under the name S. "Chuck" Myers. Doug Pevehouse, who had just been hired to start a football program at the private Christian school in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, said he had no idea what the initial stood for. "If it would have said Susan, I probably wouldn't have called," he said.What's next? Condoleezza Rice as NFL commissioner?

Minority MBA applicants (yes, that includes women, at least where top MBA programs are concerned), take note: Wharton is sponsoring a diversity day for you:Explore Wharton: Diversity in ActionSeptember 20-21, 2007

If you are a woman, an under-represented minority, or a LGBT prospectivestudent, we invite you to visit us at our annual prospective studentevent Explore Wharton: Diversity in Action on Thursday, September 20 andFriday, September 21, 2007.

Co-sponsored by the African American MBA Association (AAMBAA), WhartonHispanic American MBA Association (WHAMBAA), Wharton Women in Business(WWIB), Out for Business (Out4Biz) and Wharton's MBA Admissions Office,Explore Wharton gives you the opportunity to experience Whartonfirst-hand.  This two-day event focuses on Wharton MBA opportunities forprospective women, LGBT and under-represented minorities.  You will meetcurrent students and administrators, attend classes with Wharton's topprofessors and gain invaluable insights in the admissions process. 

Discover how our distinctively collaborative environment, innovativelearning channels, global reach, and diversity of talent, place you atthe leading edge of new ideas that shape worldwide practice in thebusiness, nonprofit and government sectors.

Register here:http://clubs.wharton.upenn.edu/proday/

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU....

Judith S. Hodara, Ed.D.Senior Associate DirectorWharton MBA Admissions215.898.2585Even if special diversity events are not your cup of tea, you should go (assuming you fall into one of the designated categories). It's a great way to get some face-time with admissions officers.

There I days I don't miss being an admissions officer. Last week I attended an MBA admissions panel. I used to do those roadshows, where five admissions officers sit on a stage talking to an audience of hundreds about the admissions process in vague generalities and answer audience questions with vague generalities. Admissions officers are very limited in the candor they can express in public, but there were some nuggets that were dead on, so I'll condense them here and paraphrase a little bit:

1. If your college grades weren't so hot, be upfront about that and explain why. Show that you are in a better position now to do the work. How do you prove that? By taking classes and guiding your recommenders to cite examples from your job that could allay fears about your ability to hack it in a competitive academic environment. Admissions officers care about your undergraduate performance not because they want to obsess needlessly over who you were five or eight or ten years ago, but because they don't want to set you up for failure. They'll also scrutinize your transcript for evidence of both quantitative and verbal skills, so if your background appears to be lacking in one or the other, go make up that deficit either in the classroom or on the job or on your GMAT.

2. Recommendations from people who've seen your day-to-day performance on the job are the best predictor of future performance. Ideally they'll talk about what kind of impact you've had on the organization and on the people with whom you work. Admissions officers know that you likely have not been managing other people yet at this stage in your careers, so you need to think about what impact you've had, and how you achieved those results without direct authority over people (meaning, you managed from the side and managed from below).

Guiding your recommenders is fine: take them out for coffee (the best five bucks you'll spend) and give them examples that you think highlight and demonstrate that impact. Admissions officers insist that you can't and shouldn't write those recommendations yourself, but honestly, they are delusional if they think that even a majority of the recommendations they receive were written by the recommenders rather than the applicants. If admissions officers enforced the rule, they'd have to cut their applicant pool in half. The fact is, most recommenders will not take the time to write the letters themselves and delegate that task to the applicants to varying degrees. Still, it's in your best interest to find recommenders who are willing to write the letters themselves. Those letters are almost always stronger, in my experience, than when you try to speak for your recommenders.

3. Admissions officers are not impressed by long lists of activities. They'd rather you whittle that list down to the activities that really matter to you. Schools are building communities, and they seek people who are engaged with the world around them. They want to see demonstrated, continued involvement, so banging some nails for Habitat once a year isn't going to cut it. Activities are also often a great way to demonstrate your leadership experiences and lessons in your essays.

There were a few statements that made me scribble furiously in disagreement:

1. "Try not to worry about your essays." Huh? That makes no sense. The essays are the most labor-intensive part of the application. I would hope applicants worry about them, if that means taking them seriously and expending a lot of effort on them. It's insulting to require all those essays and then tell applicants not to worry about them.

2. In your essays, "be yourself." "Differentiate yourself." How is that helpful advice? It's not. At all.

3. "Embrace the opportunity to interview." "Be yourself in the interview." Except that some people really stink at interviews. Not everyone is good at interviewing. It's a learned and learnable skill, but it takes practice and plenty of feedback.

4. It's not enough that admissions officers from top business schools butcher English grammar; apparently they have to butcher Latin grammar as well. My ears bled a little bit when one of them referred to her school's "curriculi."

One other observation: I spotted a large number of women dressed inappropriately for a professional event. Simple rules to remember: no miniskirts, and no high-heeled slides (which, aside from looking unprofessional, also sound unprofessional: slap, slap, slap. Not good.)

A last note: this particular admissions event was co-hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Club of Boston and Kaplan. The venue was papered in slick Kaplan brochures and folders and fliers. Do not choose Kaplan just because of their huge advertising budgets. There are much better GMAT options out there.

Business schools have a not-so-secret “woman problem.” The percentage of women in MBA programs has consistently ranged from 25-35% at many schools. Is that a “glass ceiling”? Elissa Ellis-Sangster calls it that in an interview in today’s WSJ. She is the executive director of the Forté Foundation, an organization whose goal it is to funnel more women into business schools and business careers.

In the same interview, she herself acknowledges that women choose not to pursue MBA programs for a variety of reasons, among them:

• the fact that business schools prize about five years of work experience after college and expect people to apply at a time in their lives when many women want to start and raise their families

• the presumed fear that women have of all things quantitative and

• law schools, which are happy to take people right out of college (with zero life or work experience, well thought-out or defensible career goals, or even demonstrated common sense, I would add).

Doesn’t sound like much of a glass ceiling to me, just people making rational and sometimes irrational choices for themselves. To suggest that women are somehow being kept out of business school through some “glass ceiling” is a bit condescending, but that’s par for the course when people wring their hands and tsk-tsk about the choices women make.

Would I like to see more women in top business schools? Sure; it’s a great credential to have, and I’d much rather see women in MBA programs than in law school (faithful readers have heard my spiel on that subject a number of times by now, so I won’t flog that horse again here). Business schools can start taking women right out of college too, just like law schools, but that’s not going to change the fact that many will want to off-ramp out of professional jobs at a certain point in their lives, whether they have a professional degree or not. You can get more of them into MBA programs, and you can get more of them into high-powered professional and corporate roles, but that doesn’t mean you can get them to stay. To suggest that these choices aren’t really choices but somehow imposed on them is silly. More on that here and here.

I would argue that business schools have a bigger problem to contend with: how they’re going to make leaders out of a generation of twenty-somethings who can’t make any decisions without mommy and daddy.

I've written before about professional women off-ramping from the working world. Now comes this survey of Massachusetts lawyers that shows a significantly higher rate of attrition for female associates in private practice than their male counterparts:

Of the 1,000 Massachusetts lawyers who provided data for the report, 31 percent of female associates had left private practice entirely, compared with 18 percent of male associates. The gap widens among associates with children, to 35 percent and 15 percent, respectively -- reflecting the cultural reality that women remain the primary care givers of children and are therefore more likely to leave their firms for family reasons.

. . .

The report, "Women Lawyers and Obstacles to Leadership," which was produced by the MIT Workplace Center in conjunction with several of the state's major bar associations, is rife with devastating commentaries on law firm life, including one female lawyer's remark that "I would not encourage my daughters to enter the legal profession."

. . .

Of women who jump off partnership track, slightly more than half move to legal positions at nonprofit groups, government agencies, or corporations, where their schedules are often less grueling, according to the report. But 46 percent leave the law altogether, compared with less than a third of men who leave the partnership track.

. . .

Practicing law also seems to force women to choose between working and having a family , the report said ; senior male lawyers are more likely than their female peers to be married or living with partners (99 percent vs. 84 percent, respectively) or to have children (80 percent vs. 68 percent).

Two other local studies in the past decade reached similar conclusions. In 1999, a Boston Bar Association report concluded: "We are in danger of seeing law firms evolve into institutions where only those who have no family responsibilities -- or, worse, are willing to abandon those responsibilities -- can thrive." In 2000, the Women's Bar Association released a report that found workplace flexibility was critical to women's success, but often elusive.

This survey doesn't tells us anything we didn't already know. What's remains puzzling to me is the head-scratching among big law firms about why so many women leave, or what to do about it. This isn't terribly complicated.

I'll also posit that men are just as miserable as women at BigLaw but find it harder to leave for "lifestyle" jobs.

My previous thoughts on associates fleeing big law firms are here and here, and about professional women off-ramping here.

Here's a great article in BusinessWeek about women bailing from the corporate world to start their own ventures.