A lot of women have trouble saying no to requests at work and in the rest of life. We don't want to let people down, and many of us enjoy helping others. But too many women are withering under the weight of tasks and favors they've taken on because they couldn't bring themselves to say no. In this show I talk to psychiatrist and author Nanette Gartrell about how to set boundaries with bosses and colleagues without damaging your relationships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...
Nov 14, 2017•25 min
Before the revelations about Harvey Weinstein, Bill O'Reilly, Roger Ailes and Donald Trump, Jennifer BerdhahI and I sat down to talk about sexual harassment. Jennifer is a professor at the University of British Columbia who studies harassment and power in organizations. In this show we look at what motivates sexual harassment, why anti-harassment trainings don't work, and what we can do about all of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 27, 2017•24 min
Plenty of us work remotely in one way or another, known to clients or collaborators by name only. In this show we meet a woman who, in her profession, is often assumed to be a man. We talk about how she deals with that, and her distaste for female titles - especially 'Ms.' And I talk to a man and woman who swapped names and identities for a week at the office. The results were revealing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 19, 2017•33 min
Finding a weight-loss DVD in your mailbox, wondering why you didn't get that promotion, or just being told you need to lose weight 'for your health' - these are some of the things today's guests have experienced in the workplace. All three are or have been overweight, and each has felt judged for it while on the job. They are not alone. In this show, we look at how much being overweight affects a woman's career. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 29, 2017•29 min
Remember rejection letters? Some of us do, but they're a lot less common in today's hiring world. In this show we look at how and why the hiring process is getting longer, not to mention more frustrating and less polite. Two recent job seekers discuss their experiences and Allison Hemming of The Hired Guns brings some perspective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 13, 2017•22 min
In this show I talk to science writer Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix, about how spending time outside can help lower our stress levels and allow us to gain perspective on daily problems. Most of us live and work in urban environments, spending hours a day in front of a screen. Nothing could be less natural. In this show we talk about how spending time outdoors can improve our lives in multiple ways, and how women benefit even more than men. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...
Aug 02, 2017•26 min
In this show we reunite with Tess Vigeland, one of the guests on my most popular show to date - episode 75, Redefining Success. Within a few years Tess quit a longtime job as a national radio host, wrote a book, got divorced and set off to travel the world. She had always been fueled by ambition, and lots of it. She also valued herself mostly through her job. We talk about how her attitude to ambition, success and office politics has changed in the 18 months she's been on the road. Hosted on Aca...
Jul 13, 2017•23 min
America is politically divided, and women with different views are not talking to eachother. In this show we hear from two conservative women about their lives and views on politics, feminism, and being an out conservative in a liberal workplace.And we meet a lifelong liberal who's set on getting both groups of women to enter politics for the good of democracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 28, 2017•29 min
Lauren Tucker was like a lot of other women who've been working in corporate life for years - itching to go out on her own. So she did. But things didn't turn out the way she expected. In this show we talk about dashed hopes, reinvention in a new place, why diversity in the ad business still sucks, and caring for your parents when everything around you is falling apart. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 12, 2017•23 min
Authenticity is a buzzword that crops up a lot these days. We're all meant to 'be ourselves' at work. But how realistic a goal is that for women, really? In this show I speak to Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author of the book Executive Presence. Sylvia says women have to find the right balance of being themselves and having the perfect combination of gravitas, communication skills and appearance to get to the top. Lauren Tucker is pretty much there. Still, she says meshing her forthright personality with...
May 29, 2017•25 min
A few years ago I found out the most popular job for women in America is the same as it was in the 1950s - administrative assistant, or secretary. I was shocked. How could this be, in an era where women are more educated than men? Why are so many of us still working to support other people - mostly men - rather than pursuing something for ourselves? I set out to tackle those questions in this show, and take a look at the assistant role as it exists now. Typing and dictation are out, while managi...
May 15, 2017•26 min
Brooke Lark was raised to think having a career was selfish and motherhood was sacred. She had four children by the age of 29 and never expected to work outside the home. But as she began to have more contact with the outside world, the certainties of her religion began to crumble. At 35 she was faced with a whole new prospect - not only working, but being the main breadwinner for her family. In this show we hear Brooke's story of being raised Mormon, losing her religion and joining a workplace ...
Apr 27, 2017•25 min
Patricia Jones was born and raised in Utah, a state with a conservative bent and one of the highest wage gaps in the US. 60% of the population is Mormon, but belonging to a conservative faith never stopped Pat from having a family and a career, first running a business, then as a politician. In her latest role she's on a mission to raise the status of women at work in Utah. And that means persuading a lot of pale males it's a good idea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...
Apr 05, 2017•19 min
Women have a problem valuing themselves, both setting prices and believing they're truly worth something in the marketplace. A lot of us charge too little for our work. Sometimes we don't charge at all. It's a complicated, multi-layered issue, and part of the reason women earn less than men. As someone who squirms whenever I have to talk about how much I'm worth, I knew I had to tackle the topic on the podcast. Guests are Adrienne Graham and Kathy Caprino. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy ...
Mar 22, 2017•21 min
The boundaries between work and home are fraying all the time. We spend work time doing personal stuff, and time at home working. We talk about our personal lives at work too, and vice versa. But some of us aren't comfortable sharing much about our home lives with colleagues - we like our boundaries. Yet not sharing can put us at odds with a world where everyone's connected on social media. My first guest guards her privacy, but wonders if she's hurting her career by being circumspect. My second...
Mar 10, 2017•26 min
For years Sallie Krawcheck was one of the few famous women on Wall Street. She earned millions of dollars, had a huge office, and the use of a private jet. A few years ago, all that changed when she made the switch to entrepreneurship. In this interview we talk about the relationship between her gender and her firing from Citibank, why she won't shut up about diversity, stodgy company cultures, and handling sexism at work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 20, 2017•31 min
In this week's mini-show Rachael Ellison is back to talk about leave. She says delegation plays a big part in having a successful leave, but more importantly, a successful return. Whether you're going on parental leave or you suddenly have to take care of a sick parent, your exit can be fraught with uncertainty. Then there are the unexpected surprises that await you when you get back. Rachael talks about ways that employee, boss and team can work together to plan for a smooth absence. Hosted on ...
Feb 13, 2017•9 min
A lot of women admit it: we have trouble delegating. How many times have you said, "It's just easier if I do it"? But you can't pull off a senior role without giving away some of your work to other people. In this show we look at the cultural reasons why women shy away from delegation, and how we can get more comfortable with it. My guests are coach and consultant Rachael Ellison and management professor Jodi Detjen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 05, 2017•24 min
A lot of women dream of scaling back their careers after they have kids, even if it's just for a while. Some quit altogether and stay out of the workforce for years. In this show I talk to Kathryn Sollmann of 9 Lives for Women about the pros and cons of dialing back your work life. Kathryn says one vital point often gets left out of these 'leaning out' discussions: the importance of long-term financial security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 20, 2017•24 min
We talk a lot on the show about being a woman in a man's (work) world. But lots of women are in female-dominated fields, and that can bring its own challenges - one of them being lower pay. Meanwhile your boss is still likely to be a man. Tune in to hear from listeners in two majority-women fields and from sociologist Marianne Cooper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 22, 2016•23 min
Anyone can burn out at work, but women seem to be doing it faster and younger than men. In this show we take a closer look at what leads to burnout and how to prevent it in the first place. My guests are career and burnout coach Dana Campbell and journalist and former BuzzFeed News editor Stacy-Marie Ishmael. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 29, 2016•21 min
The Nordic countries have a reputation for equality and excellent work/life balance. American women look enviously at these nations as they scrape together a short maternity leave or finish another 10-hour day.But here's the paradox: there are just as few women in powerful roles in Scandinavia as there are in the US. Why? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 14, 2016•28 min
In this show we look at how class can play out at work. Each of my guests works in a professional setting but both grew up in blue-collar households, and each has had trouble navigating the white-collar workplace and the attitudes of some of its workforce. I also talk to Daniel Laurison, a sociology professor at Swarthmore. He co-authored a study on the 'class ceiling' in Britain. It showed that on average, people in high-status professions who began life in a working-class household earn less t...
Oct 30, 2016•28 min
Countries like the US and UK may thrive in many areas, but not when it comes to women in politics. The US Congress is about 20% women and in the UK, Parliament is 23% female. Yes, it's an improvement on former decades, but in 2016 why aren't more women holding power at a national level?We have two fantastic, outspoken guests on today's show, which was first released in early 2015: Megan Murphy, former Financial Times Washington bureau chief (now with Bloomberg), and Madeleine Kunin, former and f...
Oct 10, 2016•30 min
A lot of people are working with some kind of health condition. Many of them keep that a secret from bosses and co-workers. In this show we look at perceptions of weakness at work, and talk to two guests with health issues. One of them is still deciding how and when to reveal her condition, and wonders if she does, will she ever be promoted again? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 28, 2016•23 min
Two women dominate discussions about women in the workplace today: Sheryl Sandberg and Anne-Marie Slaughter. In this show New Yorker writer Sheelah Kolhatkar and I talk about each woman's message and philosophy and how they differ from one another. We also hear from some of you about what you think of them. And we ask what will galvanize change for women long-term - individual effort, or a system overhaul? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 12, 2016•16 min
This is a mini-episode. It sprang from my conversation with Tina Alberino, who featured in the last show on the beauty business. She surprised me at the end of our interview by mentioning she was awkward with people. I'd just had an animated 40 minute conversation with her, so I probed, and this short show is the result. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 21, 2016•7 min
Self-care. You hear that phrase all the time if you're a professional woman. We're all urged to care for ourselves, to take time to do yoga, go to the gym, maybe indulge ourselves with a little beauty treatment once in a while. Many of us get something done on a regular basis - from a haircut to waxing. But how often do we think about the working conditions of the women who work on us? In this show we take a look inside the beauty business - and it isn't pretty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...
Aug 09, 2016•27 min
Women's conferences are springing up all over the place, promising empowerment, inspiration, and motivation. But at the end of the day are they galvanizing real change, or do they just make women feel good? My guests are SHE Summit founder Claudia Chan, and New Yorker writer Sheelah Kolhatkar. Her Business Week piece about women's conferences earlier this year inspired this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 25, 2016•24 min
In this show we hear the second half of my conversation with sexuality counselor Evelyn Resh. We talk about why prioritizing your children can backfire, the sex/work dynamic in gay relationships, and why Evelyn hasn't been taking her own advice - and how she's trying to change that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 24, 2016•26 min