I’ve been thinking off and on about an excellent post I read by Kenia Perez on Daily Worth, a website featuring a “free, daily email about finance for women.” Kenia’s post asks why there is no Old Girls’ Club. Men often get together for non-career-related reasons (watching or playing sports, poker etc.) and build casual relationships that sometimes help them in their careers later down the road. The purpose of their get-togethers is not to get ahead, but they are not shy about helping one another out, or about asking for each other’s help, should the opportunity arise.
Women, on the other hand, do not seem to do this as often. We either develop strong, intimate relationships that we wouldn’t dare abuse for career purposes, or join networking and professional organizations solely for these purposes.
I even find myself compartmentalizing my life. Professional contacts in one bin, personal contacts in another. Contacts are not used for purposes outside of their bin. Why? I have worked with some amazing people (men and women) who I would love to maintain contact with, even if our professional lives do not cross again. And I have some good friends who could offer great advice on various aspects of a career. Why do I struggle to keep them separate?
On a different vein, how would an Old Girls’ Club start? Again, the purpose of this kind of group would not be career development, but some other common interest. Hopefully it would be a collection of women from different ages, walks of life, careers, etc. What bonds us? A few things that come to mind are books, great TV shows (Grey’s Anatomy, anyone?), cooking, art, exercise and for me, dance.
So, ladies, let us go forth and gather around common interests. And let’s not be afraid to ask for each other’s advice, contacts or help when the opportunity presents itself.
Let us create an Old Girls’ Club!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Crossroads
A great post by a friend and colleague that hits especially close to home for me right now. http://jryanliving.com/post/609061074/tim-ferriss-living-well
Friday, April 30, 2010
New Incentives for Women Executives
For weeks now, I have had an interesting article laying on the sidelines as I buckled down to focus on time-sensitive issues. However, this article (Los nuevos incentives para atraer ejecutivas a la alta dirección) piqued my interest and has be rolling around in my head ever since.
The article discusses how many women ‘associate a successful career with personal sacrifice,’ perhaps in terms of family, friends, religion etc. Basically they believe that a successful career will take away their work-life balance and lean heavily towards the “work” end of the scale. And perhaps they are right. After all, to get ahead one supposedly must work harder and longer than his/her peers, which inherently takes that time away from other things.
However, the most interesting part of the article to me was the way that companies are adapting to this situation. Companies that do not want to promote their female employees to higher positions to take advantage of their unique skills are looking for ways to ensure this work-life balance throughout the employee’s career. What they have found is that a salary increase does not entice women in the same way as their male counterparts. Instead, these companies have found that the biggest difference in incentivizing is made by offering flexible working hours. Other benefits include, daycare centers, gyms, healthy habits etc., but flexible work schedules are the most popular.
As a woman, I can say that this definitely holds true for me. In my current position I work 9 hour days in exchange for having every other Friday off. This perk has made a huge difference in my life over the past two years. With habitual three-day weekends, I have been able to take several mini-vacations within Chile and to its neighbors. Also, to my company’s benefit, I have used these Fridays off to complete many errands that would otherwise have cut into my work time (visa applications, doctor appointments, etc.).
In a perfect world, I would take this one step further and work from home a few days a week. My job is mostly done by online research, email and phone calls, making my physical location often irrelevant. And while I believe it would be important to report to the office at least one day a week for meetings, central database updating and other such tasks, I would relish the opportunity to blast my music, work through lunch, and get up and stretch freely without worry of bothering my colleagues. I learned to work this way in college, when I first began developing myself as a professional, and it has been difficult for me to re-learn the way I work in order to conform to the inherent rules of an office.
What about you? Would a flexible work schedule or other benefit prompt you to strive for that promotion? How do you work best? In a suit? In Pj’s? Surrounded by colleagues or in privacy?
The article discusses how many women ‘associate a successful career with personal sacrifice,’ perhaps in terms of family, friends, religion etc. Basically they believe that a successful career will take away their work-life balance and lean heavily towards the “work” end of the scale. And perhaps they are right. After all, to get ahead one supposedly must work harder and longer than his/her peers, which inherently takes that time away from other things.
However, the most interesting part of the article to me was the way that companies are adapting to this situation. Companies that do not want to promote their female employees to higher positions to take advantage of their unique skills are looking for ways to ensure this work-life balance throughout the employee’s career. What they have found is that a salary increase does not entice women in the same way as their male counterparts. Instead, these companies have found that the biggest difference in incentivizing is made by offering flexible working hours. Other benefits include, daycare centers, gyms, healthy habits etc., but flexible work schedules are the most popular.
As a woman, I can say that this definitely holds true for me. In my current position I work 9 hour days in exchange for having every other Friday off. This perk has made a huge difference in my life over the past two years. With habitual three-day weekends, I have been able to take several mini-vacations within Chile and to its neighbors. Also, to my company’s benefit, I have used these Fridays off to complete many errands that would otherwise have cut into my work time (visa applications, doctor appointments, etc.).
In a perfect world, I would take this one step further and work from home a few days a week. My job is mostly done by online research, email and phone calls, making my physical location often irrelevant. And while I believe it would be important to report to the office at least one day a week for meetings, central database updating and other such tasks, I would relish the opportunity to blast my music, work through lunch, and get up and stretch freely without worry of bothering my colleagues. I learned to work this way in college, when I first began developing myself as a professional, and it has been difficult for me to re-learn the way I work in order to conform to the inherent rules of an office.
What about you? Would a flexible work schedule or other benefit prompt you to strive for that promotion? How do you work best? In a suit? In Pj’s? Surrounded by colleagues or in privacy?
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Importance of Security
Last week I wrote about the unfortunate incident of my iTouch being stolen and my incredible luck that it was returned to me. The whole incident got me thinking about the importance of safety and security, especially for those who are living in a foreign country as I am. (Foreign country here is defined as “not the country where one was born or raised.”)
In general, I feel very safe living in Chile. According to the US Department of State’s travel information, “Crime rates are low to moderate throughout Chile and are moderate in Santiago, Valparaiso, and other major cities. American citizens visiting Chile should be as careful in cities as they would be in any city in the United States,” (emphasis added). And while it is true that foreigners here are more likely to be pick-pocketed, and even Chileans are subject to this risk, the occurrence of violent crimes is very low. And let’s face it, I think we would all prefer to have our iTouches (or cell phones, cameras, cash etc.) stolen without our knowledge than to be the victim of a violent crime.
But my feeling of security here is not just a product of the ‘low to moderate’ crime rates. A very important part of my story was the fact that I went to the police with my problem, and had no qualms about doing so. The police in Chile are respectable. Do not ever try to bribe a Chilean policeman, because just the attempt can get you into further trouble! I have visited several Latin American countries, and there are some in which I would not even ask a policeman for directions for fear that he could ‘direct’ me into an organized crime game. And there are others in which the policeman would have said, “I’ll get your iTouch back for you for only $100,” instead of the $200 that the gentleman was asking for.
These things are not limited to Latin America either. I know a woman who was traveling through Italy with a friend of hers and was walking through Rome when they were stopped by the police. The police threatened to charge them with drug charges if the women did not go with them. They were holding each woman by the upper arm, hard enough to leave bruises, and would not let go. Without responding, and trying to keep their calm, the two women proceeded to a city bus that was stopped nearby (with the policemen still on their arms and still threatening drug charges) and were able to board, leaving the policemen behind.
I cannot imagine living with that type of insecurity on a daily basis. The fact that in Chile the security figures can be trusted has gone a long way to give me peace of mind.
In general, I feel very safe living in Chile. According to the US Department of State’s travel information, “Crime rates are low to moderate throughout Chile and are moderate in Santiago, Valparaiso, and other major cities. American citizens visiting Chile should be as careful in cities as they would be in any city in the United States,” (emphasis added). And while it is true that foreigners here are more likely to be pick-pocketed, and even Chileans are subject to this risk, the occurrence of violent crimes is very low. And let’s face it, I think we would all prefer to have our iTouches (or cell phones, cameras, cash etc.) stolen without our knowledge than to be the victim of a violent crime.
But my feeling of security here is not just a product of the ‘low to moderate’ crime rates. A very important part of my story was the fact that I went to the police with my problem, and had no qualms about doing so. The police in Chile are respectable. Do not ever try to bribe a Chilean policeman, because just the attempt can get you into further trouble! I have visited several Latin American countries, and there are some in which I would not even ask a policeman for directions for fear that he could ‘direct’ me into an organized crime game. And there are others in which the policeman would have said, “I’ll get your iTouch back for you for only $100,” instead of the $200 that the gentleman was asking for.
These things are not limited to Latin America either. I know a woman who was traveling through Italy with a friend of hers and was walking through Rome when they were stopped by the police. The police threatened to charge them with drug charges if the women did not go with them. They were holding each woman by the upper arm, hard enough to leave bruises, and would not let go. Without responding, and trying to keep their calm, the two women proceeded to a city bus that was stopped nearby (with the policemen still on their arms and still threatening drug charges) and were able to board, leaving the policemen behind.
I cannot imagine living with that type of insecurity on a daily basis. The fact that in Chile the security figures can be trusted has gone a long way to give me peace of mind.
Friday, March 26, 2010
In Which My iTouch is Stolen
Last week I went out after work with a fellow gringa ex-pat. Neither of us could bear the thought of a Saint Patrick’s Day without at least a sip of a frothy beverage. Plus it was a great excuse for some good, old-fashioned girl talk. We had a great time too…right up until my iTouch was stolen.
That’s right, my iTouch was stolen. Now those of you who know me know that I use my iTouch all the time. I listen two at least two podcasts a day, am currently reading two books through two separate applications, listen to music at work, track all of my to do’s, have all of my contacts, show pictures, talk to friends on skype, set timers for whatever recipe I’m trying, and have at least three repeating alarms set.
(Ok, I may have a problem)
Needless to say I was a bit distraught. But, miracle of miracles, the following afternoon a gentleman called saying he had found my iTouch! Hallelujah! I rejoiced for about 3 minutes, then started to wonder how he had happened to find my iTouch several metro stops away from where I had been and happened to be so kind as to call me to return it. My mother and my best friend doubled and tripled my apprehension with stories of kidnaps and worse. But I found a friend who was willing to go with me to recover the iTouch, in the nice gentleman’s office building, in the middle of the afternoon on a workday. All was well and right with the world…until…
The same gentleman called me again saying, “I was embarrassed to tell you this yesterday, but I didn’t find the iTouch, I bought off of someone in the street it thinking it was an iPhone. I paid US$200 for it, and of course I would be happy to give it back to you, but I hate to lose the money…”
As my Chilean colleague would say, “¡CUEK!”
Great. A shakedown.
Well there’s no way I was going to spend US$200 for my own iTouch when I could get a new one for that price. After a lot of back and forth, I told the not-so-gentle-man that I needed to see for myself what condition the device was in.
So my colleague and I went off to the location, passing by a police stand on the way. We stopped and told my story to the policeman, who reinforced that it is illegal to buy stolen goods in the street, illegal to keep a stolen item should you find it, and illegal to ask me for money for a stolen iTouch.
Of course we all realized that there was no way I could walk in with the policeman without the guy disappearing forever, along with my iTouch. So the policeman gave me his cell phone number and waited while I went to see Mr. Cunning with my iTouch.
Mr. Cunning gave me my iTouch to prove that it was in perfect condition (which it was). I thanked him and told him I wasn’t going to pay him $200 but as a thank you for returning it to me I wanted to give him something, and I gave him $20. He was happy until he realized how much it was, and then he said, “but this is so little”…to which I responded “but it’s my iTouch.” Period. He tripped over some words and then left.
TADAAA! I have my iTouch back!
That’s right, my iTouch was stolen. Now those of you who know me know that I use my iTouch all the time. I listen two at least two podcasts a day, am currently reading two books through two separate applications, listen to music at work, track all of my to do’s, have all of my contacts, show pictures, talk to friends on skype, set timers for whatever recipe I’m trying, and have at least three repeating alarms set.
(Ok, I may have a problem)
Needless to say I was a bit distraught. But, miracle of miracles, the following afternoon a gentleman called saying he had found my iTouch! Hallelujah! I rejoiced for about 3 minutes, then started to wonder how he had happened to find my iTouch several metro stops away from where I had been and happened to be so kind as to call me to return it. My mother and my best friend doubled and tripled my apprehension with stories of kidnaps and worse. But I found a friend who was willing to go with me to recover the iTouch, in the nice gentleman’s office building, in the middle of the afternoon on a workday. All was well and right with the world…until…
The same gentleman called me again saying, “I was embarrassed to tell you this yesterday, but I didn’t find the iTouch, I bought off of someone in the street it thinking it was an iPhone. I paid US$200 for it, and of course I would be happy to give it back to you, but I hate to lose the money…”
As my Chilean colleague would say, “¡CUEK!”
Great. A shakedown.
Well there’s no way I was going to spend US$200 for my own iTouch when I could get a new one for that price. After a lot of back and forth, I told the not-so-gentle-man that I needed to see for myself what condition the device was in.
So my colleague and I went off to the location, passing by a police stand on the way. We stopped and told my story to the policeman, who reinforced that it is illegal to buy stolen goods in the street, illegal to keep a stolen item should you find it, and illegal to ask me for money for a stolen iTouch.
Of course we all realized that there was no way I could walk in with the policeman without the guy disappearing forever, along with my iTouch. So the policeman gave me his cell phone number and waited while I went to see Mr. Cunning with my iTouch.
Mr. Cunning gave me my iTouch to prove that it was in perfect condition (which it was). I thanked him and told him I wasn’t going to pay him $200 but as a thank you for returning it to me I wanted to give him something, and I gave him $20. He was happy until he realized how much it was, and then he said, “but this is so little”…to which I responded “but it’s my iTouch.” Period. He tripped over some words and then left.
TADAAA! I have my iTouch back!
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