Comments on: The 'Woman' Issue From a Young Pro

By: Happy Birthday, LAF Blog! (And lots of Thank Yous) | LAF

Happy Birthday, LAF Blog! (And lots of Thank Yous) | LAF — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:39:34 +0000

[...] wrote a blog post awhile back about the ‘woman issue’ from a young pro perspective. Awesome. That topic made me strive to be a think a lot more about women issues. Carla is smart, savvy and a [...]

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:40:55 +0000

I have been in advertising/marketing for over three years now, since college, and have worked with more women than men. The newspaper I came from consisted of 11 other saleswomen and two men Directors. I do have to say that it did seem like a good old boys club around the corporate floor though. I now am a Senior Account Executive and work with one other women… the owner and designer of our marketing firm. We work hand in hand and it is the best move I have ever made. We seem to have the presentation process locked down. We also stay on the same page and keep our clients in perspective. I also network constantly through groups and am a co-chairwomen for our chamber's women's group. I too agree that it is a support system that teaches other women to get out there and to open up to others. Men are invited… but never come =). I am only 26, but have had no problems with my gender in the work place and feel more empowered by my personality and outgoing creative attitude.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:40:55 +0000

By: Friday Linky Love | Small Hands, Big Ideas

Friday Linky Love | Small Hands, Big Ideas — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:15:26 +0000

[...] 9. The Lost Jacket: The ‘Woman’ Issue From a Young Pro [...]

By: Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:28:49 +0000

Hmmm. I always start reading posts like this with a little bit of trepidation, wondering just where it is going to go. Regarding the idea of a "gender gap" in blogging, tech, IT, PR, teaching or firefighting, my response is to think "So what?" rather than look for some conspiracy or agenda.

Why is there a need for 'balance' in representation in any field? In particular I don't hear anyone clamoring for more women working on crab-fishing boats in the Bering Sea...
Anyone with eyes to see should be aware of the amazing advances in equality of opportunity for all people in education and choice of profession, however it seems to me that many people get hung up on a perceived inequality of outcome.

People are different. They make different choices for different reasons. That is the simple explanation for the numbers.

*However* - Geoff Livingston was on-the-money when he pointed out that snub and you are pretty close with "Women and especially young girls need to be encouraged to take more risks, to start their own projects, to study mathematics, and to be innovators in technology. Women are not being challenged and encouraged enough in these areas."

I would submit that everyone needs to be encouraged to take more risks and accept more responsibility for what happens in their lives. And we should all pay more attention to the content of a person's character rather than the composition of their chromosomes.

By: Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:28:49 +0000

By: Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:28:49 +0000

By: mrggfep

mrggfep — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:47:31 +0000

I am not sure that there is a real way to solve this problem. I mean being an entrepreneur is not somthing that can be taught or encouraged on a mass scale. To some it comes almost naturally, as they have no desire to work for others, Some realize that they are making others rich and decide to get a piece of the pie themselves, and some learn by living in a household of entrepreneurs. Whether you are male or female you can not depend on any company or organization to promote you to a power position. Most speakers, marketers, and successful people in general have that aggressive/entrepreneurial spirit, otherwise they would still be working for the man instead of speaking.

Rising to the top and gaining the credentials that cause people to respect you requires a huge level of risk over many years, and people with the worker bee mentality will not get there. I know severl women who are entreprenuers and they are very successful. A few of them actually have migrated into public speaking and they are doing well in that arena as well (in their respective industries). I think that life is harder as a minority (females included) but if you get to the top of your game you will be respected and people will listen to what you have to say. At the end of the day money talks, and if you can help people get more money or grow their cause then you will be sought out.

I can't say that women I grew up with were guided in any particular field, my COmputer Science classes often had more females than males, my Chemistry and Calculus classes had just as many if not more women than men. Even in my career as an IT auditor for a Big 4 accounting firm I was one of 2 male IT auditors in an office with 8-10 IT auditors. But I will say that as I go further in my career I have noticed more women falling off the wagon. I have seen female IT managers quit to teach school, or to become social workers/counselors. So I wonder if certain people ultimately are just cut out for non-technical careers. If a women madkes it to an IT manager level and quits to become a school teacher did the system guide her to that end or was that a personal choice based on what truely makes that person happy?

By: Carla Blumenthal

Carla Blumenthal — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:42:00 +0000

I believe in women support groups in addition to having male mentors as well.

Like you know, I write for Gals' Guide, a women-oriented blog for twenty-something females transition into the next step of their lives. I think it is a fantastic online community where women try to help each other with life tips, etc. I fully support the community there. But I do try to reach out to both men and women mentors for growth in my career. I think both are essential.

By: Carla Blumenthal

Carla Blumenthal — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:35:41 +0000

Hi Amy- After re-reading and discussing, I do realize the broad nature of the post when trying to relate the tech, science and communication worlds. As a young pro in the PR and communications field, I was surprised by the amount of women in my classes (there was usually 1 male for every 18 female) versus high-profile males in the industry. Just from my observations, something seemed askew. Like you said, the best we can do is to keep chasing opportunities.