Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Ladies in Finance

In an article out of The CPA Journal, titled Executive Women in Finance, author Charles Eldridge addresses many of the struggles executive women in finance face. Many of these struggles are exactly identical to the ones women in marketing, accounting, and management are currently experiencing. Much like women in other business disciplines, studies have found that women in finance have “worked with out significant breaks in their careers; rather than cutting down on work, they have sacrificed time on outside commitments and interests.” Studies have determined that 86% of women in finance have sacrificed their free time on outside hobbies because of their careers. 52% of women’s relationships have also been impacted by their demanding careers. Then there are 16% of women who have decided not to have children in order to achieve ultimate career success. Although women are often times perceived as lacking organizational commitment, I believe these numbers demonstrate that women are very committed to their careers. The question is, why are women perceived as being less committed to begin with? Because women normally take on the demanding roles of mothers and wives, many employers believe that women will put their families first and their careers second. One finance professional stated, “the perception is that because I am a woman, wife and mother, I have different career goals and commitments.” These inaccurate perceptions about business women have proven to be detrimental towards their upward mobility.

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