Women at work

having more money and accumulating wealth is crucial

Are women lucky to have less money than men?

Money is hardly ever what my clients view as their main problem. Indeed, often, interwoven in their stories are signs that they don’t care for it that much. And why should they? ‘Money is the source of all evil,’ they say in English. In French ‘money is the sinew of war.’ In Dutch a person …

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Women leaders, please don’t be nice!

Women in leading positions are often judged to be not nice. This is one reason why so few women want to be boss, I believe. Yet, one condition to achieve Sustainable Leadership for Women is indeed to stop being so nice. Women needing to be nice is why we’re practically absent where the decisions are taken, …

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More women leaders? Get real women to the top.

At a time when women outnumber men at university in most Western countries, I think it’s safe to say that lack of intelligence cannot be the reason why women still are lagging behind when it comes to occupying decision-making positions. Similarly, it’s been known for at least 30 years that more women at the top …

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More women at the top boosts share prices

Recent research by Bank of America Merrill Lynch shows that employing more women at the top is excellent for share prices. All male boards will soon have to let more women in, not because they like to share power, but because this is what moves the money. Women now have more economic power than ever. …

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Photo by Simon Matzinger on Unsplash

Fatherhood lowers chances of finding job

That working women get punished for being mothers is not new. However, when researchers of the Universities of Gent and Leuven, Belgium, sent out 960 job applications with different profiles, they found that children are bad news for working fathers too. Male candidates with children were invited 18% less often for job interviews. According to Professor Stijn …

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The art of being imperfect

‘I see so many women who are great at their jobs, but also at remaining invisible,’ says Elke Jeurissen, founder of the Belgian women’s network ‘De Straffe Madammen‘ (The Strong Ladies). On Story Club, the site where Business Story Teller Raf Stevens posts his interviews (in Dutch) with a variety of people, Elke Jeurissen explains …

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Strategic networking is harder for women. Here are some guidelines from a pro 

Networking is essential to help your business flourish, but women tend to limit their exposure to new people and new ideas. Hermiana Ibarra, professor of Organisational Behavior at London Business School, analyses why, in this piece below. Source: Why strategic networking is harder for women | Herminia Ibarra

Discrimination when pregnant no longer tolerated in the Netherlands

  In the two weeks since it’s possible, 550 Dutch women have reported being discriminated against at work because they’re pregnant. Companies who, for example, don’t extend a contract, will be punished. That’s good. But a radical change of mindset is required, that stops seeing children as the sole responsibility of women; that also stops …

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France bans extremely thin models

I welcome this new French law, that demands models to provide a doctor’s certificate showing their body mass index is healthy. A previous law, suggesting a minimum BMI, was rejected. I suppose that could have been perceived as dictating what marketable beauty is. But who can be against preventing that anorexia, a serious and often deadly …

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Millions waisted on gender diversity programs that aren’t giving women what they need to succeed

Countless studies have shown women to be great leaders who improve company performance. Organizations across a multitude of industries that have embraced the business case for increased gender diversity are spending millions of dollars on programs to help women advance. Yet we have not yet reached gender parity in the C-suite. Why? A new study …

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