Women and Leadership: Delicate Balancing Act

Written by Hilary Lips

Thursday, 02 April 2009 20:16

There are several key ways in which people respond differently to women and men who are leaders.  I’ll outline these differences, identify the ways in which such responses affect women’s leadership, and propose some solutions to smooth the way for women leaders. The United States recently traveled quite a way down the road toward electing its first woman president. Yet, incongruously, as the Hillary Clinton campaign picked up speed, an inordinate amount of attention was paid to a frivolous observation about the “low-cut” neckline of an outfit worn during a speech she gave on the Senate floor.As the first primaries approached, her campaign scrambled to embark on a blitz to present her as “likable and heartwarming,” to balance the “strength and experience” theme that had seemed especially necessary for a female candidate. It appears that the acceptable scripts for women in powerful public political roles are still rigidly defined and easy to violate—by being too “pushy” or too “soft,” too “strident” or too accommodating, too sexless or too sexual. It seems all too easy for women leaders to run afoul of their constituents or their colleagues by deviating from the narrowly-defined set of behaviors in which cultural femininity overlaps with leadership. With the necessity to conform to two, often conflicting, sets of expectations, high-profile women leaders in the United States are relentlessly held to a higher standard than their male counterparts. If women are to claim their share of leadership positions, and to operate effectively within such positions, women and men must be aware of these differential expectations, know how they affect both leaders and constituents, and understand what responses may be useful. Women in leadership roles elicit different responses than do men. Power operates as a social structure, made up of numerous practices that maintain a cultural system of dominance. The practices that maintain a power system include patterns of discourse, shared understandings about and participation in a set of values, expectations, norms and roles. This social structure transcends, in some respects, the wishes or behavior of any particular individual and has a tendency to shape decisions, interactions, and social relations to fit it. Responses to women and men in leadership roles are conditioned by a social structure traditionally dominated by men. Researchers have identified four key ways in which female and male leaders elicit different responses from those around them.  These different responses appear to be due, not so much to different leadership behaviors by women and men, as to the stimulus value of women or men in these roles. A woman leader stimulates a different reaction than a male leader because of learned expectations, shaped and supported by the surrounding social structure, that invalidate and undercut women’s attempts to be effective, influential, powerful. Women are expected to combine leadership with compassion. Researchers have long found that people think “male” when they think “leader,” and that this result transcends many cultural differences. Because of perceived incompatibility between the requirements of femininity and those of leadership, women are often required to “soften” their leadership styles to gain the approval of their constituents. Women who do not temper their agency and competence with warmth and friendliness risk being disliked and less influential; men face no such necessity to be agreeable while exercising power. Women who lead with an autocratic style are the targets of more disapproval than those who enact a more democratic style; men may choose the autocratic style with relative impunity, if they are effective leaders. When women demonstrate competent leadership within an explicitly masculine arena—something that often requires the application of a “harder” leadership style, they are disliked and disparaged. People do not listen to or take direction from women as comfortably as from men. The stereotype that women are more talkative than men is unsupported by evidence. Yet it often appears that people use women’s supposed loquaciousness as a justification for “tuning out” much of what women say. Women report that they do not feel listened to, that when they speak in meetings their comments and suggestions are ignored or belittled—and that the same comments or suggestions from men have more impact.  They are not imagining this reaction.  One pair of researchers trained women and men to try to take leadership of mixed-sex groups by making the same suggestions, using the same words.  Group members responded to the male would-be leaders’ comments with attention, nods, and smiles; they responded to the women by looking away and frowning.  Furthermore, these group members were not aware that they were treating would-be female and male leaders differently. This pattern occurs not only in the lab, but in the real world:  Field studies of small group meetings in organizations show that women leaders are targets of more displays of negative emotion than men leaders, even when both sets of leaders are viewed as equally competent. Women who promote themselves and their abilities reap disapproval. Because they are stereotyped as less competent than men, women would-be leaders are sometimes advised to eschew feminine modesty and promote their own abilities, strengths and accomplishments.  However, self-promotion can be dangerous for women.  As noted above, women who act more confident and assertive than is normative for women run the risk of disapproval.  Research demonstrates that when women promote their own accomplishments it can cause their audience to view them as more competent—but at the cost of viewing them as less likeable.  Men who promote their own accomplishments do not reap the same mixed outcomes:  as long as they do not overdo it, self-promotion brings them both higher evaluations of competence and likeability. Women require more external validation than do men in some contexts. Given the issues raised so far, it is not surprising to learn that, in order for women to be accepted in leadership roles, they must often have external endorsements.  Particularly in competitive, highly-masculinized contexts, simply having leadership training or task-related expertise does not guarantee a woman’s success unless accompanied by legitimation by another established leader.Gender stereotypes interfere with observers’ ability to see women’s competence; it is sometimes necessary to for a high-status other to provide them with credibility. Reacting to the reactions:  How does leadership feel to women? There is evidence that women may be more aware than men of the potential costs of leadership.Women do worry about the contradictions between acceptable feminine behavior and the requirements of powerful positions.  Young women asked to imagine themselves in powerful positions rate such positions as be less positive than young men do.  Furthermore, the women betray awareness of the possibility that relationship problems could ensue if they were to hold such positions. Some describe themselves as potentially very unlikable in such roles, using words such as “dominating, aggressive,” “opinionated,” “power hungry, ... mean,” “bossy, direct and aggressive.”Clearly, they recognize the near-impossibility of “softening” one’s image while yet maintaining the air of authority, determination and competence necessary to convince others that one can exercise strong leadership. Women already in leadership positions—even those in male-dominated contexts—while acutely aware of the narrow path they must tread, find rewards in these roles:  a sense of competence and of positive impactand the opportunity to empower others.These rewards, they say, help compensate for the heavy demands and the caution demanded by the contradictory expectations associated with their leadership roles.  However, there is no telling how many women never get to this point—turned away from aspirations to leadership because of the difficulties and costs they anticipate. A changed social structure changes the reactions. An interview study of women leaders in France and Norway illustrated years ago that context could make all the difference to these leaders’ experience. The Norwegian women expressed joy and a sense of efficacy in their leadership roles; the French women, on the other hand, spoke of difficulties, conflicts, loneliness, and marginality.These differing experiences appeared linked to sharp contrasts in these women’s perceptions of their acceptance as leaders.  In Norway, with its long and deeply-rooted history of women’s involvement in political leadership, women in such positions felt a strong sense of legitimacy in their leadership roles.  In France, where women’s leadership was relatively new and rare, that sense of legitimacy was absent, and women were called upon to prove themselves repeatedly. Research has since made it abundantly clear that context makes a critical difference in the ease with which women can access leadership positions, their perceived effectiveness in these positions, and the difficulties they encounter.  Women face the most resistance to their leadership and influence in roles that are male-dominated and characterized as masculine.As social attitudes have shifted to define fewer arenas as masculine, acceptance of women as leaders in the other arenas has grown. Conclusions. In the United States, it is no longer surprising or incongruous to see a woman as principal of a public high school, manager of a corporate department, dean of a university college, or anchor on a local newscast.  Women have breeched the barriers to such positions in concert with a general relaxation in traditional gender-role attitudes as well as changes in public perceptions of what leadership entails. Yet in contexts (such as military command, high corporate office, the presidency) still defined in the public mind as requiring masculine qualities, women face tough barriers stemming from the difficulty of simultaneously transcending and accommodating to gender stereotypes.  Our intellectual understanding of these barriers notwithstanding, the only way to break them down is for the first few clever, determined and thick-skinned women to dance, tip-toe, and kick their way through them. There are ways for both organizations and individuals to support these women, and thus support progress toward a social structure in which women’s leadership is commonplace even in contexts currently defined as masculine.  Organizations can strive to avoid isolating women as tokens in male-dominated departments, where their gender becomes the defacto explanation for any perceived misstep.  Established leaders can endorse and legitimate women who seek or attain leadership roles. Opinion leaders such as journalists can cultivate sensitivity to the possibility that they are setting different standards of likeability and other interpersonal qualities when they publicly critique male and female leaders.  As individuals, we can examine our own criticisms of women leaders for telltale signs that we are expecting the impossible—imposing the double-bind of contradictory expectations. As first one, then a trickle of women overcome the barriers, it should finally become normal to see women holding leadership roles in contexts currently considered masculine.  That very “normalcy” will moderate public perceptions of gender and of leadership, gently re-shaping the social structure that has conditioned these perceptions.  The significant changes in women’s access to leadership roles over the past few decades are a necessary, but still insufficient, prelude to a society in which women and men can claim a fair share of the challenges and opportunities associated with leadership.  careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy

Tips Cepat dan Mudah Untuk Penampilan Segar bagi Wanita Karir

Seorang wanita pekerja yang harus meninggalkan rumah pagi-pagi sekali untuk menghindari macet agar tidak telat tiba di kantor, terkadang tidak punya waktu untuk berdandan atau memberikan perhatian lebih banyak terhadap penampilan.

Penampilan memang bukan hal yang utama dalam bekerja, walaupun ada beberapa pekerjaan yang mewajibkan penampilan rapi dan menarik. Contohnya pekerjaan di front office, bagian public relations atau customer service yang banyak berhubungan dengan orang dan relasi. Namun penampilan yang menarik juga bisa boost mood untuk memulai pekerjaan.

Berikut ini adalah tips mudah untuk menyegarkan penampilan wanita karir

Noda-noda di wajah.
Walaupun Anda tidak punya waktu untuk memakai make up yang lebih elaborate, usahakan untuk menutupi noda-noda di wajah dan lingkaran hitam di bawah mata menggunakan concealer. Proses ini hanya memakan waktu 1 sampai 2 menit. Oleskan obat tetes mata seperti Visine untuk meredakan peradangan yang disebabkan oleh jerawat, sebelum Anda mengoleskan concelear.

Mata
Aplikasikan mascara pada bulu mata Anda untuk memberikan kesan segar dan mata yang lebih 'hidup'. Proses ini hanya memakan waktu 2 menit untuk tiap mata. Ulaskan eye shadow dengan warna lembut, senada dengan pakaian yang Anda kenakan. Proses kedua ini bahkan hanya memakan waktu lebih singkat dari mengaplikasikan mascara.

Bibir
Jangan lupa poleskan lipstick di bibir Anda. Sesuaikan warnanya dengan warna kulit Anda dan hindari warna 'keras' atau terang. Selain membuat menyegarkan wajah Anda, lip balm atau lipgloss juga membantu mencegah bibir kering yang biasanya disebabkan udara kering yang disebabkan oleh AC.

Rambut.
Beli beberapa jepit rambut atau tusuk konde dekoratif untuk memudahkan Anda menata rambut. Tata rambut gaya twist adalah salah satu cara cepat untuk menata rambut Anda dibandingkan dengan memblow atau men¡¨catok¡¨ rambut Anda setiap pagi. 

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Beauty Tips for Working Women

Women of 21st century no longer sits at home, she works as hard as a man does. Eventually, women have proved that not only she is a good homemaker but also as strong as a man. She work harder as a man works and sometimes work better than man. Today’s women are very demanding and want a productive career, family, relationships and good lifestyle. She work hard day and night yet she make sure that she looks beautiful. So here are some Beauty Tips which will rejuvenate your looks and make you feel strong all day long.

The first in the list is the blemishes and dark spots. Try to vanish these blemishes and dark spots. Try to cover those blemishes and dark circles and try to cover it up with some make-up powder or concealer stick. It would take only 2 minutes of your precious time to take care of all the problems on your face.

Make use of mascara or an eye shadow to give your face a refreshing look. Expressive eyes are always an advantage if you are on a limelight or if you meet a lot of people daily.

Apply Lip-gloss on your lips and then see the difference apply some lip-gloss of a good company on your lips and be assured all day long you can also apply lipstick but a lip-gloss is much easier to apply.

Don’t let your hair hide your beauty. Always make use of pins and hairclips on your hair and you could transform into a professional working women in just 30 seconds.

Spray some soft-scented body sprays or perfumes to give you a boost. Put on some hairspray and gel. Applying them will keep your hair settle all day long. Spray gels or hairsprays are easier to use and becomes handy in busy situations.

As the summers are on peak, the use of sunscreen is essential. Always use the sunscreen while stepping out on the sun. This will protect your skin from getting burn or from tanning.

After coming home from a long day at work always clean your face by an Astringent lotion or by Rose water (Gulabri). This will clean your face from the dust and pollution making you fresh and rejuvenated.

Don’t skip meals and most importantly breakfast. Eat healthy food to remain fit. If you don’t eat healthy food then not only your body will be unfit but your face will also be sulky.

In this hectic life, all the time women are feeling stressed out and constantly complains about the aches and pain. Visiting doctor regularly from your busy schedule will make you feel healthy and also keep your face charming and serene.

These beauty tips are certainly beneficial for working women and are easy and effortless to follow. All of these tips are quick to apply and will only take 5-10 minutes. Remember if you are beautiful outside then you will feel confident inside and will face the world ways in a graceful way.

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"Beauty and the helldivers": representing women's work and identitites in a warplant newspaper.

IN THIS ARTICLE, we discuss representations of women's identities as workers in the wartime newspaper, Aircrafter, produced by management at the Canadian Car and Foundry Company Limited in Fort William, Ontario, during World War Il. We argue that Aircrafter functioned as an ideological mechanism by which pre-war, middle-class prescriptions of femininity, emphasizing women's roles as decorative homemakers in the private sphere, survived the challenges of women's war work to shape post-war gender roles. The article demonstrates the efficacy of this ideological mechanism by revealing the comprehensive way in which different rhetorical styles and varied sections of the newspaper -- the front page news and pictures, the editorial page, the women's page entitled "The Feminine Touch," as well as cartoons and pin-ups -- collectively conveyed an ambivalent attitude that both praised and questioned women's war work in traditionally male jobs thus reinforcing pre-war socially prescribed forms of femininity. This research reveals how state policies concerning representations of women workers in government war propaganda influenced a northwestern Ontario war plant and shaped the ideological atmosphere which the women war workers at Canadian Car would have to negotiate as part of their daily working lives.

DANS CET ARTICLE, nous discutons de la representation de l'identite des femmes dans le journal, Aircrafter, publie par la direction de Canadian Car and Foundry Company Limited a Fort William, Ontario, pendant la Deuxieme Guerre Mondiale. Nous soutenons que Aircrafter a servi de mecanisme ideologique par lequel les preceptes de feminite, qui insistent sur le role des femmes en tant que femmes decoratives au foyer, ont survecu aux defis que les femmes ont releve dans leurs emplois pendant la guerre pour faconner le role feminin apres la guerre. L'article demontre l'efficacite de ce mecanisme ideologique en revelant la facon dont les differents styles rhetoriques et sections du journal - les nouvelles et les photos de la page couverture, l'editorial, la page feminine intitulee la touche feminine , ainsi que les caricatures et les pin up - ont transmis une maniere de voir ambivalente qui, a la fois, faisait l'eloge des femmes et posait des questions sur leur travail pendant la guerre; alors que ces femmes occupaient des postes traditionnellement tenus par les hommes, renforcant en consequence les notions de feminite socialement acceptees avant la guerre. Cette recherche revele la facon dont les politiques de l'Etat relatives a la representation des travailleuses dans la propagande du gouvernement pendant la guerre ont influence une usine du nord-ouest de l'Ontario et cree une ambiance ideologique contre laquelle les travailleuses de Canadian Car ont du se battre dans leur vie quotidienne.

ACCORDING TO DEBORAH MONTGOMERIE, "[h]istorians have spilled rivers of ink discussing the impact of World War II on women's roles."(1) This scholarship has gone well beyond believing the official wartime propaganda -- that the war revolutionized women's work by laying out the welcome mat for their participation in the paid labour force -- to elucidate the ways in which women's wartime work contributions were being underscored as temporary and unusual at the same time as they were ostensibly being praised. Yet, as Montgomerie argues, "[d]espite the strengths of this scholarship, we are still straggling to understand the specific mechanisms by which such ideological continuity was maintained."(2) More specifically, what were the mechanisms used to ensure that the pre-war ideology concerning gender roles persisted through the war to be largely reinstated in the post-war era?

To date, scholarship on representations of women's work has concentrated on the text created by government and media. By centering our analysis on a different type of text -- a warplant company newspaper -- we wish to extend this dialogue. This paper explores how the wartime newspaper Aircrafter, produced by the Canadian Car and Foundry Company Limited (Can Car) in Fort William,(3) functioned as one such mechanism of ideological continuity through its representation and construction of women's identities as workers within the local context of a northwestern Ontario community and the broader context of the Allied war effort.(4) We argue that the efficacy of this ideological mechanism resided in the comprehensive way in which different rhetorical styles and varied sections of the newspaper -- the front page news and pictures, the editorial page, the women's page entitled "The Feminine Touch," and the cartoons scattered throughout -- collectively conveyed an ambivalent attitude that both praised and questioned women's war work in traditionally male jobs thus reinforcing pre-war women's roles and socially prescribed forms of femininity. These double messages were essential for legitimizing the decision by Can Car management, in keeping with national and international trends, to hire as many as 2,707 women at the peak of war production, (40 per cent of the total 6,760 employees),(5) and to dismiss all but 3 female plant floor workers at the war's end.(6)

The last 25 years of feminist scholarship concerning the impact of World War II on the status of women has recognized the necessity of distinguishing between the narrow, uniform depictions of women's war work found within war propaganda and women's lived experiences.(7) Research focusing on the realities of women's working lives during the war emphasizes the diversity of such experience. It is important to explore how the women workers negotiated the politics of the workplace and how they were situated within such social/historical constructs as gender, class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, family, and region.(8) Whether focusing primarily upon the propaganda or the lived experiences, this revisionist scholarship largely concludes that women's participation in war work did not radically change the social value placed upon women in the labour force either during or at the end of the war; in fact there was a renewed vigour in the post-war era to reinforce the middle-class ideal of the breadwinning husband and housekeeping wife. As Sugiman argues in her analysis of gender politics at a Toronto autoplant during the war years, "[i]n confining women to specific jobs in the plants, in regarding them as temporary labour, and in presenting their employment as a purely patriotic mission, employers never fully relinquished the image of women as secondary wage earners, undeserving of full rights in the workplace."(9)

Canadian scholarship on government and popular media representations of women's war work concludes that pre-war definitions of femininity, excluding women from paid labour, were reinforced throughout the war despite propaganda praising and encouraging women's participation in the workplace. As Ruth Roach Pierson's landmark studies concerning Canadian war propaganda have revealed, "women's obligation to work in wartime was the major theme, not women's right to work."(10) Susan Bland points out that while advertising in Macleans magazine during the war did "not underestimate the contributions and sacrifices made by war workers, we are continually reminded that these women have feminine qualities."(11) According to Yvonne Matthews-Klein, wartime films produced by the National Film Board (NFB) "establish limits to women's full participation in the labour force which arise out of an underlying, and fixed, notion of what is appropriate feminine behaviour...."(12) Matthews-Klein's description of how the post-war National Film Board depicted women also holds true for Canadian propaganda during the war: "women were the object of a complex and confused series of double messages. Flattered and assured of their immense, if undefined power, women were simultaneously trivialized at every opportunity."(13) Despite such extensive research worldwide on the topic of the war's impact on women's actual and prescribed roles in the labour force, the ambiguity of these mixed messages within diverse texts and contexts demands continued unravelling.

Before discussing Aircrafter itself, we will provide a brief description of the inter-war prescribed roles for women and the realities of their work situation during the Depression, and also a brief history of both Fort William and Canadian Car and Foundry to provide a regional context. While the primary focus of this paper is the gendered construction of femininity and women's work in Aircrafter, our analysis also seeks to make visible related dimensions of class and ethnicity. As will be argued below, these are largely masked by the democratic and egalitarian language of the paper which aimed to create a unified work force for the war effort. However, beneath this mask lies a presumption of Anglo-Canadian, middle-class notions of femininity which shape the representations of women and women's work in the newspaper.(14)

Inter-War Prescribed Roles for Women

To recognize in war propaganda the continuity of inter-war gender ideology concerning women and work we must first of all establish the nature of this gender ideology. The call for women to enter wartime industry during World War I resulted in few changes to the middle-class Victorian ideal of women's natural and moral role as guardian of the family and home within the private sphere. In her study of Canadian women's work experience and identity in the context of the small town of Peterborough from 1920 to 1960, Joan Sangster points out that "this sexual division of labour was sustained and reinforced by ideological representations of femininity and masculinity and by an image of the nuclear, male breadwinner family as the ideal."(15) The economic conditions of the mid-1920s allowed this ideal to be put into practice as more men earned a large enough wage to support a family on one income.(16)

The Depression of the 1930s reversed this situation and increasing numbers of married and unmarried women faced the necessity of finding paid labour. Social adherence to the prescribed role of the male breadwinner resulted in public debates concerning women's proper sphere. According to Margaret Hobbs, even many of the defenders of women's place in the labour force argued not for women's right to work, but rather that women had no choice but to work since the Depression interfered with the proper role of fathers and husbands earning the income necessary to keep women in their proper domestic sphere of unpaid labour.(17) Hobbs points out that these defenders of women workers drew upon the same "stock of traditional images of femininity" as those who opposed women as wage earners.(18)

Sangster argues that while women negotiated the dominant images in various ways according to their diverse lived experiences, there were "common factors that shaped their views of work: the exposure of young girls to a rigid sexual division of labour especially in domestic life; a cultural view of extended education being of limited use particularly for girls; and the socialization of children to a familial ideology of obligation and respect for authority."(19) Also included in these social values, and of particular relevance to the later representations of women's war work, was the "image of female technological incompetence and male competence."(20)

The mass circulating magazines which would later celebrate women's war work were the same magazines which during the 1930s reinforced the ideology of female domesticity in the private sphere. Sangster nicely summarizes the ideals of womanhood portrayed in the inter-war popular culture as follows:

The emphasis on fulfillment through heterosexual romance, on domesticity as a female career goal, and the portrayal of motherhood as an expression of women's maturity, indeed as an expression of her natural abilities, were continuing themes in the media throughout the interwar period, despite the dislocation of the Great Depression and an increased incidence of married working women.(21)

It is ironic that, only a decade before the Canadian government was again encouraging women to enter the labour force, the popular culture of the 1930s reinforced the ideology of feminine domesticity, and public debates raged over the right of women to work during a period when economic reality necessitated women's participation in the paid labour force for their own and their families' survival. Canadian World War II propaganda would have to take into account the legacy of fear left by the 1930s that "femaleness itself was a potential cause for suspicion in the workforce of the Depression."(22)

Can Car in Regional Context

While little historical research exists on the status of women in the city of Fort William, it is reasonable to assume that the female population would also have had to negotiate the same dominant ideology of femininity as the small-town women of Peterborough described by Sangster. However, a major regional difference affecting women's work identities and experiences was Peterborough's location in southern Ontario. It was closer to large economic centres, while Fort William remained largely isolated due to its location in the northwestern Ontario region.(23) Canadian women as a whole working in war industry shared in common with the city an ambiguity of representation in Canadian war propaganda. On the one hand, they were praised as essential to not only the Canadian but also the world-wide allied war effort. On the other hand, embedded within this praise was the underlying assumption of their so-called inherent natural state of marginalization from the marketplace, a state to which both would return after the war -- women because they naturally belonged to the private sphere of the home; and Fort William because of its geographic isolation from the largest Canadian and American urban centres. Out of necessity, both had nobly risen to the occasion, but were expected to return to their proper isolated positions after the war.

The importance of the Canadian Car and Foundry plant to the area's economy during World War II made it a key player in the construction of workers' identities around the issues of gender, class, and ethnicity since its large workforce brought together the diverse elements of the community under one very large roof.(24) The Lakehead was hit particularly hard by the Depression in relation to the rest of the country.(25) A major contributor to the Lakehead's economic recovery was war-related manufacturing, especially the re-opening of the Canadian Car and Foundry Plant in 1937. Can Car, based in Montreal, was established in 1909. While the Fort William plant thrived during World War I, a lack of post-war business persuaded the Montreal head office to close the plant from 1921 to 1937.

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Spain - Female Wages Trending Lower Than Male Counterparts

According to a content publicized by the Interior Revenue Agency in Spain regarding the Spanish labour market and pensions, an adult male earns and takes in wages which, on average are thirty percent higher than those of an adult female working in the same position. The average yearly earnings of men in 2004 equaled 17,964 euros, equated to 12,464 for women - a difference of 5,500 euros per year. If you multiply this sum by 40 (average number of years spent working) the total sum and earnings differential adds up to about a quarter of a million euros in an average workers lifetime.

The study identifies a marked difference in pay and suggests the reality is produced or at least attributed to the relatively recent internalization of women into the labour market in Spain. On a large scale of economic forgiveness, this and other similar studies suggest it is acceptable because it signifies females earn less because they've been working for fewer years. This may be quite factual in reality. Yet, the study further points out that a female lacks a sense of economic security and their jobs tend to be more at risk of loss or replacement than is the case of male employees. This may and may not trouble the women because as mothers living in an area whih places much emphasis on family, the female will tend to put their kids concerns ahead of their own professional evolution. Of course, this further contributes to the female inequality in the workplace and also says little for future career advancement. What appears to be a growing trend in Spain is the number of females in part time positions. The share of women working part time in Spain is higher than in any other EU member state.

The studies also spotlight the shortage of equal chances for women equated to men as far as professional promotion is concerned. Statistics present that fifty-eight percent of workers between eighteen and forty-five yrs old are men, and forty-two percent women, whereas for workers between forty-five and sixty-five, the deviation is much higher (over twenty percent). Not amazingly the content puts salaries in Spanish capital at the top end of the scale, followed by Ceuta, Melilla and Catalonia (of this amount about half of which is allocated and spent on housing). But whilst salaries trail others in Europe, the price of houses has doubled in price in the last decade, stimulated, in part, by exceedingly low interest rates and enhanced investment in real estate following the 2001 stock exchange collapse in addition to the influx of new and foreign investors. For land owners this is great news, but for those others trapped in tenancy it is more grim. As a result, workers and wage earners are dropping deeper into debt. And, Household indebtedness has climbed to a higher degree equaling around 110 percent of income and approaches US levels.

Affordable family holiday rentals make it easy to Holiday Spain. Companies such as Paramount Places are making special arrangements to offer holiday rentals which are both easy and affordable. Visit either of two company websites owned by this article's author, Steve Martin, to discover a new and affordable opportunity for family travel adventures.

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Job Opportunities For British Mothers in Spain

Not every expat British woman in Spain can afford or wants to be a lady of leisure basking in the sun all day. The cost of living in Spain is gradually increasing and British mothers have to and want to work. Traditionally, they have been employed in the real estate sector. However, due to a rapid decline in the sale of property, nowadays opportunities within this sector are virtually none. So women are being forced out into other sectors, competing with each other for limited positions.
Lack Of Further Education And Training Opportunities
The choices are even further limited for those that aren’t fluent in Spanish. Many women find themselves having to settle for more inferior jobs than they would in the UK. Sadly, their progression prospects are limited as there aren’t the opportunities that the UK has on offer. There isn’t an adult education system in English that we take for granted in the UK nor training programmes. Consequently, women become stuck. Whereas in the UK, they could pursue a new career path by returning to education, if they lose their jobs in Spain, there isn’t the option.
Employers Take Advantage
Unfortunately, employers are all too aware of the scarcity of job opportunities so are more likely to take advantage of the vulnerable position that expat women are in. Some of their unfair tactics include paying solely on commission, so no guaranteed salary and not offering proper working contracts, thus not guaranteeing any form of job security. Since women aren’t fully aware of the employment laws, in some respects they are taking themselves back in time by moving to Spain.
Inflexible Timetable
Mothers of young children that work find the Spanish timetable very inflexible and end up spending less time with their children than they would have done had they stayed in the UK working full time. Unlike Spanish mothers who generally have family support on hand, British mothers are forced to arrange childcare for the early evenings when they return to work at five until nine, even ten for those employed in retail positions. Those who work in bars and restaurants won’t get home until the early hours. It makes finishing at five in the UK far more appealing.
Working With Partners
It is understandable that many women resort to supporting their partners in the running of their businesses. However, this is not always ideal. Spending so much time working together doesn’t allow partners time or space to develop their own career individual interests.
Entrepreneurial Women
It seems that instead of looking for employment, there is a need for expat women to be entrepreneurial and driven enough to set up their own businesses and services. This could be anything from property management to local newspapers funded by advertising. If you have a skill such as massage or playing an instrument, this could open other avenues for you. Sometimes it pays to be a little bit resourceful to succeed in Spain. Setting up your own business certainly isn’t for the faint hearted and requires a tremendous amount of energy and effort. The truth is it’s easier said than done especially when you are a mother and expected to run a home too.

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10 Reasons For Women To Start An Internet Business by Kathy Wilson

Starting an internet business is in my opinion, one of the fastest and smartest ways women today can make money. Here are 10 reasons for starting an internet business, and one reason why you shouldn't!

1. Money. Pure and simple, we all could use a more of it. Whether it's to get out of debt, build a retirement, or just simply make ends meet. With the right guidance, an internet business can start generating income almost immediately.


2. Family. Let's face it Moms, a lot of you want to be home with your kids. A work at home job is great for just that reason...unless you have to leave home for appointments, parties, or sales calls. Then you're right back to babysitters and being away from your kids. An internet business truly lets you run it from home.


3. Self Esteem. Many of us are so busy being Moms, and wives, and community members, we forget to forge something in our lives that reflects our inner selves. Starting (and becoming successful) in your own business can boost your feelings of self worth, and that makes everyone in your life a winner!


4. Community. Our communities that we live in are better off for us having started businesses. It provides good role modeling for our children, provides tax base for necessary programs such as police and fire, and a community where people exhibit pride and hard work is a better place to live for us all. Perhaps you will inspire more women in your community to start a business!


5. Tax Benefits. Most women who start a business at home are going to be able to take large tax deductions for their home business. Less taxes means more money in your pocket, and that's a good thing!


6. Work at Home Household Savings.Working at home means no expensive wardrobes. The average professional suit for a woman can cost over$150! Can you imagine NOT having to buy expensive work clothes anymore, and how much money a year you can save your families budget? Also, how much do you think a work at home mom uses expensive convenience foods and restaurant take out?


7. Flexibility. Because I work at home, I can arrange my schedule to be available when a child is home sick or heartbroken, for a field trip at school, or to just take a mental health day once in awhile and sit at a park and read. How many bosses would give you the day off to read?


8. Being in charge of your own business means you are no longer at the mercy of layoffs. Don't get me wrong, a home business can crash too...but at least YOU hold the reins and make the decisions, not someone else.


9. You determine how much you work, and how much you make. No more being paid less than you are worth, no more begging for a raise. If you educate yourself right, you can pretty much combine hard work + persistence=unlimited income.


10. You can sell your business later on down the line...it's an investment! Build it large enough and successful enough, and many website owners have sold their sites for hundreds of thousands of dollars...and started out knowing very little about building an internet business.

One reason NOT to start an internet business...

DO NOT start a business to please anyone else. There is so much pressure on women today to do it all....many times we feel we are not successful unless we make a lot of money, are perfect moms, never gain a pound...you get the idea. Start a business for you, and your dreams, not to convince the world, or the mother in law, or your next door neighbor...that you can do it all. Running a business is not for everyone, but if you want to follow your dreams, work at home, and make a good income, starting an internet business is a great place to start.

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