New York SBDC Research Network

Excerpt from an article by Amy Newcomb To read more, visit  Census.gov "Women continue to earn less than men in nearly all occupations, but this is more pronounced in fields that predominantly employ men and in professions with a comparable mix of men and women. The largest pay gap is within the finance and sales professions. Overall, women are also more likely to be employed in lower-paying jobs. “The pay gap has narrowed over the last 50 years,” said Lynda Laughlin, chief of the Industry and Occupation Statistics Branch at the U.S. Census Bureau. `However, the gender pay gap continues across the board in almost all occupations. In 2016, median earnings for women was $40,675, compared with $50,741 for men.'"

From Bizwomen : Social media, which too often can be an abyss harboring harassment and hate, has become a place for women to connect to fight sexual harassment and assault. The most prominent example is the #MeToo campaign, which encourages women to share their stories on Twitter and Facebook and other social media platforms. Their voices are coming from everywhere. And they’re resonating. A recent survey showed that more than 50 percent of women have experienced some form of sexual harassment in the workplace. High-profile men in media, fashion, food, and politics have been accused of harassment since the [Harvey] Weinstein scandal broke.

From Albany Business Review : Law firm Hodgson Russ and the Albany Business Review hosted a panel discussion with seven women in various stages of their careers to answer these questions. Teal Vivacqua, director, marketing communications at Plug Power; Ashley Jeffrey Bouck, executive director, Girls Inc. of the Capital Region; Kathleen Godfrey, president, Godfrey Financial Associates; Julie Clancy, director of admissions, Emma Willard; Dawn C. Doherty, partner, BST; Carmen Duncan, CEO and founder, Mission Accomplished Transition Services; Kendra Hart, business development manager, Martin Electric Cindy Applebaum, Albany Business Review publisher and market president, moderated the discussion. What’s the importance of having a mentor? What potential do you see in the younger generation? How do you approach and explain issues facing young girls? What barriers do you see for women taking on leadership roles? Are men always the obstacle? How often do you find yourself the

From BizWomen : In every state, women earn less than men, according to a new report published by Payscale.com. The gaps vary by industry, with larger gaps in finance and insurance and smaller gaps in education... The survey also found that both men and women said they would be more likely to leave their employer if they knew the company wasn't addressing pay equity. The key to having a diverse management team at the highest levels is to have a diverse pipeline of future leaders in the development track, said Joan Koerber-Walker, president and CEO of the Arizona BioIndustry Association... The PayScale data also shows that women with MBAs feel they are underpaid and also experience inequity in the promotion system. Also, Pumps and Power Suits: The Evolution of Women's Corporate Dress Code (infographic)

From Biz Journals : 'Tis the season for year-end lists. With that in mind, here's one you can read — about reading. It's a selection of books that have been published in the past year that caught our eye. They're books published by women authors and with women readers in mind, but perhaps for a male audience as well. The list features TV personalities and accomplished academics among the authors. Their efforts got people talking about their work and perspectives over the past 12 months. So, if you're looking for a book to read in the holiday weeks ahead — or, perhaps as a last-minute gift? — here are 10 titles you might want to check out. 1. “How to Have a Good Day: Harness the Power of Behavioral Science to Transform Your Working Life” by Caroline Webb

 The U.S. Department of Labor announced a proposal to clarify federal contractors' requirements to prohibit sex discrimination. The recommended changes would revise the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' guidelines to align with laws, court decisions and societal changes since they were originally issued in 1970. "Our sex discrimination guidelines are woefully out of date and don't reflect established law or the reality of modern workplaces," said OFCCP Director  Patricia A. Shiu . "We owe it to the working women of America — and their families — to fix this regulatory anachronism so there is no confusion about how federal contractors must comply with their equal opportunity obligations."

Median weekly earnings of the nation’s 106.9 million full-time wage and salary workers were $797 (seasonally adjusted) in the third quarter of 2014. Women who usually worked full time had median weekly earnings of $722, or 82 percent of the $880 median for men. After adjusting for inflation in consumer prices, women's earnings have changed little over the past decade and men's earnings have declined slightly. More from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

After seeing considerable increases in the 1970s and the 1980s, the share of women in self-employment and the female self-employment rate leveled off in the 1990s and remained relatively unchanged through 2012. While this recent 20-year trend may not be remarkable, the characteristics of female business owners have changed considerably over time... New trends in female self-employment suggest a positive shift in opportunities for women, especially for those who differ from the “typical” self-employed women of the past. For instance, the percentage of female minorities in self-employment doubled from 1993 to 2012, and more divorced women and women without young children have become self-employed. Earnings trends have also been favorable. Although female business owners still have lower mean earnings compared with other worker groups, between 1993 and 2012 the gender gap in hourly earnings among the self-employed shrank by nearly 20 percentage points for full-time workers and by 17 per

Brands have been focused on engaging female consumers for some time now, and with good reason. Women have truly impressive purchasing prowess—$5 trillion to $15 trillion annually, according to consumer research by Nielsen. What many brand leaders are missing, however, is that even though women have been controlling the purse strings, men are shopping more. That means branding and design of packaging, seasonal retail themes, product attributes, etc. don't merely have to engage women: They need to do it without losing the men. Branding for women can be people-inclusive. Here are the five characteristics that can make it so. Read more from MarketingProfs .

One of every nine women in the United States (11.8 percent in 2013) is represented by a union at her place of work. The annual number of hours of paid work performed by women has increased dramatically over the last four decades. In 1979, the typical woman was on the job 925 hours per year; by 2012, the typical woman did 1,664 hours of paid work per year. Meanwhile, women's share of unpaid care work and housework has remained high. Various time-use studies conclude that women continue to do about two-thirds of unpaid child-care (and elder-care) work and at least 60 percent of routine housework. The research reviewed here suggests that unions can provide substantial support to women trying to balance their paid work and their unpaid care responsibilities. Unionized women earn, on average, 13 percent (about $2.50 dollars per hour) more than similar non-union women. The large union wage advantage holds for women across all education levels and even in typically low-wage occupa

In FY 2013, Advocacy produced 22 contract and internal research reports on a variety of topics including access to capital, small business exporters, entrepreneurship, and minority- and women-owned businesses. In addition to these reports, Advocacy economists participated in roundtables and conferences about various small business topics and conducted presentations to audiences that included policymakers, academics, and/or the media. These outreach efforts are important for small business stakeholders around the country. This document describes the 2013 research and provides links to the publications on Advocacy’s website .

An Issue Brief published by the Office of Advocacy shows the changing makeup of America’s business owners. The composition of U.S. business owners shifted slightly between 2007 and 2012. During this five-year period, the share of minority and Hispanic business owners had a moderate increase. These changes largely reflect the growth of Hispanics and minorities in the overall U.S. population and workforce. Meanwhile, women’s business ownership rates were stable. Read Advocacy’s Issue Brief #2: Demographic Characteristics of Business Owners . For press inquiries or to speak with Advocacy’s Chief Economist Janemarie Mulvey, Ph.D., contact Elle Patout, Public Affairs and Media Manager, at (202) 205-6533 or elle.patout@sba.gov.

There has been no shortage of conversations about women at mid-career and the challenges they face. Offering some clarity are 10 rising stars in the field of communications, who are the winners of the inaugural New York Women in Communications' WiCi Awards. Drawing on their careers in advertising, journalism, marketing and social good, the WiCi Award winners shared words of wisdom, including the best advice imparted upon them by the people they look up to most. Lesley Jane Seymour, editor-in-chief of More magazine, asked the honorees on Sept. 18 about the turning points in their careers and their biggest influencers, which ranged from encouragement from Steve Jobs to sage advice from their parents. More from Mashable here .

Measure of America provides easy-to-use yet methodologically sound tools for understanding the distribution of well-being and opportunity in America and stimulating fact-based dialogue about issues we all care about: health, education, and living standards. The hallmark of this work is the American Human Development Index, an alternative to GDP and other money metrics that tells the story of how ordinary Americans are faring and empowers communities with a tool to track progress over time. The Index is comprised of health, education, and income indicators and allows for well-being rankings of the 50 states, 435 congressional districts, county groups within states, women and men, and racial and ethnic groups. Through national and state reports, thematic briefs, and the project’s interactive website, Measure of America aims to breathe life into numbers, using data to create compelling narratives that foster greater understanding of our shared challenges and greater support for peopl

The availability of capital is crucial for small business startup, survival, and growth. This study investigates how the youngest small firms, especially high-tech firms and firms owned by women and minorities, were financed during the evolving financial environment of the Great Recession. Get the full report or summary . Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Victoria Williams at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov.

WASHINGTON – Venture capital firms that invest in women-led businesses see positive returns, says a new report issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy. The report, called Venture Capital, Social Capital, and the Funding of Women-led Businesses , focuses on women entrepreneurs’ access to equity funding and how social networks influence venture capital firms’ decisions to invest. In the report, the authors, Joy Godesiabois and Lawrence Plummer, find that social capital (“who you know and how you know them”) affects funding of women-led firms in different, sometimes conflicting ways. Venture capital firms tend to invest with familiar social networks that may not include women entrepreneurs. Yet this study shows that when venture capital firms do invest in women-led businesses, they generally improve their bottom line. And venture capital firms that regularly invest as a group in the same businesses tend to invest more often in businesses led by women

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor In 2011, women working full time in management, business, and financial operations jobs had the highest median weekly earnings of any major occupational category ($977). Within this occupation group, women who were chief executives and computer and information systems managers had median weekly earnings of $1,464 and $1,543, respectively.

Here is a survey of how women are really using technology today [PDF] , from laptops to mobile, from AdAge in collaboration with JWT. The single most interesting thing was the Millennial Profile of Aimee MacDonald (page 9), who, despite her high-tech lifestyle, learned "the value of a good old-fashioned person-to-person phone call."

Source: Deloitte via Docuticker With a rapidly changing global economy, leaders are urgently seeking an effective method to sustain economic growth. While geography, industry, and technology are important considerations, gender is an imperative factor that cannot be ignored. Talent is critical to staying competitive, but despite the growing number of qualified women in the workforce, the female talent pool continues to remain underutilized... Acknowledging and investing in women can yield a significant return—a return known as the gender dividend. To fully capitalize on the gender dividend, however, countries and organizations must go beyond policies that focus on discrimination and develop solid strategies aimed at integrating women at every level. This will require building a strong, dual-focused business case that considers women as both workers and consumers. The series of papers titled The gender dividend, examines successful models for investing in women. The first installment,

Women buy stuff. And marketers are paying attention. With increasing incomes and more purchasing power within the family, even traditionally male dominated fields are re-examining their approach to female buyers. Just how? Check out this New York Times article from October 2006 . A variety of online resources are popping up to assist the female consumer. Here are two mentioned in the above article: AskPatty.com http://askpatty.com/ According to this site, “Women purchase half of the vehicles sold in the United States each year, spending billions of dollars a year in new car purchases. Yet, shopping for and buying a car can be a challenge for women who are first time car buyers or for women who had a bad experience in the past with a car salesman or dealership. The Ask Patty.com, Inc. web site is a safe place for women to get advice on car purchases, maintenance and other automotive related topics.” BeJane.com http://www.bejane.com The NYT article cites a study from the National Associ