Tag: work/life balance

Rebecca Knight The best companies for working mums

September 27, 2011 4:54 pm by Rebecca Knight
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What makes a company great to work for? New and stimulating challenges, for one; a collegial and professional atmosphere, for another. Regular pay increases and good training opportunities are also key. But if you’ve got small children at home, the answer may not be so clear; other things, such as a flexible work schedule, onsite childcare and generous insurance benefits are more of a priority. (more…)

Tags: , , Posted in employment, equality, management, Recruitment, salaries, Women |

Rebecca Knight Women make great strides in PR

September 5, 2011 12:19 pm by Rebecca Knight
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The public relations industry is dominated by women. In 1970, according to Ragan’s PR Daily, women comprised only 27 per cent of the US public relations workforce. Today, close to three-quarters of the members of the Public Relations Society of America are female; in the UK, about 64 per cent of those employed in PR are female.

Also, women in the US with bachelor’s degrees in journalism or mass communication disproportionately specialise in advertising and PR, which have more opportunities for full-time employment than other parts of the industry.

But unlike many fields where women dominate at entry level and in the junior ranks but are noticeably absent at the managerial and principal levels, in PR they are increasingly seen in managerial roles. (more…)

Tags: , , , , , Posted in employment, families, management |

Rebecca Knight How working long hours affects the wage gap

September 1, 2011 11:19 am by Rebecca Knight
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In the past 30 years, US women have become more educated, outperforming men in university graduation rates. During that time, the disparity between the percentages of women and men working full-time has shrunk considerably too – and yet the pay gap persists, a topic this blog has tackled in the past.

According to a new study by sociologists from Indiana University and Cornell University, one of the biggest contributing factors to the wage gap is the phenomenon of “overworking” – which means working 50 hours a week or more. (more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , Posted in employment, equality, families, salaries |

Rebecca Knight Tipping the work/life balance

August 1, 2011 3:55 pm by Rebecca Knight
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In an effort to retain more of their women employees, many companies implement work/life balance policies such as flexible working hours, childcare facilities at the office, and options for telecommuting. (more…)

Tags: , , Posted in coaching, employment, equality, Women |

Rebecca Knight Workplace flexibility makes a comeback

July 12, 2011 12:56 pm by Rebecca Knight
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Workplace flexibility – also known as flexitime – is seen as key to helping companies recruit and retain working mothers. But flexitime is also often code for the “mummy track”, a professional path that offers mothers certain benefits, yet provides fewer opportunities for advancement.  (more…)

Tags: , , , , Posted in employment, families, management |

Rebecca Knight Family or career: can women have it all?

July 4, 2011 3:48 pm by Rebecca Knight
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Ask any entrepreneur the things he or she has given up for the sake of a business and you’ll hear a long list of sacrifices: sleep, personal time, hobbies and – perhaps most important – time with family.  (more…)

Tags: , , Posted in employment, Entrepreneurs, equality, Recruitment |

Rebecca Knight A job and a family: how to have it all

June 20, 2011 10:56 am by Rebecca Knight
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It isn’t fashionable – and surely not politically correct – for business school career counsellors to caution female MBAs about the professional compromises they may have to make for the sake of their families. Just ask Peter Giulioni, executive director of MBA career services at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.

(more…)

Tags: , , , Posted in Education, employment, equality, families |

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The 'Women at the Top' blog is part of a series of online and print publications that focuses on women's achievements in business. With up-to-date news and incisive analysis, the blog will provoke discussion on the role of the world's most prominent businesswomen. www.ft.com/womenblog

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Liz Bolshaw

Liz Bolshaw is a business journalist and editor. She has been a successful book publisher, online editor, magazine editor and publisher.

She was launch editor of the Europe-wide online community Entrepreneur Country, has published magazines for PwC, 3i, dunhill and Bafta, and launched The Sharp Edge, a magazine for and about entrepreneurs, with Duncan Bannatyne. She is a regular contributor to Thomson Reuters’ Venture Capital Journal.

Her last project for the Financial Times was as editor of the paper’s Business Education magazine.

Rebecca Knight

Rebecca Knight is a freelance journalist based in Boston. She writes regularly for the FT on business education, entrepreneurship, and management.

Andrew Hill

Andrew Hill is an associate editor and the management editor of the FT. He was City editor of the FT and editor of the daily Lombard column on British business and finance from September 2006 to December 2010.

He was the FT’s financial editor from June 2005 to September 2006, with overall responsibility for coverage of companies and markets. Before becoming financial editor, he was the FT’s comment & analysis editor, in charge of the paper’s opinion and features pages.

From 1999 to 2003, he was the FT’s New York bureau chief. He joined the FT in 1988 and has also worked as foreign news editor, UK companies reporter and correspondent in Brussels and Milan.

Pino Bethencourt

Pino Bethencourt is a professor and leadership expert at IE Business School in Madrid. She is also an author and executive coach.

Lynda Gratton

Lynda Gratton is professor of management practice at London Business School.

Linda Tarr-Whelan

Linda Tarr-Whelan, former ambassador to the UN commission on the status of women, is a Demos distinguished senior fellow.

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