The Chartered Management Institute also learned in its recent study that female managers’ salaries did increase by 2.8% in the past 12 months (compared to 2.3% for men).  However, those same female managers still earned an average of nearly $16,000 less than their male counterparts.  That pay gap isn’t isolated to management positions.  While the gap might vary a bit at different levels on the corporate ladder, it still exists.  For example, the gap is smaller among junior management workers, but it’s even higher (24% gap) at the executive level.

Interestingly, it has been forty years since the Equal Pay Act was passed in the United Kingdom.  However, it appears that it will take a full eighty years, nearly a century, for equal pay to actually become a reality.

Another interesting point from the study reveals that while 47.9% of unique visitors to social networking sites are men, women consume far more content and spend more time engaging than men.  For example, comScore explains that women, “consume 57% of pages and nearly 57% of total minutes spent on these sites.”  Women also spend more time on social networking sites than men — 5.5 hours per month for women vs. 4 hours per month for men.

But these statistics don’t just paint a picture of social web usage in the United States.  It turns out that women are in the driver’s seat on social networking sites around the world.  In Latin America, North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, social networking reaches more women than men.  The highest reach to the female and male audiences can be found in Latin America and North America, with Europe coming in a close third and Asia Pacific a distant fourth for both genders.

There can be little doubt that women are spending time on the social web, and they’re not simply consuming content.  They’re engaging with other people.  Advertisers have been slow to figure this out, as have employers.  However, the social web also presents a unique opportunity for women to build their personal brands and use that platform as a tool to put them in the drivers’ seats of their careers, too.  Just as companies are learning to build brands and sales through social web engagement, individuals can do the same.  Women are fortunate to already have many of the innate skills needed to be successful on the social web.

So what are you waiting for?  Put the key in the ignition and get your career in gear with social web engagement.  I’ll see you on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn!

For example, back in 2008, U.S. News and World Report released data telling us that women controlled 60% of the wealth in the United States.  That figure was estimated to be approximately $10-$12 trillion.  At the same time, U.S. News and World Report projected that women will control $22 trillion of all wealth in the United states by 2020.  That’s just a decade away!

Considering data released in 2009 by The Nielsen Company revealed almost all income growth in the United States over the past 15-20 years came from women, that U.S. News and World Report projection shouldn’t be very shocking.  The Small Business Administration has reported in recent years that women-owned businesses are far outpacing all other businesses in terms of growth.  The bottom-line is that women are making their presence in the economy better known.

I’m a marketer by profession, and as a marketer, I’ve seen statistics and research reports for years telling us that women control the vast majority of <em>all</em> purchase decisions.  Combine that decision-making power with the growing influence of women on the business side of the economy, and the stage is set for an interesting 10-20 years in front of us.

Already, we’re seeing advertisements shift tones to speak directly to women (albeit with a long path ahead of them before they actually speak to women in the <em>right</em> ways) and financial institutions are creating more and more products targeted directly to the female population.  With President Obama’s recent signing of legislation related to fair and equal pay for women, the focus is pointed squarely at women who appear to be holding the future in their hands.

It’s an exciting time to be a woman, and an even more interesting time to be a woman in business!  Let’s hope the changing landscape continues in a positive manner for all.

We all know those dismal and annoying stats about women in business – we’re about half the workforce but only 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs, 15% of board of directors, and 13% of executive officers.  It’s also true that women are making great strides and graduating with about half of the advance professional degrees, and that the “middle management” workforce is brimming with women. So, one would think that the future looks bright for more women at the top levels of business. That is, until they read the recent Catalyst report, “The Promise of Future Leadership: A Research Program on Highly Talented Employees in the Pipeline.”

Catalyst surveyed nearly 10,000 alumni who graduated from MBA programs internationally between 1996 and 2007 and found that “Among this highly talented group, women lag men in advancement and compensation from their very first professional jobs and are less satisfied with their careers overall.”

Surprised? I was, and wanted to give some thought to why this would be so.  Here are some reasons I believe women aren’t making more progress:

• The male culture is so ingrained in the workforce that it will take a significant change for organizations to accommodate female talent. By companies taking small steps and adapting a few policies here and there, there just won’t be that critical mass of women to truly make cultures more gender neutral.
• Women place a higher value than men do on gratification in their work. I’ve seen over and over in research studies how important it is for women to feel that they are making an important contribution and are being recognized for their work. No matter what the monetary reward, women just don’t want to be in jobs they consider unfulfilling.
• In addition to psychic rewards, women want and need a reasonable work/life balance, and they are not happy unless they have one. My research shows that women factor this into their job decisions – it’s just part of our DNA.  And it is frequently a deciding factor when choosing one job over another.
• Because men have ruled the business world for so many years, women often encounter barriers to their advancement in the form of exclusion and miscommunication. To make the push forward, women must be aware of behavioral traps and work on strategies to overcome these – and their organizations must help them.

It seems there’s some real work to do in order to push the women’s pipeline along – and it’s clearly in the interests of both the women and their companies for this to happen. Without it, an enormous talent pool of women is not being utilized to anyone’s best advantage.

What do you think about women’s progress? Please share!

According to WomenEntrepreneur.com and The Center for Women’s Business Research, the number of woman-owned businesses is on the rise.  The biggest noticeable difference?  Not all woman-owned startups are service industry based, a trend that dominated the last decade.

That’s right.  With every new woman-owned company that pops up (in 2008, there were more than 10 million woman-owed companies), more and more are entering into male-dominated industries such as the technology and manufacturing industries.

In fact, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research, 32% of women business owners believe that being a woman in a male-dominated industry is beneficial.

Specific statistics about women in these industries is hard to come by.  However, the women in them insist that their numbers are growing; they just aren’t receiving the attention from the press.

This growing trend is extremely promising.  As we move into the second decade of the 21st century, it’s time for us to encourage our fellow woman entrepreneurs not be afraid of entering male-dominated industries.

Are you a woman entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry?  Share your advice in the comments.

A  Roadmap For Recovery

Stimulus dollars are headed toward businesses that support these Recovery Act goals:

• Healthcare: Modernize the healthcare system with electronic medical records systems.
• Energy: Promote solar power, renewable energy, smart grids and develop domestic energy sources
• Green Building: Build energy-efficient homes and public buildings
• Science and Technology: Promote scientific research and innovation
• Transportation: Upgrade the transportation infrastructure with new roads, bridges, and mass transit systems
• Education: Improve public schools and job training

The Recovery Act envisions a smarter, more efficient, more productive future. If your small business plan can move the nation forward, you’re a step closer to winning Uncle Sam’s financing and support.

Ten Best Cities to Stage an Economic Revival

Location is the other piece of the stimulus puzzle. To ensure that funding reflects local priorities, the White House is leaving ground-level decisions to state and local authorities. Winning the funding game is a matter of finding the right combination of business plan and place.

The following cities are leading the economic revival in their recovery sectors:

Washington, D.C

With the highest per capita spending across all industries, Washington, D.C. offers the broadest scope of recovery-funded business opportunities. For funding in education, healthcare, construction, urban development, criminal justice, and the arts, look inside the beltway.

Boston, MA

Innovative entrepreneurs will find fertile ground for their ideas in Boston. Ranking third in Popular Science’s list of ‘America’s Greenest Cities,’ Boston is putting its recovery money toward clean-energy initiatives. Partner with local R&D brainpower to start your own clean-energy venture. Equipment leasing and a government grant can help you secure the lab facilities and scientific talent to get the ball rolling.

Detroit, MI

With the auto industry and heavy manufacturing in decline, Detroit is using its stimulus dollars to combat soaring unemployment. Help the city’s manufacturing workforce transition to the information economy with a placement service. Your federal small business loan can fund a call center and answering service, linking local talent to employers nationwide.

Anchorage, AK

Alaska’s military funding amounts to $313 per person, twice that of the next highest recipient, Hawaii; by contrast, most states spend $20 or less per person on military contracts. Take advantage of the military spending with a civil construction company. Equipment leasing can help you gear up for construction projects on Anchorage’s two active military bases.

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, SC is among the nation’s funding leaders for green building ventures. ”Greening” federal buildings is a focus of the recovery effort in hurricane-prone Charleston. A green business specializing in the retrofit of federal buildings has great potential to win Uncle Sam’s support.

Providence, RI

Providence’s major hospitals make the city a hospitable environment for healthcare stimulus funding. Capture those dollars with an electronic medical records business. E-commerce solutions offer a low-cost storefront from which to launch your electronic medical records venture.

New York, NY

With the financial sector reeling, New York is counting on technological innovation to save the day. Specifically, the state is pinning its hopes on small business, with a portion of federal R&D funds “set aside for small business to develop and commercialize innovative technology.” You don’t need to be a scientist to benefit from science money. A content writing service, for example, plays a valuable support role in product development. To get started, market your services online with a SEO friendly Website design.

Cheyenne, WY

Wyoming ranks number one in per-capita stimulus funding for the arts. Set up your own art studio in Wyoming’s art capital, Cheyenne. Then expand your following with a world-class Web design. Internet Marketig tools such as pay-per-click (PPC), social media marekting can help you represent artists from Cheyenne to China.

Jersey City, NJ

New Jersey is putting its money on the state’s public infrastructure, leading the nation in per-capita funding for transportation. Win a highway repaving contract, rent equipment through a leasing program, and play your part in rebuilding the country–one mile at a time.

Jackson, MS

If your specialty is education, head to Jackson, MS. Mississippi is throwing a lifeline to its K-12 education system. Tap into funds earmarked for improving educational standards by setting up a standardized testing service for Jackson’s public schools.

The White House is looking for a few good entrepreneurs to lead the nation out of economic slump. Between expanded Small Business loan programs and Recovery Act contracts, Uncle Sam is there to help your business succeed.

In March, I wrote about celebrating Women’s History Month.  The celebration has grown from International Women’s Day in the early 1900’s, to Women’s History Week in 1980, to the entire month of March when Congress voted in 1987.  Since 1992, every U.S. president has issued a proclamation declaring March to be Women’s History Month.  In my original post, I had discussed the advancements women have made in the workforce, but I would also like to share some facts and figures about the advancements women have made in other areas. 

• According to the US Census, as of October 1, 2008, there were 155 million females in the United States, outnumbering men by approximately four million.
• Women ages 25 to 29 who attained a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2007 was 33%, exceeding the number of men in that age range (26%).  It is projected that 928,000 bachelor degrees will be given to women in the 2008-09 school year, as well as 391,000 master’s degrees.  This means women would earn 58% of the bachelor’s degrees and 60% of the master’s degrees awarded in this time. 
• As of the 2006-07 school year, 3 million girls were participating in high school athletic programs, compared to only 1.75 million girls in 1979-80.  
• Thirty-eight percent of women 16 or older work in management, professional and related occupations, compared with only 32% of men.  Yet even though women have made their strong presence in the workforce, we still earn only 77.5 cents for every $1 earned by men who work full time, year-round.*

Even though Women’s History Month has come and gone, think about the advancements women have made all year long, and continue to celebrate the strong women who have allowed us to get to this point.  Women are excelling and making their impact known, setting us up for further growth in the future!

*All Statistics provided by US Census To read more on these facts and figures, click here

One option is a merchant cash advance.  Cash advance transactions work a bit like loans- you apply, agree on rates and advance amounts, and then begin repayment.  The “advance” that you receive is paid back automatically out of your daily credit card sales.  You have to meet certain qualifications to be eligible, namely, accepting credit cards.  Many providers also require that businesses have a solid financial history, existing equipment or property leases, or certain credit scores to qualify.  Still, advances are much easier to qualify for than traditional loans- in some cases up to 90% of applicants are approved for amounts into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

If this sounds easy, or too good to be true, you’re half right.  Merchant cash advance transactions can be expensive, carry onerous repayment terms, and are sometimes pushed on businesses that barely qualify by less-than-honest lenders.  Still, an advance might be the only financing alternative available to some businesses.  Here’s a practical rundown on business cash advance providers that can help you choose between the good, bad, or downright ugly:

THE GOOD:
Good providers are known by their reputation.  To check out how a provider stacks up, see if they’re registered with the Better Business Bureau and find out if any complaints have been filed.  Many merchants file complaints against unscrupulous providers with the Federal Trade Commission, another place to check.  The North American Merchant Advance Association, a self-regulated organization of merchant advance providers, also provides information about industry standards and practices, and allows for complaints against providers.

In addition to these sites, it never hurts to ask for references directly from a provider or to do a quick online search for more information.  Good providers don’t charge application fees or guarantee automatic approvals.  If a provider has a “clean” record on all these counts, they’re probably a safe bet.

THE BAD:
Even if you’ve checked references and the company seems like a reputable advance provider, you’ll still need to make sure that your individual service agreement is fair.  Here are a few red flags to look out for:

• Hidden fees: Monthly minimum amounts, penalty fees, and other charges add up very quickly.  Make sure you’re aware of all possible fees before signing a service agreement.

• Merchant account compatibility: Reputable companies generally have agreements with different merchant account providers- you probably won’t need to switch your merchant services account in order to get an advance.  Be wary if you’re asked to do so.

• Balloon repayment: Providers usually take a percentage of daily sales until the advance is paid off.  If a provider requires full, or balloon, repayment for any reason (daily sales below a certain amount, a certain date passed) be extremely cautious about entering into an agreement.

THE UGLY:
While most merchant advance transactions are smooth, fast, and simple, they can get complicated if you agree to certain provisions in your service agreement.  Here are a few things you should avoid:

• Pledging collateral, or giving the provider access to bank accounts as reserves for repayment. Things can get ugly pretty quickly if you aren’t able to repay the advance as scheduled- providers can take money directly from your business checking account, seize, or place liens on business property, and take other drastic actions.   Make sure you’re protected by the contract you sign.

• Flexible retrieval rates. These allow the provider to take more out of your daily sales amounts than is safe to continue operating your business.

Merchant advances can be a beneficial source of alternative financing for businesses that need cash for operations, business opportunities, or other expenses.  Working with a reputable provider is one of the best ways to make sure you get the financing you need without incurring additional costs, penalties, or fees.

It all begins with Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist and political sociologist who lived from 1848 to 1923. He devised the law of the ‘trivial many and the critical few’, better known as Pareto’s Law, or the 80:20 rule. This rule says that, in many business activities, 80% of the potential value can be achieved from just 20% of the effort, and that one can spend the remaining 80% of effort for relatively little return.

Old Vilfredo might have lived a century ago, but he was spot on.  Those who have been in business a long time will confirm the almost universal truth of the 80:20 rule, in many forms.

The wholesale distributor that I work with has over 6000 SKU’s, of those about 300 make up 80% of the business written.  While the company struggles in this market, the critical task is to clearly define those 300 items and focus their efforts there.  As a result, there will be more productivity, however of the 300 items,  20%  will still bring in 80% profit.  So where is the benefit?

A friend of mine is a Sales Manager for a Realty office.  She has 20 sales staff working under her. About 85% of the business was written by the four top staff.   Does that mean that she should lay off the other 16 folks?  That is probably not an option.  Now we’re closing in on the appropriate solutions.

Let’s look at public education.  The standard sized classroom in our local public school districts is 27-35 students.  Of those students about 20% are producers and will compete for the highest marks which we all know translates into scholarships and budding futures.   Our local districts also offer alternative education to students who have experienced failure.  Class sizes were reduced to 10-14.  It is important to emphasize that these are classrooms of 10-14 students that have been at the bottom of their previous classes in the traditional setting.  I had the privilege of working as an educator and administrator in that environment.  The principle plays out there as well, 20% compete for the top grades.

Here is where I can make the benefits of the Pareto principle most visible.  Those statistics translate this way:  Traditional classrooms saw 8/32 top achievers while Alternative saw 4/12 (12/32) top achievers in classes with reduced size.  That not only increases the rate of top achievers by 12.5%, it ultimately decreases the failure rate.  Unfortunately we rarely see state boards allocating priority of funds to significantly reduce class size in an effort to improve education.  We also see more attorney’s on state education boards than we do sociologists and economists. I wonder if there is a correlation there.

The Pareto Law exists virtually everywhere that any form of production exists. If it can’t be broken, how can we exploit it?  Let’s look at the goals we each have for ourselves and our businesses; sales revenue, employee management, personal growth and development.  As we collectively look at the applications of Pareto’s Law; do you see any personal and professional applications that have the potential to decrease focus on non profitable energies and move you a step closer?  Keep in mind that even as you focus your energies, the law remains and 20% of what you keep doing will still produce 80% of the profits.  How does this affect motivation? Can you use the education model to create a solution in your own world?  Does a simple reduction really lead to more precision? Please share your observations with us.

March is Women’s History month, a chance for us to look back on all the advancements women have made. Celebrating women’s history began in 1978, as “Women’s History Week.” There was a largely positive response, and as word spread, more and more people started recognizing this week, even in school curriculums. It wasn’t until 1987 that the National Women’s History Project petitioned to Congress in order to have a whole month dedicated to Women’s History.

March has officially become Women’s History Month gaining acknowledgment and appreciation throughout the nation. Specifically, the National Women’s History Project is dedicated to promoting women’s history awareness. Their 2009 theme for March is “Women Taking the Lead to Save our Planet,” honoring women who have taken the lead in the green movement. For more information on The National Women’s History Project, click here.

Women have made huge advancements specifically in the business world. Revenue for women-owned businesses in 2002 was $939 billion, up 15% from 1997. That number has grown even more to $1.9 trillion being generated by the 10.1 million women-owned firms today.

Women are making their presence known in the workforce, not just as employees but leaders as well. Women business owners employ 13 million people and account for 40% of all privately held firms. There are also 1.9 million firms that are majority-owned by women of color in the U.S. These firms grew faster than all privately held firms between 2002 and 2008.*

So, as we reflect on the history of women in the workforce this coming month, there is no doubt that we have come a long way. For example this article from 1943 on hiring women, written for male supervisors of women during World War II, includes “tips on getting more efficiency out of women employees.” As you can see, things have clearly changed. Take some time in March to remember the women who have worked so hard to make it possible for women in business to succeed today, and how we are helping the women business owners of the future!

*All statistics from Center for Women’s Business Research