How are women doing in today’s economic climate? Recently, students at Santa Clara University received timely and excellent advice about women in the workplace from Laraine T. Zappert, clinical professor at the Center for Neuroscience in Women’s Health at Stanford University School of Medicine, when she presented the “Top 10 Workplace Strategies” to students preparing to enter the workforce. Members from the AAUW San Jose (CA) Branch added years of work experience and knowledge about advancing in your career and negotiating salaries to the discussion.
Zappert shared findings about the difficult juggling act women go through to find a balance in work and life issues. This was not new information to many in the audience who shared their own experiences. We know that it doesn’t matter how high the woman’s position, she is still doing the majority of child-care and household chores. Even the woman who won the Nobel Prize in medicine a few years ago said she was folding the laundry when asked what she was doing when she got the phone call from Sweden.
A young woman in the audience said she simply insists that her boyfriend do half the work, but Zappert and the older (and wiser) women in the audience said that this is probably not the norm. Attendees also said that women need to let go of some of the power and control they have and allow men to participate more on the home front.
During her talk, Zappert reported that women hold 49 percent of the nation’s jobs, a number that rose swiftly during the recent economic downturn, in part because of heavy job losses in male-dominated industries such as construction and finance. While unemployment numbers for women were not as high as those for men, it’s problematic that women bring home salaries about 23 percent lower than men’s salaries for similar work because of the gender wage gap.
“Women need to recognize that more opportunities for women exist than ever before, but biases still exist and may be more subtle and pernicious,” she said. Zappert confirmed the importance of the work of AAUW and the Legal Advocacy Fund to combat gender discrimination in the workplace. She advised women to confront biases when they surface and to exert pressure on institutions to change. Don’t settle for words; support public and corporate policies that protect women.
This workplace event took place at Santa Clara University and was spearheaded by the AAUW San Jose (CA) Branch. The event was made possible by an LAF Campus Outreach Grant and funding from the Gloria Weston Campus Outreach Fund.
This post was written by AAUW San Jose (CA) Branch LAF Committee Member Gloria Leonard.
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