Women in Business

WOMEN IN disdain Course HRMG 5000 Managing world Resources Term Summer, 2011 Paper 1 Wo attain array in personal line of credit sector line concern Student Daphne Westerlaken van Westen Contact information daphne. van. emailprotected com University Webster University Leiden Instructor Arthur De La Loza -2Abstract on that point is a strike correlation among bodily finance implementation and women in lead roles. The number of egg-producing(pre n angiotensin-converting enzymeinal) college graduates and every over exclusively percentage of fe viriles in the pretendforce is increasing. thereof the pipeline of women has greatly pop(p)growthd and companies fork over to benefit on this to agree these companies be going to retain, attract and develop this family of genius. An lucifer balance of satisfactory men and women mess seriously be achievd when top heed stress on what women motivation in their companionship, study-life balance, talent addressment a nd equal compensation. in that locationfore the coifance of top bonkment should be judged partly on their king to groom and force fe manlike talent. -3Introduction The total of egg-producing(prenominal) college graduates and overall percentage of fe males in the exertforce is increasing.In companionship to delay that companies continue to appeal to the best and the brightest men and women, companies necessitate to promote the fact that at that place is equal access to opportunity for both genders. Catalyst, the jumper c satisfactory nonprofit organization make believeing globally with contrast sector organisation to build inclusive conkplaces and expand opportunities for women and handicraft, has found that there is a direct correlation between corpo run finance performance and women in leadership roles. Studies show a more(prenominal) than equal balance of qualified men and women drives innovation, engagement and business success.This research paper will focus on the involvement of Human Resource Management to increase the number of women in leadership roles. What Women loss The majority of the women and especially propagation Y (born 1978 1994) argon concerned astir(predicate) the impact of their life- work out balance (e. g. family, child c be) conclusion will bear on their c atomic number 18ers. BPW (Business and Professional Womens) Foundation did research on this topic and found emerge that the most important employer characteristics for women be 1. Opportunity for employees to self-importance- pick off 2.Emphasis on conflux goals, as opposed to how, when or where people do the work 3. accessibility of and focus on cargoner advancement opportunities Furthermore BPW found give a flair that women atomic number 18 disconnected with employers when -41. Employees judge each different based on the number of hours worked and non results produced 2. Employees at the top oblige more license than employees at the bottom. The overall percentage of females in the workforce is increasing and the Generation Y women ar the workforce for tomorrow. Because of this, women will look into the long enclosure business successes.Therefore corporations form to retain, attract and develop women by fulfilling their demand by a multipronged approach 1. Organizational level Examine and limit the prevailing mind- devise of inputs over outputs. An environment that rewards a persons presence is non conducive for encouraging people to apply tools that readiness improve their performance. 2. Management level Managers essential to be coached in and held account fitted for the ways in which their practices en qualified or limit the effectiveness of their direct reports. 3.Individual level Each individual should be encourages to identify where and when they work best. Quotas & Regulation Currently women occupy is just 12% of the seats on the display panels of large European companies. The European Union warns that i f listed European businesses energize non make signifi spatet progress in raising that percentage by next year March, the European Union will con nerver mandating that they do by means of measures such(prenominal) as boardroom measures gender-quotas of the kind already in place in France, Spain and Norway.The proportion of women occupy the seats on the board of the listed Frances companies is expected to hit 20% next year, up from 7% two years ago. The pool of qualified women is finite and therefore the contract is to prevent that pool from drying up. One of the reasons that -5qualified women argon not in that pool, is because there atomic number 18 not visible to companies. Therefore companies and as well as women lease to exit actions like 1. Develop and introduce mentoring programs (pairing old women with friendship chairmen as mentors) 2. variety up systematically contacts (net working(a) inside and outside the comp both) 3.Women imbibe to inform company bosses of the progress in their developments 4. Chief executives scram to promote women to their executive committees regulative back-up, like quotas, are required, because several(prenominal) men over 60 come back that suit able-bodied females dont exist because they have never had women as their peers, and they think women stomacht eat up the pressure relate in serving on a board. Furthermore, these quotas forces companies to develop strategies and programs to retain, attract and develop lavishly qualified women, who fecal matter work out the boardroom.But there is in addition a d possess side of quotas. Companies have to avoid pushing too belittled qualified women into boardrooms only to meet these quotas. This will harm the qualified women more than the quotas will back up. Work life counterweight With women now devising up almost half of the fag force in the Unit States and Europe, they are increasingly juggling work with rush giving responsibilities at legal residence . The theme for this dilemma is work flexibility and scheduling. There are several(prenominal) solutions and possibilities to increase the work-life balance 1.Employees working at home. This bath be masterd by teleworking. Telework substance that employees work via electronic, telecommunications and Internet means. -62. Compressed work workweek. A compressed work week is a work week in which a sound weeks work is accomplished in a couple of(prenominal)er than atomic number 23 8-hour days. Example four 10hour days. 3. Flex conviction Scheduling arrangement in which employees work a set number of hours a day plainly vary leadle and ending fourth dimensions. 4. Job-sharing Scheduling arrangement in which 2 employees perform the work of one full- clip job.Researches have sh give birth that the approach of work flexibility and memorial not only help a companys business success, it leads to increased employee productivity and retains and attracts the best employees. Equal Co mpensation The US labor statics for 2009 shows that womens median full- fourth dimension earning is 78. 7% of what men earn. The level of grooming doesnt adjudge any passings. The reasons for wage differences are complicated. Part of it has to do with many traditionally male-dominated professions, paying better than female-dominated professions.Part of it has to do that women make out to travel by more meter with family care than with their careers. But that is not full-length story. A study showed that when all things are equal ( early(a) than gender), women ability members soak up paid slight their mail colleagues. Women earn on average 6. 9% less than men in similar situations, when the long careers of male capability members, the relative productivity of faculty member and where male and female faculty members tend to work are organisen in account. Why the difference? 1. 2. Sexism and discrimination Women dont negotiate better salaries for themselves 7Theres not a lo t women can do about sexist employers, but salary negotiations are under their control. These negotiations can be a stumbling block, because women are not well trained to negotiate assertively on their witness behalf. But if they do, they may be penalized, particularly if the other negotiator is male. A study observed that men were more inclined to work with nicer and less demanding women who accepted their compensation offers without comment than they were with women who attempted to negotiate for higher compensation. slightly(prenominal) women were equaled competent for the job.So thats the double bind for women if they dont ask for a higher salary, they plausibly wont bump one, but if they do, they may not be hired or promoted. talent Management Catalyst, a nonprofit womens research group, mentioned that only 11 chief executives of Fortune 500 companies are women, down from a gush of 15 in 2010. The McKinsey study showed that 37% of lower-level and middle management are fe male, while just 26% of wrong presidents and other senior passenger vehicle are women at Fortune 500 companies. McKinsey researchers found that female inhalation declines at middle age.About 64% of women ages 45 to 54 oldish expressed a desire to advance captainly, compared with 78% of the men in the same age range. The comparable figures were 92% and 98% respectively, for women and men olden 23 to 34. The decrease of the desire to advance professionally of middle elder women is caused by their experience of not well fitted Talent Management Systems. Corporations can improve the odds for building diversity in the top management by increasing the number of women who make it from middle management to the vice presidential level.There are several opportunities, which companies can implement -81. Companies need to eliminate more time coaching women and offering more leadership training and rotation through versatile management roles. 2. Companies should watch the women at the m iddle management level systematically and putting these women in programs that would help them to develop and get the next (promotion) hurdle. 3. Companies should be actively grooming women, making sure they have mentors and actively promoting their careers. 4.The performance of top management should be judged partly on their ability to groom and promote female talent. finishing & Recommendations Research has shown that there is a direct correlation between corporate financial performance and having a mix of women and men in senior leadership roles. Statistics show that the number of female college graduates and overall percentage of females in the workforce is increasing. Therefore the pipeline of women has greatly increased and companies have to capitalise on this to ensure these companies are going to retain, attract and develop this pool of talent.To capitalize the women talents, companies need to change their (masculine) corporate floriculture. In the majority of the compan ies, female employees dont have same access to opportunities as their male colleagues. To increase the corporate financial performance, companies need to improve their corporate culture and the equal access to opportunities for both female and male employees. -9Every business and company is different and therefore companies need to found out what the necessitate are from their (future) female employees.In general, the most important employer characteristics for women are 1. 2. 3. Opportunity for employees to self manage Emphasis on meeting goals, as opposed to how, when or where people do the work Availability of and focus on career advancement opportunities The work-life balance buzz offs more important for both female and male employees due to that the number of women participates in the workforce is increasing. There are several solutions and possibilities which companies can implement to increase the work-life balance 1. 2. 3. 4.Employees working at home (teleworking) Compress ed work week Flextime Job-sharing Besides attract and retain female employees, development of these qualified women is important, because they will ensure the mix of women and men in senior leadership roles. Therefore it is recommended that companies improve their talent management with 1. coaching women, offering leadership training and rotations through various management roles 2. observation tower the women at middle management level systematically and putting these women in programs that would help them to develop and get the next promotion hurdle . actively grooming women, making sure that they have mentors and actively promoting their careers 10 Without equal compensation, women will leave the company or are not enkindle to live on their career with a company. Therefore is important that companies need to make sure that both women and men are equal compensated for the work they do. The final recommendation is more means of putting pressure on companies. A regulatory back- up, like quotas, forces companies to develop strategies and programs to retain, attract and develop high qualified women, who can enter the boardroom.Unfortunately there is in any case a down-side of quotas. Companies have to avoid pushing too low qualified women into boardrooms only to meet these quotas. This will harm the qualified women undeserved. An equal balance of qualified men and women can only be maked when top management focus on what women want in their company, work-life balance, talent management and equal compensation. Therefore the performance of top management should be judged partly on their ability to groom and promote female talent. 11 References Mathis, Robert L and Jackson, John H (2011). Human Resource Management.South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning Jolis, Anne (2011, whitethorn 19). What Women Want. The rampart Street Journal. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from http//www. WSJ. com SHRM Online staff (2011, April 26). What Gen Y Women Want Autonomy and Self-D irection. lodge for Human Resource Management. Retrieved May 3, 2011, from http//www. shrm. org Boulton, Leyla (2011, May 10). UK headhunter pledge bare-assed focus on gender. Financial Times. Retrieved May 19, 2011, from http//www. ft. com Manzano-Diaz, Sara (2011, May 20). Helping Women set up in the Workplace. Council on Women and Girls.Retrieved May 25, 2011, from http//www. whitehouse. gov/administration/eop/cwg Peggy (2011, April 12). Equal Pay mean solar day Why dont women just ask for more? Retrieved May 25, 2011, from http//www. scientopia. org/blogs/everydaybiology/ Lublin, Joann S, (2011, April 4). Coaching Urged for Women. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2011, from http//www. WSJ. com Prime, Jeanine and Moss-Racusin, Corinne A (2009). Engaging men in gender initiatives What Change Agents Need To Know. Catalyst Zahidi, Saadia and Ibarra, Herminia (2010). The Corporate sexual urge recess Report 2010. World Economic ForumWomen in BusinessWomen are becoming more involved in the business world by having well accomplished careers and businesses that are performing very well all over the world. Their businesses are developing and contributing earthshakingly to the economies of their countries. They have been able to develop careers and businesses in sports stadiums that were initially regarded as the domain of men. As they enter this environment, they have real new styles of unraveling out business and come up with ways that are different from those that were creation used by men in the past.There are various reasons that have godlike the women to start their own businesses and join the male dominated territory. Some of these reasons are derived from the necessitate that these women have. Financial security and the need to achieve something in their lives are some of these reasons that have inspired the women to come up with various businesses. Other reasons intromit seeking independency and flexibility to leave because to d etermine how they want to work and when they want to work. One of the major challenges that women nerve as they incorporate out their business is the ability to balance their work and their family.The women grammatical construction this challenge as they are not able to separate the business side of things and the family side. However, there are various step that these women can carry out to ensure that they strike a balance between their business work and their family roles. Some of the steps entangle coming up with a account of events and time that can help the women manage their time. They can also prattle to their families and make them understand the importance of the jobs and how much it means to them. Their families can whence be in a position to respect the business and mensurate it.Developing a work cycle that fits the family life cycle can also help the women to crap more opportunities and chances of happening time with their families without poignant the perf ormance of the business. 1. 0 Introduction Women in the recent past have become more involved in business with many of them jump up their own businesses. The rate of women offset their own businesses is increasing with the rate being twice that of the subject field average. Some of these women have more than a hundred employees in their businesses (Ericksen & Young, 1999).They have been going forward in their ventures and succeeding. These women have been able to prove that the world of business is not only a mans world. They have gone and succeeded in areas that are considered male territory in business such as real estate, moving, eating house business among others. The women have also booked their characteristics and experiences of being mothers, daughters and wives as they carry on business. This paper discusses the experiences of women in business including the entrepreneurs and how they balance their work and family. 2. Women in Business In the past, men have been involv ed in business establishing rules and structures to be followed in organizations. However more women are getting involved and becoming part of the business world in one way or another. They have been able to enter this male dominated environment and they have been changing the way things are done and making cocksure contributions to the development of businesses and organizations. They have introduced new methods and styles of doing things that are very different from the methods were being followed by the men.most of these women have formed their own businesses which they have developed from their own unique ideas and talents that they possess. In the United States alone, there are more than ten million businesses that have been started by women. These businesses have employed over 13 million people (Gunelius, The Importance of Women-Owned Business Certification, n. d). In 2008, such businesses were able to impact the national and local economies greatly and significantly generati ng gross sales of over $1. 9 trillion (Gunelius, n. d).Women have been inspired to work big(a) in their businesses pushing them to great heights and reaching new levels. These women are persistent and they leave undeniable marks on the economy they impact. Most of these women have made plans and they continue to make plans for the future of their businesses with about 37% of them planning to leave their businesses in the hands of their daughters (Gunelius, Statistics About Women Business Ownders from eye for Womens Business Research, n. d). This will help ensure that such businesses owned by women will be here to stay.2. 1 Reasons for Joining Business. There are various factors that make the women to join the world of entrepreneurship and leave their menstruum employment levels. Other women who are merely stay at homes have been driven to start their own businesses. These women have been inspired to start their own business that range in all sorts of industries. Other women ha ve been inspired to start businesses that they are able to operate from home. Some of the women use their professional skills and competencies to start their own businesses while others use their hobbies and talents as the foundation and encounter the skills that are needed.Majority of these women when starting these businesses do not have any business knowledge or background but due to their cacoethes and ambition they are able to succeed. (a) Financial Security There are various reasons that make women get involved in business with some starting their own businesses. Most of these women usually state economic want as one of the reasons that they start their own businesses. They start this business as they look for a source of income to make ends meet. The income they get is used to guard their family and provide for the needs of their family.Financial security is the major driving force for most women who join business starting their own businesses (Lake, Conway, & Whitney, 20 05). (b) Flexibility and independency Most of these women are mothers and they like to work using their own schedules so that they are able to spend more time with their children and family. They then consider the option of starting their own businesses that will allow them to be conciliative and juggle their personal lives with their work. Having their own business allows them to freedom and independence to try when to work and where to work from (Lake, Conway, & Whitney, 2005).Most of the women entrepreneurs choose to work from their homes and just defecate an office in one of the rooms in their houses. (c) Corporate grump Ceiling Some women experience a situation where they are not able to proceed further in their careers. Corporate glass roof is a situation where certain careers in business cannot exceed a particular level in growth. In that career there are simply no other levels that can be achieved above the rate of flow level. Women who experience such a situation end up starting their own businesses that give them more options in their careers and more fulfillments.The women are driven by this inspiration and they become their own boss (DeYoung, n. d). (d) Solving a Problem Some women entrepreneurial spirit is started off by the need to realize a particular line that they experience and others in the society as well. They then develop a solution to the problem and then make silver out of it as they help solve the problem effectively. Some of these women include Julie Clark. She came across a problem of lack of educational videos for small children and from then started to make them for her babies.She later founded a company by name The Baby Einstein that was involved in production of educational videos for young children (DeYoung, n. d). (e) Personal Achievement Some women are driven to start their own business by the desire to achieve some goals or achievements professionally (Lake, Conway, & Whitney, 2005). For most of the women who are dr iven by this desire, tangibles are not part of their quest. They are driven by perseverance and the desire to achieve something on their won with their own knowledge and abilities and operate a business.From the business they start they are able to achieve and make a significant impact in their lives, their families and the people around them. 2. 2 Challenges Faced In Business Entrepreneurs face several challenges when they are starting off and as the businesses grow. Women however face more challenges and obstacles as they carryout their own business (Gunelius, Challenges veneer Women in Business, n. d). These challenges although they are many they are not able to deter them from carrying out their businesses and becoming successful.They have been able to overcome these challenges and continue growing their businesses. One of these challenges is the lack of equal opportunity in the business environment. (a) Gender Discrimination The business environment has for a very long time bee n male dominated. It has drawn very clear lines on gender, and these lines have extensive in all business areas. There are very few businesses that have been regarded to be for women. Most women when they start of their businesses in areas that were not regarded for them, they face a lot of gender related discrimination (Gunelius, Challenges facing Women in Business, n. ). This mostly happens to women who are of a different race or blazon than the men. Studies have shown that more women who are of African American origin are discriminated in the business environment (Lake, Conway, & Whitney, 2005). (b) Family Pressure Some of the women who start of their own businesses they are overwhelmed by the activities that are involved in their businesses and they are not able to maintain a balance between their businesses and their families. This is one of the challenges that face women all over the world who are also mothers and have families to take care of.The balance between the busine ss and the family life becomes hard to achieve and in most cases their family life suffers. The family pressures then take a monetary rate on their relationships and their roles as mothers (Gunelius, Challenges go about Women in Business, n. d). (c) Unequal Opportunities One other challenge that faces many women, who start of their own businesses especially in an area that is highly dominated by men, is the lack of opportunities that are equal (Gunelius, Challenges Facing Women in Business, n. d). They face these challenges as they carry out their daily business activities and seek funds for their businesses.These challenges interfere with their businesses and they are not able to give out and grow as expected. Studies have shown that most women do not produce equal opportunities in the business environment especially in financial institutions with over 67% of them reporting difficulties when accessing funds (Women Entreprenuers, n. d). 3. 0 Work/Family Balance As women become more involved in the business environment developing their businesses, they are constantly faced with the challenge of managing their time properly between their business and their family.They are constantly seeking ways to manage and balance these two important sides of their life. Entrepreneurship on its own enables the women to manage their time and develop schedules that suit their life and their families as well (Women entrepreneurs, n. d). They are able to attend to family matters and other family activities and still be able to carryout their businesses. The flexibility and independence allows to allocate more time when need be to the family in various stages of her life and make up for any time lost with her family. 0% of most of the working women are driven to start their own businesses in order to enjoy this flexibility and independence (Business Women and Challenges of Work, Family, n. d). Even though the women entrepreneurs have the freedom to be flexible and spend time with their families some are not able to balance the two. There are various steps that women can follow to ensure that they are able to balance their lives and manage their time properly between their work and their life and hence create a balance.3. 1 Developing a Mindset and Keeping Perspective. The women who have difficulty managing their time properly and balancing their family life and work should be able to keep a proper perspective and mindset. They should stay focussed in their relationships in their family as they are valuable aspects of their life. The relationships should be maintained at all times and decisions made should be able to maintain them. These relationships are very important as they are the sources of happiness and they twist how the work is done and the quality that is maintained (Ericksen & Young, 1999).The perspective and mind set taken should put this relationships first and the business second. Businesses and work should be seen as ways of provideing the relationships. This mindset when grounded can help in the decision making process and ensure that the decision s that are made focus on maintaining these relationships above all else. Work should also be treated with respect and the family should also be advised to respect the business time and value it. The women should show the families the importance of the work and what it means to them.They should also deform to do everything they can to make the work succeed. When they treat the work with a lot of respect and value the families are also able to see this and they in turn develop the same respect and value in that business (Isidro, 2010). 3. 2 Developing a Schedule A schedule can be made that can help the women to manage the time effectively. The schedule when followed can help the women to allocate enough time for the family and the business and avoid conflicts.Regular working hours can be established and maintained and any unexpected occurrence of events can be handled c arefully and time compensated appropriately (Isidro, 2010). The schedule can also include frequent time breaks for the women to spend some time with the children during those breaks. The breaks can be used as a way of relaxing and spending time with the family and giving them undivided attention at this time. A schedule can also be made for the family vacations and weekends. Some women find it difficult to work when their families are at home during the summer and other holidays.Therefore a schedule can be made to include the time the family should take vacations and holidays together. The family can be involved in the making of the schedule to ensure that they are able to understand the importance of the vacation and the impact it has on the business (Business Women and Challenges of Work, Family, n. d). They will be able to offer their sponsor and allow the women to work undisturbed and respect the working hours. 3. 3 Outsourcing and Delegating Women should not see themselves as super heroes and tend to take on all the activities of the business on their own.They can allocate some of the activities and tasks to some of the employees they can trust and then handle the more complex tasks. They can also outsource some of the work from other businesses to be able to sustain on time to spend with their families. They can stick to accomplishing only what they need to do on their own to ensure that the business remains productive. The sudden they do their work the more time they have with their families. Getting a personal assistant when the business activities increase can allow them to spend more time with their families and still be able to make the businesses successful. through with(predicate) networking the women can be able to identify other businesses that can be able to handle some of the activities of their business and outsource it to them (Lake, Conway, & Whitney, 2005). 3. 4 cosmos Fit and Healthy A woman managing her own business should strive to keep herself healthy and fit to ensure that she is able to carry out the business and the family as well. She should stay healthy and take good care of herself in a way that she is able to take care of her family. If she is able to take care of herself then she will be more likely to be in a position to take care of her family.When working she should only take up jobs that do not strain her mentally and physically. Once she feels that she is almost burning out she should relax and take a break. Prioritizing her activities and tasks should help her deal with only what is important. She should also learn to say no in certain circumstances and avoid feeling guilty when she says no. She should just strive to do her best and deal with her life one day at a time. She can also join aliveness groups that can help her deal with some of the issues in her business. Such support groups can be identified through networks both in the confederation and online (Isidro, 2010). . 5 Match the Life C ycle and the Business Cycle Women entrepreneurs can seek to match the work cycle with that of the family in order to spend more time with them. They should not be in a surge to accomplish so much in their business and forget their families (Gunelius, Challenges Facing Women in Business, n. d). They should instead work hard where they can and use the bleak road since it will still get them there. They should also be dingy with themselves and come up with ways that will allow them to spend time with their families.The women can for example wake up early enough and perform some of the work that is needed pressingly in order to ensure that they are able to spend some time with their family during breakfast. They can also use the weekend to recover some of the time that is lost during the week as they also take a break. Another way to ensure that she is able to spend more time with the children is to work late at night when the children are asleep and it is quiet since they are able t o slim more and accomplish more tasks then.During the day they can then spend the time with their children and play with them. The women can also avoid answering knell calls when they are spending time with their families or replying to email. When they are with their families they can commute off their mobile phones to avoid interrupting the time they are spending with their families (Isidro, 2010). 3. 6 Familys Commitment The family should be made to understand the importance of the business and how it is operated. Making them understand will ensure that they are supportive and attached to ensure that it is successful.It is important to teach them and let them know how the business is doing, whether the money is tight and when it is doing well. They can help and come up with ideas that can be used to improve and make it better and offer moral support when things are not going well (Women entrepreneurs, n. d). The women should also consider the needs of their families and suppor t them when they need the support (Isidro, 2010). Some of the needs of the family can be handled at a later time while others need urgent attention. Women should be able to identify some of the needs that are urgent and handle them immediately.Several minutes can be used to solve a problem and avoid severe consequences. The several minutes can also portray concern to the family and the issue at hand. This is importantly right-hand as it helps strengthen the family relationships. Constant communication with the family should help the women identify issues that are affecting the family and the needs that they are going through. 4. 0 Conclusion Women are becoming more involved in the business environment and performing very well. They have opened up their own businesses out of ideas they have developed.From these ideas they have been able to generate a lot of money for the national economies and contributed significantly to the society. Their businesses are driven by the need to help and the desires and cacoethes of these women. Despite the challenges the women have faced that are unique to the business environment, they have been able to overcome them through perseverance and a lot of hard work. The women who have made it are able to inspire and motivate the other women to come up and develop their own businesses and succeed. They have also become role models in their society and all over the world through their achievements and successes.