The Challenges Working Women Face

The Challenges Working Women Face

By Alicia Jacobs, Excelsior Life Staff --

Just like men, working women balance careers, personal life, and raising a family. However, today’s working women also face the challenges of equal pay, work life balance (now called integration), and organizational advancement.

Did you know about half of all workers on U.S. payrolls are women? It may be a bigger surprise to realize women are not the only ones impacted by these challenges. The changing nature of our families impacts men and children too.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau women working full time only make 77 cents for every dollar men earn. This inequality, according to the National Women's Law Center, translates into $10,622 less per median-income woman every year.

Many years ago, the role of women was to raise a family. In recent decades, women have been pursuing careers without pay equity. It is a juggling act. Reports show two-thirds of the responsibility for household labor and caretaking is by women all over the world.

Approximately 67 percent of Excelsior College staff is composed of women so recently Excelsior College’s President’s Committee on Inclusion (PCI) hosted a panel discussion, to answer questions about the working challenges women face and address the subject of pay equity.

The panelists included Omoye Cooper, director of the division of equal employment opportunity and NYS Equal Opportunity Officer for the NYS Department of Labor, G. Bernett Marion, Sr., director of equal opportunity and diversity development for the NYS Office of Children and Family Services and Libby McGinn, MS, LMHC, clinical supervisor from Human Resources Associates. They each helped answer some tough questions.

Excelsior Life: What is the impact of pay inequity?
Even with advanced degrees, women are at a disadvantage. The good news is women are outpacing men in getting degrees and tend to live longer. Workplaces should examine policies and practices. Employees need to speak up when there are inequities, even if the first person doesn’t benefit, the last person usually does.

Recommendation: Tap into your inner strength. Don’t listen to stereotypes of being too pushy. Women need to be competitive, work hard, confident and assertive. Risk taking is part of advancement and failing is part of advancement.

Pay inequity starts with salary negotiations. Salary impacts the whole family and opportunities when you can’t afford things.

When it comes to inequity, do your homework. Find out what previous employees were paid. Come to job negotiations armed with facts.

Excelsior Life: What are some tips on work life balance/Integration?
Half of the US workforce is made up of women. This places a burden on women and their partners. Depending on the culture of where you work, it can be damaging to feel like you can’t “unplug”. Tip for bosses: A supportive supervising style makes staff want to work hard. Tip for employees: Management should understand there is life outside of work and people need to take care of things. Pay attention to company policies on flex time, childcare, and eldercare.

Excelsior Life: What are some suggestions for women on organizational advancement?
Go outside your inner circle. Talk to other people in company regardless of their role and their title. Everyone can teach you something. Find a good mentor who has the desire to help you succeed.

Keep in mind “PIE”…. performance, image, and exposure impact career mobility. Pay attention to chain of command and culture of workplace. Don’t worry about everyone liking you. It is more important to get along and respect people in the workplace. Women should be proactive in establishing relationships and find mentors.

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Women Serving Valiantly in Combat

Women Serving Valiantly in Combat

By Mike Lesczinski, Excelsior Life News Staff--

The Pentagon’s decision to lift the ban on women serving on the frontlines will open thousands of new elite military jobs previously barred to women. While the order re-energized a heated debate in the media last month, the truth is women have been serving valiantly in ground combat for more than a decade.

Michelle Wilmot, Excelsior College graduate and Massachusetts’ 2009 Outstanding Women Veteran, knows this better than most. She enlisted in the military at 17 years old, following in the footsteps of several members of her family. She trained as a medic, earned the rank of Sergeant, learned Arabic and was deployed to the Middle East in 2004 during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

As part of Team Lioness in Iraq in 2004-2005, Michelle experienced combat firsthand while attached to a company of Marines. There she conducted checkpoint operations, nighttime house raids, and performed searches on women and children for weapons and explosives.

“I wasn't baking cookies and waiting for the men, I was with them in some of the bloodiest counter-insurgency battles in the Iraq war,” said Wilmot. “The Marines I worked with were professional and we had great camaraderie.”

Michelle says she became disheartened on her return home however. That’s when she learned that most Americans and the media were unaware of the contributions women have been making for than a decade in ground combat.

“The process of coming home was far more difficult than facing direct combat in my view.”

In response, Michelle is trying to raise awareness as best she can - by telling her story. She was approached by Colonel Katherine Theresa Platoni to contribute to her upcoming book (co-authored with Dr. Raymond Monsour Scurfield) “War Trauma and Its Wake: Expanding the Circle of Healing (August 2012).”

Platoni, a colleague of Wilmot’s in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, asked the veteran to speak out candidly on issues surrounding women veterans, including bigotry and veteran services. Wilmot’s contribution eventually became the chapter “Women Warriors: From Making Milestones in the Military to Community Reintegration.”

Wilmot continues to give back to her fellow veterans. She was also a Retention non-commissioned officer(NCO) in the U.S. Army, which aided her transition to the nonprofit sector upon her return. She now works in career services for an IT college in Las Vegas, Nevada, helping transitioning military personnel with their resumes and securing employment.

And her advice for a young women aspiring for a career on the frontlines?

“You're braver, stronger, and smarter than you know.”

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Fashion Week events set to inspire and encourage young women at Evangel

Promoting healthy body image, confidence and self-esteem for Evangel’s female students, Fashion Week kicks off at Evangel University on Monday, March 11, 2012.

This year’s theme is Unveiled: Uncovering the Past, Reclaiming the Future.

The  focus is on helping women find identity in Christ rather than basing it on the expectations of society, says senior Mehleena Edmonds, chair of the 12-member, student committee that plans the Fashion Fever events.

“We are taking ownership of our lives as new creations,” Edmonds says. “We don’t have to hide from our past or be ashamed of who we used to be. We are reclaiming our future because we have turned from the ways of our past.”

Kerry Marsh, Counseling Services staff member, says the theme also reinforces the importance of positive self-image for women.

A women-only Chapel service will be held on Monday, March 11, at 7 p.m., in the Barnett Recital Hall. Edmonds will be the speaker for this event.

Each women’s residence hall on campus will host events to take place on Tuesday, March 12, and an event organized by Evangel’s Counseling Services will take place on Wednesday, March 13, at 10 a.m. in the lower level of the student union.

The main event, Fashion Fever, begins at 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 14. The event is open to all Evangel University students, staff and faculty.

The night will showcase fashion, hors d’oeuvres and an inspirational message by Casey Gibbons, author of A Girls Life with God, co-founder of Cherish Kids and mother of five daughters. She is married to Scotty Gibbons, student ministries director at James River Assembly of God in Ozark, Missouri.

“This is an amazing event for the girls on this campus. It is an opportunity for us to come together and have a night away from school assignments,” Edmonds says. “We feel empowered and inspired by the potential we see in each other.”

This annual event also is a fundraiser, and this year, each residence hall is collecting personal hygiene items for the Boys & Girls Town of Springfield. The floor that donates the most items will be treated to VIP seating at the event. Profits from the sale of T-shirts and other merchandise also will be donated to the Boys & Girls Town.

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Women Serving Valiantly in Combat

Women Serving Valiantly in Combat

By Mike Lesczinski, Excelsior Life News Staff--

The Pentagon’s decision to lift the ban on women serving on the frontlines will open thousands of new elite military jobs previously barred to women. While the order re-energized a heated debate in the media last month, the truth is women have been serving valiantly in ground combat for more than a decade.

Michelle Wilmot, Excelsior College graduate and Massachusetts’ 2009 Outstanding Women Veteran, knows this better than most. She enlisted in the military at 17 years old, following in the footsteps of several members of her family. She trained as a medic, earned the rank of Sergeant, learned Arabic and was deployed to the Middle East in 2004 during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

As part of Team Lioness in Iraq in 2004-2005, Michelle experienced combat firsthand while attached to a company of Marines. There she conducted checkpoint operations, nighttime house raids, and performed searches on women and children for weapons and explosives.

“I wasn't baking cookies and waiting for the men, I was with them in some of the bloodiest counter-insurgency battles in the Iraq war,” said Wilmot. “The Marines I worked with were professional and we had great camaraderie.”

Michelle says she became disheartened on her return home however. That’s when she learned that most Americans and the media were unaware of the contributions women have been making for than a decade in ground combat.

“The process of coming home was far more difficult than facing direct combat in my view.”

In response, Michelle is trying to raise awareness as best she can - by telling her story. She was approached by Colonel Katherine Theresa Platoni to contribute to her upcoming book (co-authored with Dr. Raymond Monsour Scurfield) “War Trauma and Its Wake: Expanding the Circle of Healing (August 2012).”

Platoni, a colleague of Wilmot’s in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, asked the veteran to speak out candidly on issues surrounding women veterans, including bigotry and veteran services. Wilmot’s contribution eventually became the chapter “Women Warriors: From Making Milestones in the Military to Community Reintegration.”

Wilmot continues to give back to her fellow veterans. She was also a Retention non-commissioned officer(NCO) in the U.S. Army, which aided her transition to the nonprofit sector upon her return. She now works in career services for an IT college in Las Vegas, Nevada, helping transitioning military personnel with their resumes and securing employment.

And her advice for a young women aspiring for a career on the frontlines?

“You're braver, stronger, and smarter than you know.”

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Phoenix women host WBI basketball tourney March 20

Elon's women's hoops team makes its second appearance in NCAA Div. I post-season play with a game against Eastern Kentucky.

Kelsey Evans drives to the basket in SoCon Tournament play against Davidson.

After an impressive 18-13 season that included program-best 14-6 record in the Southern Conference and an appearance in the conference tournament semifinals, the Elon women’s basketball team has accepted an invitation to play in the 2013 Women’s Basketball Invitational.

Fourth-seeded Elon will host fifth-seeded Eastern Kentucky in the first round of the WBI on Wednesday, March 20, at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym. If the Phoenix advances, the quarterfinals will take place on March 23 or 24.

This marks Elon’s second appearance in the WBI after making its first Division I post-season appearance in the tournament in 2011. Elon was given a No. 3 seed and a first-round home matchup against sixth-seeded USC Upstate. The maroon and gold claimed a 103-72 win over the Spartans before falling to eventual WBI champion UAB in the quarterfinals.

The WBI is a 16-team, single elimination tournament that was created in 2010 to address additional post-season opportunities for women’s college teams who did not make the NCAA tournament field. The WBI tournament bracket is an East/West format with each side seeded 1-8. The semifinals, or third round, will be played March 27/28 with the 2013 WBI Championship game set for March 30 or 31.

Tickets for Wednesday’s game can be purchased through the Elon Ticket Office at elonphoenix.com or over the phone at 336-278-6750.

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by Dan Anderson, Staff Last Updated - 3/19/2013

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Black & Hispanic Women in Technology - Interview with Donna Carter

Black & Hispanic Women in Technology - Interview with Donna Carter

By Mike Lesczinski, Excelsior Life News Staff--

Dr. Jane LeClair interviews Dominion Virginia Power's Donna Carter on recent changes within the industry landscape and various technology disciplines.

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Women Serving Valiantly in Combat

Women Serving Valiantly in Combat

By Mike Lesczinski, Excelsior Life News Staff--

The Pentagon’s decision to lift the ban on women serving on the frontlines will open thousands of new elite military jobs previously barred to women. While the order re-energized a heated debate in the media last month, the truth is women have been serving valiantly in ground combat for more than a decade.

Michelle Wilmot, Excelsior College graduate and Massachusetts’ 2009 Outstanding Women Veteran, knows this better than most. She enlisted in the military at 17 years old, following in the footsteps of several members of her family. She trained as a medic, earned the rank of Sergeant, learned Arabic and was deployed to the Middle East in 2004 during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

As part of Team Lioness in Iraq in 2004-2005, Michelle experienced combat firsthand while attached to a company of Marines. There she conducted checkpoint operations, nighttime house raids, and performed searches on women and children for weapons and explosives.

“I wasn't baking cookies and waiting for the men, I was with them in some of the bloodiest counter-insurgency battles in the Iraq war,” said Wilmot. “The Marines I worked with were professional and we had great camaraderie.”

Michelle says she became disheartened on her return home however. That’s when she learned that most Americans and the media were unaware of the contributions women have been making for than a decade in ground combat.

“The process of coming home was far more difficult than facing direct combat in my view.”

In response, Michelle is trying to raise awareness as best she can - by telling her story. She was approached by Colonel Katherine Theresa Platoni to contribute to her upcoming book (co-authored with Dr. Raymond Monsour Scurfield) “War Trauma and Its Wake: Expanding the Circle of Healing (August 2012).”

Platoni, a colleague of Wilmot’s in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, asked the veteran to speak out candidly on issues surrounding women veterans, including bigotry and veteran services. Wilmot’s contribution eventually became the chapter “Women Warriors: From Making Milestones in the Military to Community Reintegration.”

Wilmot continues to give back to her fellow veterans. She was also a Retention non-commissioned officer(NCO) in the U.S. Army, which aided her transition to the nonprofit sector upon her return. She now works in career services for an IT college in Las Vegas, Nevada, helping transitioning military personnel with their resumes and securing employment.

And her advice for a young women aspiring for a career on the frontlines?

“You're braver, stronger, and smarter than you know.”

View the original article here

Read More