Creative Skirts

The latest on flex time

From today's Wall Street Journal...

To Retain Valued Women Employees, Companies  Pitch Flextime as Macho

"Here's a novel approach to keeping women in the work force: Focus on men.

Some employers are trying to overcome a perceived stigma on flexible work schedules -- often viewed as a concession to women -- by redefining the issue as a quality-of-life concern for everyone. The approach is gaining traction, especially in the male-dominated financial-services sector, where employers have long struggled to retain and promote women.

Among the techniques companies are testing: highlighting successful men who have tapped flexible work arrangements; encouraging more employees to work from home part of the time; and promoting alternative career paths."

Makes sense. The idea of flexible scheduling doesn't have to be all about being a "mommy." It should really just be about the way you want work to fit into your life and how you work best. Maybe someday we'll get to a point where America comes to its senses and your employer lets you--man or woman--decide.

slimming feature

This is frightening. HP has now created a slimming feature on their cameras where users can shrink their physical size in pictures. While touted as a technological advancement and way to reverse “the 10-pound dilemma” on film it is a disturbing means of encouraging women's dissatisfaction with their bodies.

click here to view the camera

The Moms Revolution

You all know that political action group moveon.org, right? Well, I was surprised to see they're trying to start a revolution for working mothers at momsrising.org, citing unfairness in hiring and pay practices.

I received this plea to sign the petition:

"Did you know that in most states mothers can be denied a job or given less pay for the same work, just because they're mothers?

We need to open a whole new conversation about motherhood in the twenty-first century by illuminating the universal needs of America's mothers and spelling out concrete solutions that will provide families—whether rich, poor, or middle class—with real relief.

The good news is there are plenty of workplace success stories, and we can learn from these successes. Our country can change—and together we can launch the movement to see to it that it does.

To spark this deeply important motherhood revolution, we introduce our Manifesto Points. Specifically, we ask every American to support:

*M = Maternity/Paternity Leave: Paid family leave for all parents after a new child comes into the family.

*O = Open Flexible Work: Give parents the ability to structure their work hours and careers in a way that allows them to meet both business and family needs. This includes flexible work hours and locations, part-time work options, as well as the ability to move in and out of the labor force to raise young children without penalties.

*T = TV We Choose & Other After School Programs: Give families safe, educational opportunities for children after the school doors close for the day, including: Create a clear and independent universal television rating system for parents with technology that allows them to choose what is showing in their own homes; support quality educational programming for kids; increase access to, and funding, for after school programs.

*H = Healthcare for All Kids: Provide quality, universal healthcare to all children.

*E = Excellent Childcare: Quality, affordable childcare should be available to all parents who need it. Child care providers should be paid at least a living wage and healthcare benefits.

*R = Realistic and Fair Wages: Two full-time working parents should be able to earn enough to adequately care for their family. In addition, working mothers must receive equal pay for equal work."

Good luck making all those things happen.

He's ba-ack.

Six months later, Neil's got something to say. Here's the meat of it:

But don't miss the part where Neil puts his ‘wimp out and suckle something’ comment on par with the offensiveness of the use of the word 'crap'. For a man with such a mastery of language, I'll assume he's aware of that substantial inaccuracy. Download the whole article here.

Statistics

An interesting visual representation of the thousands of facts used out there to make cases for and against the success of women in the workplace & the children and families of those women. (Of course, done by Paula Scher and Jennifer Rittner.)

And the related Op-Ed article in the Times.