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#Leadership : #WomenOlderWorkers – Let’s Stop Letting #Women Age Out of the #Workforce Worse Off than Men…We try to prepare girls to be successful women by plotting their career paths early. But women heading toward retirement get little support and often pay the price.

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When your father or grandfather retired, his company might’ve thrown a little get-together, complete with toasts by backslapping colleagues, a cake, and an engraved watch. If he was lucky, he walked into retirement knowing he had a company pension or ample retirement savings to see him through the rest of his life.

Today? Not so much. Especially not for women.

Women who are approaching retirement in the U.S. today face a trifecta of challenges: They’re living longer (an average of 20 years past age 65), have significantly less money saved (an average of just $34,000), and face ever-increasing costs, especially for health care (an average of $5,503 a year out-of-pocket). This adds up to far greater economic insecurity among women as they age. In fact, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security, women aged 65 and older have incomes that are 25% lower than men’s, and they are 80% more likely than men to be impoverished past age 65.

Women of color face even deeper disparities as they age. African American and Latina women earn less from Social Security, assets, and pensions than do white women, and they rely on Social Security for a larger portion of their income, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The good news is that employers have a unique opportunity to turn these numbers around, by thinking proactively about supporting working women today so they can age well later. Here are three ideas.

CLOSE THE PAY GAP AND EXPAND MENTORING

Women begin retirement with a hurdle that’s followed them their entire careers: the gender pay gap. Labor Department statistics show the gap is as stubborn as ever, with women earning 21% less than men, a disparity that worsens among women of color and in certain industries more than others. Lower pay means less money saved, both in personal retirement accounts and Social Security benefits. Overall, women receive nearly $4,000 a year less in Social Security than men.

Employers can level the playing field by eliminating the gender wage gap among their employees now, so their women employees don’t leave the workforce already disadvantaged once they retire. This is not an impossible goal. Starbucks, for example, has reached100% pay equity among its employees. One part of the solution is to widen women’s participation in STEM fields; another is for employers to offer more flexible schedules and remote-work opportunities.

Companies also need to do a better job of nurturing and mentoring women to move up into leadership positions that offer greater opportunities and more pay. Staff development and performance management are critical to ensuring that women keep learning and developing over the entire course of their careers–this way they can retire from them on a more secure financial footing.

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LET WOMEN PHASE INTO LIFE AFTER WORK

Few women today want to work one day and stop the next. They want and need to continue working, but other responsibilities may be tugging at them. By one recent estimate, for example, up to 20% of working women are also caring for an elderly loved one.

Employers need to create organizational climates where women approaching retirement don’t feel it’s risky to have conversations about phased retirement options. Working part-time or moving to a position that requires less responsibility can be a solution–and employers should be game to offer that. In the latest Transamerica Retirement Survey, only 23% of workers said they plan to immediately stop working at a specific point in time. However, 25% also said that their employers do nothing to help employees enter retirement. Organizations need to step up and change that.

ARM WOMEN WITH KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT’S AHEAD

As a society, we try to prepare girls to grow into successful women; think Girl Scouts, STEM initiatives, and Girls on the Run. But how do we help women prepare to age well? We don’t teach them how their bodies are going to change as they age, or how to manage their savings so it will last an extra 20 years.

Just as we counsel younger women to make informed decisions about their education and careers, we need to support older women in planning for a successful third phase of life. My organization, the National Council on Aging, created an “Aging Mastery Program”to provide this kind of unbiased guidance, complete with small steps people can take to chart their own paths toward aging well.

While the days of engraved watches and pension plans may be over for most (and were never equitably available to all to begin with), a secure retirement should be a right for every person who has put in a lifetime of work–especially women. Forward-thinking employers need to help women plan not just for successful careers but for successful lives after work. And they need to start right now.

Anna Maria Chávez is Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer at the National Council on Aging.

Rich Bellis is Associate Editor of Fast Company’s Leadership section.

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FastCompany.com | July 27, 2018

#Leadership : How Women Leaders Emerge From Leaderless Groups…Women are More Likely to Take Command in Collaborative Work Environments—Including Those that are Predominantly Male.

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 In spite of a significant imbalance between male and female leaders in business, new research from the University at Buffalo’s School of Management suggests that in collaborative work environments where women are outnumbered, they often emerge as the natural group leader.

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The findings fly in the face of the reality of the U.S. workforce, where many fail to recognize the extent of the female leadership gap. Women represent just 3% of new CEOs in the U.S., 5.1% of Fortune 1000 CEOs, and 4% of Standard and Poor’s 500 CEOs. A recent survey by the Rockefeller Foundation also found that nine in 10 respondents thought there were more female business leaders than there really are, and further research by the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University found that those women are more likely to be targeted by shareholder activism.

“We tend to see the man as more leader-like than the woman,” says lead author Jim Lemoine, in a video interview by UB School of Management. “What we were interested in in this research were exceptions to the rule.”

In the study, researchers assigned nearly 1,000 participants to small groups and asked them to complete a series of tasks, later polling them on who emerged as the natural leader of their group. The study was replicated with participants of varying ages over both long and short-term periods.

 

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When the groups communicated a lot, or were more “extroverted” in Lemoine’s words, women were more likely to emerge as leaders. They were also more likely to emerge as leaders when the groups were predominantly male.

“When a group is composed of lots of extroverted people, they talk more,” he says. “They’re actually getting to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and who may be the better leader beyond this diversity demographics stuff.”

 

This getting-to-know-each-other phase is key to gender leadership balance, says Lemoine. “It makes the environment less masculine, more balanced, and gives everyone a chance to play on equal footing,” he says.

Lemoine adds that when he advises companies, he often encourages them to ignore strategy talk at first and instead spend some time getting to know the other people in the room.

“When we think of men, we think independent, aggressive, competitive risk takers, which is for a lot of people a stereotypical view of a leader,” he says. “When we think of women, we tend to think—true or not—more helpful, more cooperative, more caring.”

Lemoine explains that in spite of centuries of gender imbalance, he finally sees the tide beginning to turn in favor of female leaders. That is because when people are asked what kind of leader they want to work for today, the typical answer has evolved to describe stereotypically female characteristics. As he puts it:

People tend to answer this more now, ‘I would like to work for someone who is ethical,’ ‘I would like to work for someone who really cares about me, who understands me, who trains me, who puts me first, who’s very authentic. As our ideas of what a leader is changes, so do our ideas change of who a leader can be, so really the future is looking bright for more gender equality for who becomes a leader.

In other words, one of the key strategies for breaking the gender leadership gap in the workplace could be simple conversation between team members, in a setting that gives every member of the team a level playing field.

 

FastCompany.com | JARED LINDZON  | 09.12.16 5:25 AM

Strategy: 5 things to Say Instead of ‘Sorry’…It Becomes Clear the Women Should Not be Remorseful.

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I recently came across a Pantene ad that went viral in June. Besides highlighting the flawless and beautiful hair of the actresses, it features multiple situations where women unnecessarily say “sorry” — a verbal tic that, for many women, has become entrenched in everyday conversation.

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In scene after scene of the ad, women are shown apologizing for a series of silly reasons.

It becomes clear the women should not be remorseful. Yet as I was watching, I had this horrifying epiphany — I do this. I do this all the time. I did this today.

So here’s a quick list of some common reasons women are quick to say “sorry” — and five things we could be saying instead!

1. To demonstrate compassion and empathy.

Many people, not just women, use “sorry” as shorthand for sympathy. While it’s both virtuous and smart to express compassion for your coworkers, apologizing for the random happenings of the universe is unnecessary and avoidable.

There are other ways to demonstrate understanding and to establish trusting relationships with colleagues. Arguably, this is one of the easiest ways to remove “sorry” from our vocabulary, because there are so many great alternatives!

Instead of: “I’m sorry you were late because of terrible New York City traffic.”

Try: “How frustrating that you were late because of that awful traffic.”

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2. To fill air.

Just like words such as “um,” “uh,” and “like,” “sorry” can fill empty conversational space. It might be because we are nervous or just babbling while our mouths catch up with our brains. Either way, in these cases, “sorry” loses its meaning entirely.

Instead of: “We need to … sorry … first, get the correct data from Finance.”

Try: “We need to < Pause | Silence >, first, get the correct data from Finance.”

3. To interrupt.

Most girls are raised to be unfailingly polite at all times, especially at work. For this substitute to work, it is crucial to know your environment.

Depending on the organizational culture, the type of meeting you’re in, and the other individuals present, interrupting with an apology can lower your status, especially when others aren’t doing the same. Listen to how your coworkers preface their contributions in meetings — and avoid saying “sorry” unless they do.

Instead of: “I’m sorry to interrupt …”

Try: “Let me say/ask this…” OR “Great points, I would like to add …”

Instead of: “Sorry, do you have a minute?

Try: “Excuse/Pardon me…”

4. To keep the peace.

Most women are also taught from an early age to be warm, nurturing, and agreeable, and we sometimes use “sorry” simply to maintain social harmony. Apologies are sometimes employed to help “reset the conversation” after a confrontational, argumentative, or uncomfortable moment. However, “sorry” also represents shame and regret and can make you look weak.

Instead of: “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand this strategy switch.”

Try: “I appreciate your work on this, but I don’t understand the reasoning behind this strategy switch.”

Instead of: “I’m sorry if this is offensive…”

Try: “What I am about to say might be controversial…”

5. To say, and actually mean, sorry.

There are plenty of times when it’s appropriate to apologize at work. The key is not only to say “sorry,” but also to express why you are sorry. If you are a chronic over-apologizer, I guarantee that training yourself to include a reason will cut down on the number of times you apologize unnecessarily. A sincere apology is more effective coupled with the reason behind it.

Consider the Pantene video. The man in the video shows up late and the two women scoot over to make room, apologizing repeatedly in the process. If they explained WHY they were sorry, it would go something like this: “I’m sorry that you were late to this meeting and I now need to move over, so you can squeeze into the space I was previously occupying.” (See? Totally unnecessary!)

Especially at work, it’s smart to figure out when it’s appropriate to say “I’m sorry” — and when you should say something else instead.

Businessinsider.com | April 27, 2015 | TORY PAEZ, CATALYST

http://www.catalyst.org/blog/catalyzing/five-things-say-instead-sorry#ixzz3YWh8YOGT