There are many privileges that come with leading a community of and for smart women who are forever intellectually curious. Near the top of that list is that I am the fortunate recipient of great book suggestions. One alumna introduced me to the intrepid and tireless Maisie Dobbs, who accompanied me on vacation to the Outer Banks. Several others sent me Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea, and those of you who pay attention to our web site know where that led our entire school community last year. The recommendations come in all categories from spiritual reading to educational innovation, from inspirational tales to leadership lessons.
Two alumnae, each from a different generation and a different coast, recommended Womenomics, by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay, on the same day, and that felt enough like karma to me that I downloaded it immediately on to my ever ready Kindle. Glad I did. Claire and Katty have introduced me to the term “pink power.” Their well researched premise is that the business arena has come to realize the criticality of having women in the workplace to achieve bottom line results. They offer compelling statistics supporting their claim that Fortune 500 companies with more women in senior positions outperform those companies who can’t point to gender equity.
They build a case that women’s worth is so well recognized that working women have bargaining power heretofore unimagined. In brief, women can use their “pink power” to negotiate for different hours or alternative working arrangements permitting them to enjoy new ways of “having it all,” or balancing work, family and play. Shipman and Kay, who have both re-engineered their own careers with applications of “pink power,” claim that this is more than a trend; this just might be a new horizon. I won’t waste blog space sharing chapter and verse of a book you can read for yourself, but I am curious to know: is this your reality?
You are all making lives for yourselves around the world. Are you finding work environments that are women-friendly? Have you discovered places of business that encourage life balance, or, at the very least, support your creative plans to fill your lives in ways that fill you? Even better, are you an executive that has created such options for other women in your employ?
Let me hear from you. Is “pink power” a new reality for us working women or a privilege reserved for a fortunate few?
