I’ve spent a good deal of time reading about how to succeed in a career as a woman, how to climb the ladder, be a boss without being bitchy, and learning when it’s time to move on.  Women often end up staying in unsatisfying jobs, often because they have earned the right to maternity leave, flexible schedules and the ability to take time off to be with family.  A few years ago I was shocked to read about the number of women who didn’t have maternity leave.  Even more shocked to learn more recently how many of my friends don’t have this seemingly basic benefit.

Learning at 30 that you will need to use your vacation time, sick time and likely go on disability seems crazy.  What’s more is how many women have to do this all the time.  A bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives almost a year ago that would require 4 weeks off for federal employees.  It didn’t go anywhere.  Many European countries have laws requiring paid maternity leave, so why don’t we?  Are we anti-family, or anti-time off?  Women make up 47% of the workforce, so what gives?

According to a report by Human Rights Watch, approximately 178 countries have a national law guaranteeing paid leave for new mothers, while more than 50 include paid time off for new fathers.

According to the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, anyone employed for at least 12 months by a business with a payroll of at least 50 employees may take 12 unpaid weeks and not lose their jobs, including federal employees.  This cuts out half the workforce, while others it does apply to cannot afford to take it. Only 16% of employers offered paid maternity leave in 2008, down from 27% in 1998.  Bottom line: The U.S. is one of four countries that doesn’t offer paid leave to new mothers.  Our esteemed list includes Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and Lesotho.

The lowest income families are the ones who hurt the most.  They often cannot afford to take unpaid leave.  However Think Progress has found in recent years, data shows that less educated women “are nearly four times more likely than college graduates to be denied paid maternity.  More women now than just a few years ago are actually foregoing a paycheck to take the time off.  For any family taking unpaid time off can create huge financial issues.  For those making minimum wage and just getting by, it can be devastating. No wonder having a baby is a leading cause of “poverty spells” in the U.S.!

Much flak has been given young women in their 20s and 30s for waiting so long to have children. How dare we put our careers and financial stability ahead of procreation!  I have friends who have spent time the last couple years trying to change jobs in order to be in a place they want to stay for awhile, where they can rack up the necessary time with the company to be able to take maternity leave, only to find it doesn’t exist.  It changes our feeling of being financially secure, and ready for children.  My question is how do we change this at the company level?  How do we lobby our employers to say we want this benefit, it’s the right thing to do, and it will likely help keep employees like us around for years to come?

Better yet, how do we make this happen at the federal level?

What is really happening is the recognition that the world is changing but the workplace is not.  I know very few people my age, male or female, who don’t work more than 40 hours a week.  I also know very few women who aren’t involved with some kind of volunteer work that takes up more than a couple hours of their time a week.  I don’t remember the last time I worked just 40 hours in a week, but toss in everything I do with Fem2.0, two to four trips to the gym, happy hours, time with friends, meetings for other organizations I’m involved with, and suddenly my personal time becomes moments alone with my laundry.

This seems to affect women more than men.  For both sexes, there is a trend that runs in complete contract to baby boomers: we can work from anywhere, and have no problem responding to emails or phone calls outside of work hours.  Baby boomers prefer tasks are achieved within certain hours and within the office.  When doing work on the weekends, who in your office goes into the office and who works from home?

So where do women run into issues?  One place is the double edged sword of ageism and gender discrimination.  Yes, ageism is an issue for young people in the office.  As someone who has always looked like I’m not legal to drink, I’ve often run into issues.  Add to that general sexism, and young women are going to have a hard time moving up the corporate ladder.  Sometimes the best way to avoid both these issues is to follow your passion elsewhere.

Here are the facts: women hold 53% of entry level positions, 37% of middle management positions and 26% of senior management positions.  While women are less likely to ask for or else be given a promotion, we’re also more likely to strike out on our own when we don’t get that opportunity.

If 96% of Gen Y women surveyed in 2010 listed independence as their most important life goal, and 87% defined success as the ability to shape her own future, it is any wonder we end up shying away from the corporate structure?  But there is a way to fix it!  It’s not just about work-life balance.  Millennials look for a couple difference options: A) work-life balance that allows for time to do those personal life things during the day and work an alternate or truncated schedule, or B) allow for work-life blending by allowing for the fact that I may finish work in half the time, but if I can spend some of the day doing personal things, occasionally working from home, or giving me extra time off, I will actually be motivated to accomplish more work, and at a better pace.

In the world of smart phones, tablets and laptops, the workday doesn’t stop at 5pm.  And for millennials that has never really been the case.  It’s not that we’re amazing multi-taskers – in fact it might just be more of us have ADD or some other similar issue – but it’s that we all work at a different pace, allow and expect that work will happen outside of the office, and take that time during the day to check in with friends, or work on finding that new apartment.

Generation Y is said to be poised to be the most entrepreneurial generation ever.  It’s time we make sure women have an upper hand in making this happen.  With less access to capital, mentors, and business knowledge needed for a startup, young women need help!

The Business and Professional Women’s Foundation has completed a report on Gen Y women in the workplace as part of their Young Careerist Research project (which I will write about more in the coming weeks).  But the most important thing to come out of that report is the values young women have regarding work and family.  We are not like previous generations and we will not work or act like them.  It’s not about being entitled; it’s about changing the expectations.

While there are a great deal of similarities in the way Gen Y women and men approach their work lives, Gen Y women are different, and walk in with some different expectations, and we’re often looking for different outcomes.  Sooner rather than later, those differences needed to be addressed.  And preferably before we all burn out.

I began seeking out opportunities to develop my leadership skills and to foster meaningful professional relationships. I joined and volunteered with various young women’s groups and participated in several leadership development programs. I gained a great deal from each experience but knew I could do more to improve myself and support other women working to make their own mark on the world.

About 6 months ago a colleague introduced me to an organization I had never heard of: FemEx – The Female Experience. She had recently completed a turn as a facilitator for their women’s empowerment class. She invited the members of the young women’s group I direct to take part in their upcoming event: Engage.Explore.Empower. When I arrived, I was struck by the number of young women and organizations participating. I knew that if this one organization was able to achieve so much, I wanted to be involved. I signed up for the 6th session of FemEx.

On a cool September evening I made my way through the city to the first class. I was unsure of what to expect. When I arrived I was warmly greeted by a group of 15 women, squeezed into a cozy studio apartment. I felt a sense of relief and anticipation as we settled in for the 3 hour class. Our facilitator’s inviting manner eased the tension in the room. First order of business: setting the rules to make our community a safe space for sharing and self-exploration. Democratically agreeing upon the rules that governed our group helped to create an environment of mutual respect and trust. Our first homework assignment solidified my belief that this was no ordinary course.The task: select a drawing of a vagina to personalize.

Over the next few months our perspectives, perceptions and assumptions were challenged. We addressed communication, reproductive health, power & privilege and a variety of other topics through the lens of individual experience. Every class was a chance to learn about ourselves and each other. Every class was an opportunity to broaden our view of the world. By the time we got to the section on self pleasure and orgasm, we had the routine down: be open, be honest, be yourself.

With only a few classes left, I am humbled by the experience. I have grown as a person, a women and a leader. The course, especially the people in it, inspired me to truly know myself and support others on their own journeys. I came to DC to change the world. FemEx has taught me to change my perspective.

For more information on FemEx and their spring 2012 class schedule, visit their website.

Nikki Nesbary holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and a Certificate in Women, Policy and Political Leadership from American University. She is the Director of the Younger Women’s Task Force: DC Metro Chapter, an all-volunteer empowerment organization for women in their 20′s and 30′s. Nikki currently works for GMMB, inc., an advertising and advocacy organization in DC. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, baking and spending time with family and friends.

1) Make scheduling the interview as difficult and time-consuming as possible.  If you’re unavailable – really unavailable – on the day and time I suggest, help me out a little; don’t make me pull teeth just to find a time that works for us.  One candidate said she was terribly sorry, but she wouldn’t be able to make an interview at 11 AM that Thursday.  I said I understood, and then asked about 1 PM.  She apologized again and said that wouldn’t work either.  Only after I suggested 3 PM did she think to mention that she was unavailable the entire day because she’d be away at a work conference.  Mentioning that up front, and then letting me know that she can make herself available on any other day at my convenience, would have saved me an awful lot of aggravation.  If she hadn’t been so well-qualified on paper, I probably would have simply told her to forget it.

2) Show up 20 minutes early.  This one isn’t a dealbreaker because it’s clearly meant in the spirit of respect.  It will, however, serve to annoy me.  We’re all told to show up early for an interview, and this is true.  Here’s the caveat – don’t show up too early.  It’s likely that your interviewer has a packed day, and when I’ve booked my schedule to work on a project from 1-2 and interview someone from 2-3, that person showing up at my office at 1:40 stresses me out.  I don’t want to be rude, and I certainly don’t like the idea of you just sitting out in my front office for 20 minutes, so now I’m feeling pressured to get my work done and move my day along faster.  Some offices may also not be thrilled to have you waiting in the reception area for lengthy periods of time because it doesn’t look good.  My advice is to arrive at your interview location early to be sure you know where it is, but don’t go in and announce yourself until about 5 minutes beforehand.

3) Dress Like You’re Going to a Sidewalk Sale.  Different industries have different dress codes, but erring on the side of informal is a big risk to take.  If you’re coming to an interview at an office of a private firm, you should be dressed nicely.  A sleeveless cotton dress with hipster boots, too many bracelets that bang around as you talk, and multi-colored tights, is not an appropriate outfit for a job interview.  At least not here.  There’s some debate in the professional world about whether suits are still required as more industries have moved to business casual attire, but if you’re wearing something in which you’d also happily lounge around a public park, put it back in your closet and find something more formal.

4) Don’t Research the Firm in Advance.  I strongly recommend this one if you don’t want the job.  Definitely walk in and say you don’t really know all that much about our firm or about Fem2.0 (have you not heard of the internet?).  Even if you forget to look us up, or unexpectedly didn’t have the time, don’t walk in and admit it!  Ask a more specific question, such as “can you tell me more about the types of clients I’d be working for,” or “what project have you worked on here that was the most successful, or from which you feel you developed professionally?”  Whatever you do, don’t admit that you didn’t care enough about this interview to spend ten minutes on the intertubes.

5) Don’t Send a Thank You Note.  I know – it’s a little old fashioned.  Know what?  I’m a little old fashioned.  Sending a thank you note – or email if you will – has two purposes.  The first is to quite simply thank the interviewer for their time and effort.  Our society seems to have lost some politeness standards in its quest to be nimble and cutting edge, but it still counts.  The second purpose is to reiterate your interest in the position, or else to let me know that you’ve decided upon learning more about the job that it’s not a good fit for you.  An interview is a two-way street: I’m seeing if you’d be a good fit for us, and you’re seeing if we’d be a good fit for you.  Not sending me a thank you note leaves me completely hanging as to your interest.

Note: It is especially ok to not send a thank you note if it turns out you were vacationing in South Africa during the week of interviews and I made the effort to skype with you around your schedule.  And then to not reply to my email inviting you to the next round and asking whether you are still interested.  This ensures that not only will I not be offering you a job here, but it’s likely that I will remember this lack of professionalism should your name ever come across my radar again.  And trust me, it will.

These tips can all be summed up under the advice of “be respectful and polite.”  Show that you care about the position, that you respect the interviewer, and that you are the best candidate for the position.  You never know who won’t follow the rules of respect and courtesy, and at the end of the day, every little thing counts.  Good luck!

Photo Credit: Richard Masoner via Creative Commons License

When I started researching my topic, I knew that I wanted to discuss less traditional interview tips. I found many great articles that discussed unique interview tips in the Wall Street Journal. One of my favorite articles discussed how to answer any interview question. I thought this article was extremely interesting because it dispelled the common belief that the success of an interview depends on the questions the interviewer asks. According to the article, the opposite is true–a job candidate can get his or her message across to the employer no matter what question the employer asks.

The article mentioned a unique job interview formula: Q = A + 1.

In this formula, “Q” is the question, “A” is the answer, the “+” is the bridge between the answer to the interviewer’s question and the message one wants to deliver, and the “1″ is the actual message one wants to deliver. Without the “+ 1″, the interviewer controls the direction of the interview. However, with the “+ 1″, the person getting interviewed can make sure to drive home their most important points.

Until I did my first mock interview with PLEN, I did not recognize the importance of asking employers questions during interviews. An article from the Nonprofit Times provided valuable information on asking questions during interviews.

I was surprised to learn that the questions I ask an employer during an interview can reflect my knowledge and interest in the position to which I am applying . It is important not to ask simple yes or no questions. It is even more important to avoid asking questions whose answers I might have overlooked while doing my background research on the company. The questions to ask during an interview should be thoughtful and should engage the employer.

Good questions to ask during an interview might discuss what the day-to-day activities in the position include or challenges the organization is currently facing. From the discussion with my fellow PLEN interns, I learned that it is acceptable to ask the employer questions in your follow-up after the interview. In fact, this can even be considered positive as it shows you are still thinking about the interview and are dedicated to the organization.

Avantika Handa is a senior Economics and Political Science major atTulane University in New Orleans. Originally from Miami, she attends Tulane ona full tuition merit-based scholarship. She participated in the Public Leadership
Education Network (PLEN) summer internship program and served as a policy and communications intern at the National Institutes of Health this past summer. After graduating in May 2012, she hopes to pursue a graduate degree and career in health policy and management. This blog post originally appeared at the Public Leadership Education Network’s Intern Blog and is cross-posted with permission.  PLEN is the only national organization whose sole focus is preparing college women for leadership in the public policy arena.

Our DC readers should be familiar with WIN, who put on great networking events, happy hours, and discussions for Democratic, pro-choice professional women. Since moving to New York City, I have missed the abundance of these types of organized activities that I had back in Washington. New York’s networking culture tends to be a little more informal than DC’s, and there is a greater diversity of career tracks, which can be intimidating at times. It turns out that many WIN ladies moved to NYC and felt the same way, so they started a WIN NYC chapter! I attended a pre-launch event last month where I met women in all different professions of all ages. It was definitely the kind of warm, welcoming environment that I had been looking for. Everyone was very friendly, conversational, and of course willing to trade business cards. There are still lots of opportunities to get further involved in event planning, or chairing committees in WIN too.

The official Launch of WIN NYC is TONIGHT on Thursday, December 8th at 7:00pm. The event will be held at The Delancey–an all around great venue–on 168 Delancey Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Come early, since the first fifty attendees get two free drink tickets each! They ask that you register for the event here.

I look forward to seeing all of our NYC Fem 2.0 readers (and contributors) tonight!

Photo Credit: Women’s Information Network (WIN)

First, I want to skip the usual “gender/generation” assumptions.  Millennial women aren’t burning out because we are not prepared to work hard or expect others to take care of us.  The Forbes article mentions 4 causes of burn-out that I think are true for many Millennials, men and women.

• High student loan debt trapping people into unsatisfying careers
• Difficulty moving out of entry level jobs
• Busier and fuller lives than ever before
• Difficulty figuring out what really makes us happy in a world of endless choices

But I do think there are some gender/generational issues that contributed to my case of burn out.  Here are 2 lessons I learned after I drove myself into the burn-out ditch.

1. Return on Investment:  When I was younger and in college, the harder I worked, the faster I racked up accomplishments and an extra point on my GPA.  I was the stereotypical, driven, straight A girl who set my sights on perfection.  That strategy served me very well when I was applying to graduate school, competing for internships or proving myself in my first job.

However, the return on investment is a lot different in your late twenties than it is in your early twenties.  Not every extra mile and special assignment is going to earn you recognition.  People will start taking you for granted.  Working absurd hours and tacking on multiple “developmental” projects was a huge contributor to my burn-out.  And for what?  Truthfully, my working hard to “perfect things” often had little impact on the results of my projects and volunteering to help was often not noticed or appreciated.

And while I got bonuses and awards, I didn’t get promoted which was my career objective.  I got a low return for wearing myself out.  Women still worry about being perceived as selfish if they don’t self-sacrifice – or even worse, getting branded with the scarlet A for Ambition.  But if you don’t look after your own career and your own well-being, no one else will.  Don’t hesitate to ask yourself “What’s in this for me?”  Employment is a two-way street.  Think of yourself first.

Before taking on new responsibilities, I ask myself:

• Does this further my career objectives?
• What will the impact on me be (time, resources, energy)?
• Is there a high enough return on investment that it’s worth it?

2. Don’t Internalize Your Organization’s Issues:  For a long time I felt frustrated and demoralized when opportunities for promotion did not materialize.  I got tired of seeing people in higher positions who were not very competent or qualified.  For some Millennial women high achievers, me included, our late twenties is the first time we have felt “stalled.”  I started to seriously doubt myself when the issue of advancement was really about my organization’s environment, not my abilities.

Luckily, I was fortunate to have a career coach talk me through the results of my performance assessments and discuss my organization’s culture.  Some key realizations that helped me re-frame this situation:

• Advancement is going to be slower at this stage in my career because there are fewer positions to move up to – especially since the Baby Boomers aren’t retiring the way everyone predicted.
• My organization had a dysfunctional organizational structure (which was further damaged by a re-organization) that made advancement opportunities slim.
• I was undervalued in my current position because my office valued a certain background that I didn’t have.

Sometimes it’s not you, it’s them.  Women look inward first to try to fix problems and second guess ourselves too much.  Be honest in your assessment of the situation first, your organization second, and yourself last.  When you blame yourself, try to counter argue – is it possible this is organizational and not personal?  The environment and culture you’re working in can hinder or accelerate your success, so put yourself in a place that values what you have to offer.  Don’t be afraid to break up with your job.  Once I moved to an office that was a better fit for me opportunities started to pour in.

Photo by Wiros, via Creative Commons License.

When Martha Reyes arrived at work at the Hyatt Hotel Santa Clara, she heardher coworkers laughing at a photo collage that had been posted.  She saw her picture edited onto the ‘sexy’ body of a bikini-clad woman holding a surfboard.  Her sister Lorena also had a faked image posted.  The collage was posted to celebrate Housekeeper Appreciation Week.

Yes, you read that right.  For Housekeeper Appreciation Week, the hotel thought it would be fun to have faked photos of its staff’s faces pasted onto bikini-clad bodies.

Humiliated, Martha took down the photos.  Management insisted that she return them, but she refused.  Martha declared that if anyone wanted the photos back, they would have to get them from her in court. Days later, the Hyatt Hotel fired both Martha and her sister Lorena.

It’s always hard to say what each of us would do in a situation like this.  Would you stand up to management?  Would you risk your job?  Your security?  The food you put on your table?

Martha did.  And she was fired.

Now, she and her sister have started a petition at the powerhouse online petition site, Change.org, to demand that the Hyatt give them back their jobs and grant back pay for the time they’ve been out of work.

The hotel is claiming that Martha and Lorena were fired after taking an extra long break one afternoon.  This, after excellent work records for their collective 31 years of service to the hotel. But I’m sure it’s just coincidence that this is happening shortly after Martha took down the humiliating photos.

Like all employees, Martha and Lorena Reyes deserve to work in an environment that is free of sexual harassment and degrading treatment.  And this incident is just one of many injustices against the Hyatt’s housekeeping staff.  In a study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine examining a total of 50 hotel properties from 5 different hotel companies, Hyatt housekeepers had the highest injury rate of all housekeepers studied. To date, OSHA or its state counterparts have issued 16 citations against the Hyatt at 16 hotels and 3 citations against one of the Hyatt’s housekeeping subcontractors at one of those hotels, alleging violations of safety regulations that protect housekeepers and other employees.

So perhaps the Hyatt Hotel just wasn’t aware of what it meant to really appreciate one’s staff?

This isn’t the first time that the Hyatt Hotel has celebrated Housekeeper Appreciation Week by objectifying and humiliating its staff. Last year, management made fake $100 bills, wrote the housekeepers’ names on each one, and pasted their photos to the middle of each bill.

Fem2.0 is standing with not only Martha and Lorena, but with all workers who are subjected to this kind of treatment.  Click here to sign the petition and stand with Martha and Lorena.

Then, be sure to share it with a friend.  It’s important that we support women – and men – who stand up to this kind of mistreatment and abuse.  Fem2.0 is proud to stand with these workers – we know you will be, too.

Photo Credit: Agefoto

The Professional Fridays column usually features great information for on-the-job issues. Unfortunately, there are the 10 percent of us who have no job at which to be professional. It’s not all pajamas and ice cream at 3pm. Having been unemployed a couple of times, I know about the issues that no one tells you about. Besides networking skills, you will need ways to deal with potential anger and frustration. However, you will also want to know how to take advantage of this sweet-sweet freedom.

Get SOME sort of structure in your life. All of a sudden, your days seem to blend together into an abyss of blank time. To combat this feeling, schedule as many things as you can during the day. I’ve scheduled showering and lunch. No shame. If you can still afford a gym membership, develop a routine there based on a workout regimen or group classes. I found that going to gym classes afforded me a new group of friends outside of my normal circle, which gave me a different perspective on my career and my life. Going to the gym also means you will have a great outlet for stress and anxiety from inactivity or interviews, and of course you will be fit and healthy!the-job issues. Unfortunately, there are the 10 percent of us who have no job at which to be professional. It’s not all pajamas and ice cream at 3pm. Having been unemployed a couple of times, I know about the issues that no one tells you about. Besides networking skills, you will need ways to deal with potential anger and frustration. However, you will also want to know how to take advantage of this sweet-sweet freedom.

Veterans Day is a time to celebrate the men and women who have worn this nation’s uniform and to honor their service. When the nation called and asked, “Who among you will step forward and defend the Constitution? Who will leave your families, your home in order to protect what we hold most dear?” it was our servicemen and women who answered that call and said, “I will. I will leave all that I hold most dear in order to protect liberty for others, for those who I will never meet. And if I must, I will lay down my life to protect this nation that is a beacon of Democracy all.”