News

  • The Global Gender Agenda

    The progress of women toward the upper echelons of business, government, and academia continues to provoke media attention and lively debate. Look, for instance, at the coverage of Marissa Mayer’s July appointment as CEO of Yahoo! and the diverse reactions to an article (“Why women still can’t have it all”) published in the July/August issue of the Atlantic magazine. Coincidentally, this summer also marked the moment when we released the latest phase of a global research initiative on women in senior management across Asia, Europe, and North America. This effort involved assembling fresh data on the gender composition of boards, executive committees, and talent pipelines, as well as detailed surveys of leading businesses in each region. Encouragingly, the research shows that a growing number of women, both in senior roles and among the rank and file, are finding their voices and inspiring others to achieve progress. It also demonstrates that more companies are enjoying the benefits of gender diversity and that some have found ways to boost the representation of women at the highest levels of their organizations. From an admittedly low base, for instance, more women sit on European corporate boards (though not executive committees) than did so five years ago. Countries with a clear political commitment to change, in the form of specific quotas or targets, are achieving significant results. Several major corporations are emerging as inspirational role models. Read More

  • 2009-2011 American Community Survey: Median Earnings in the Past 12 Months of Workers by Sex and Women's Earnings as a Percentage of Men's Earnings

    Women earned about 79 cents for every dollar earned by men between 2009 and 2011. Their employment numbers increased while those for men decreased in that period. Between 2007 and 2009, women earned 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. Read More

  • Women MBAs are Changing the System

    According to the GMAC Global Management Education Graduate Survey, 106,000 women took the GMAT exam last year and more than 1/3 of MBA students are women. As we’ve all heard, this means that there are more women MBAs than ever before. The problem? These highly educated women are encountering two massive road blocks: they’re struggling to find employment after graduation and those employed hit the second major hurdle that must be overcome by countless women across every industry, the glass ceiling. Women are half of the population and 36.8 percent of MBA holders, yet, compared to their male peers, they’re struggling. Read More

  • Women-Owned Businesses Make Strides

    Just 1.8% of women-owned businesses generate more than $1 million in annual revenues, compared with 5.3% of all U.S. firms, according to a study that's expected to be released Wednesday. But the number of women-owned firms crossing the $1 million threshold has gone up in recent years. Read More

  • Why His Merit Raise Is Bigger Than Hers

    Meritocratic pay systems, in which superior performers are supposed to receive higher raises and bonuses than mediocre workers, are standard in well-managed companies. Differentiated pay is thought to increase workers’ effort and boost retention of top employees. Read More

  • Board Percentages

    In a May 31, 2011 article for AGENDA, a Financial Times service read by corporate directors, Amanda Gerut states that, "The percentage of board seats held by women in the Fortune 100 increased a mere 1% between 2004 and 2010, with women gaining 16 seats. White men on the other hand, gained 32 seats. This puts the balance of board seats today at 72% white men and 17% women of any color." Read More

  • Even fresh out of college, women still make less than men

    It’s commencement time, and for newly minted grads facing a long and potentially futile job search this summer, there’s at least one bit of good news. According to its recent Spring Salary survey, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that starting salaries are up 5.9 percent for 2011 college grads. Read More

  • The Best-Paying Jobs For Women

    More than ever women are staking their claim to the best and highest-paying jobs on the market. In 1964, 19 million women were employed in the US. Today they total 65 million, fanning out across industries and increasingly pursuing higher education. The amount of working women who have attended college leapt 200% since 1970, and the undergraduate class of 2011 will be 57% female. Read More

  • Corner Office - The 5 Habits of Highly Effective C.E.O.'s

    This article was adapted from "The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons From CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed," by Adam Bryant, author of the weekly "Corner Office” column in The New York Times. The book, published Tuesday by Times Books, analyzes the broader lessons that emerge from his interviews with more than 70 leaders. Read More

  • Equal Pay Day

    Equal Pay Day is held annually in April to signify the point into a year that a woman must work to earn what a man made the previous year. Census statistics released in September, 2010 show that women still earn 77 percent of what men earn, based on the median earnings of full-time, year-round workers in 2009. An alternative to the wage gap, which is measuring the ratio between women’s and men’s median weekly earnings for full-time workers was 80.2 percent in 2009, which is flat since the historical high of 81.0 percent in 2005. Read More

  • The 15 Jobs Where Women Earn More Than Men

    Step aside, guys. Women are moving up the payroll. According to a March "Women at Work" report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the gender wage gap continues to narrow. Read More

  • Employers worldwide lack a strategy for developing women leaders

    Despite efforts by organizations around the world to achieve a diverse workforce, the majority – 71% – do not have a clearly defined strategy or philosophy for developing women for leadership roles, according to the new Women's Leadership Development Survey conducted by Mercer in conjunction with Talent Management and Diversity Management magazines. Read More

  • Obama Administration's Report About the Status of Women

    In honor of Women's History Month, the Obama Administration has released a report about the status of women in America - the first in thirty years. Read More

  • Female Franchise Owners Most Affected by Weak Economy

    BOSTON, Mass. – In an economy showing few signs of growth, 87% of female owned franchised businesses report they are not profitable. This compares with only 23% of male owned franchised businesses. 9% of female respondents report that their business became profitable within three years, as compared to 50% of male respondents. Other findings from the National Frachisee Survey suggest that women have more recently embraced franchised business ownership than their male counterparts. This suggests that the poor results for female business owners may be related to the currently weak economy. Opening a business much later in the business cycle, women owned businesses were less likely to have been profitable when the economy worsened. Read More

  • Senate Defeats Equal Pay for Women

    The bill, an expansion and update to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, failed to pass the Senate today. Aimed at eliminating wage discrimination based on gender, it captured only 58 votes (all Democratic) when 60 were needed to bring it to the Senate floor for consideration. It was passed by the House of Representatives nearly two years ago. Proponents of the bill, including women's rights and family advocacy groups and some unions, say laws are still needed to close the earnings gap. Full time workers who are female continue earn about 80% of what men take home, or 77 cents to every dollar earned by men. Read More

  • The Women-Led Economy

    June, 2010: The U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce releases transformative report on The Women-Led Economy™ Read More

  • What the Pay Gap Means for You

    Equal Pay Day is held annually in April to designate the point into a year that a woman must work to earn what a man made the previous year. This year, Equal Pay Day 20 falls on April 20. In 2008, women working full-time, year-round earned, on average, 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Even though gender wage discrimination has been illegal since President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, the wage gap persists. Women earned 59 cents to every dollar earned by men in 1963, but progress has slowed and the gender wage gap widened slightly from 77.8 to 77.1 percent between 2007 and 2008. Read More

  • SC women must help other SC women

    The late American humorist Erma Bombeck once said of women: "We've got a generation now who were born with semi-equality. They don't know how it was before, so they think, this isn't too bad. We're working. We have our attaché cases and our three-piece suits. I get very disgusted with the younger generation of women. We had a torch to pass, and they are just sitting there. They don't realize it can be taken away. Things are going to have to get worse before they join in fighting the battle." Read More

  • Deb Sofield elected President of the Women's Campaign School at Yale

    Sofield is a 2001 graduate of the Women's Campaign School at Yale and has served previously on the board as Vice President; she is also the public speaking trainer at the school. Read More

  • Women's cancer risk may increase with just a few drinks

    Attention, libation lovers: Middle-aged women who indulge in just a few alcohol-containing drinks each day may have a higher risk of cancer than those who drink less often, according to a report released Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Read More

  • Teen Birth Rates Up in 26 States

    The latest data on teen birth rates shows significant increases in 26 states, according to government data out today, which suggests that the rise in teens having babies is geographically broad-based and represents most regions of the USA. Read More

  • Top Ten Resolutions for Minority and Women Business Owners

    As 2009 begins Minority and Women Business Owners are making plans to keep their businesses alive, and hopefully even grow them, during a precarious economic time. Read More

  • One Gender's Crash

    Let me begin with the caveats: I like men. My husband is one, as are my two sons. I have spent most of my career surrounded by men, and I have no major complaints. But as the financial debacle unfolds, I can't help noticing that all the perpetrators of the greatest economic mess in eight decades are, well, men. Read More

  • Female Majority to Control N.H. Senate

    New Hampshire's state Senate will carve history for the Granite State in January when the legislative body convenes with women in 13 of the 24 seats forming the country's first female majority. Read More

  • One vote's lasting power

    Get-out-the-vote campaigns often make the point that every vote counts, which is true of course. Sometimes, however, the impact of a single vote goes well beyond one more ballot in the final tally; sometimes, one vote is enough to secure the rights of civic participation for thousands of disenfranchised citizens. Read More

  • Political ladder proving steep for women in S.C.

    Even though the S.C. Senate has never had more than a sprinkling of women, there's a real prospect that next year's 46-member, upper chamber will - for the first time in decades - once again be an all-male body. Read More

  • Where Are The Women?

    S.C. ranks last in percentage of female legislators. Read More

  • Seeing pink elephants

    A view of the RNC by Joan Brady in The State on September 12, 2008. Read More

  • Women, get out of the home and into the House

    S.C. ranks last in women in elected offices Read More

  • Newly Elected Officers for SC Legislative Women's Caucus

    New officers of the S.C. Legislative Women's Caucus are Rep. Vida Miller; Rep. Joan Brady, chairman; Rep. Shannon Erickson; and Rep. Laurie Funderburk. Read More

  • Our Own Glass Ceilings

    As Hillary Clinton cracks her head against what she likes to call "the highest and hardest glass ceiling," there's no doubt that she craves the presidency as much as any man does. Read More

  • The Million Woman March

    What female entrepreneurs are doing to help themselves - and their sisters. Read More

  • Meet the Framebreaker

    Simon Hobbs interviews Indra Nooyi, CEO and chairman of American giant PepsiCo Read More

  • The 2008 Top 10 Companies for Executive Women and the Critical Factors that Set Them Apart

    Each year the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) examines applicants for the Top Companies for Executive Women. The top companies stand out in corporate America by virtue of the cultures of success they offer women. Read More

  • BUSINESS TRENDS: Women still face glass ceiling

    According to job experts, things are better for women in the workplace than they were in the 1960s and 1970s. But the glass ceiling still exists, according to Gannett News Service. Read More

  • Current State of Businesses Owned by Women of Color Highlighted at Research Symposium

    The dynamics of the intersection of race and gender were the focus of research findings released today at the national symposium "Research to Roadmap" Read More

  • South Carolina Women's Business Center client wins top national recognition!

    Deborah Moore, President & CEO of AccuStat EMR, & the current US Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Person of the Year for the state of South Carolina... Read More

  • Women business founders rising, but slowly

    Where are the Starbucks, Nikes, Amazons, Home Depots and Genentechs founded by women? Read More

  • Self-Employed Women Differ From Their Wage and Salary Earning Counterparts

    Self-employed women tend to be older, are better educated, and have more managerial experience than wage and salary earners. Read More

  • Microfinance's Success Sets Off a Debate in Mexico

    Carlos Danel and Carlos Labarthe turned a nonprofit that lent money to Mexico's poor into one of the country's most profitable banks. Read More

  • Study: Poverty rampant, especially for black women

    A new study on the economic status of South Carolina women shows one in seven lives in poverty, including almost a third of the state's black women. Read More

  • Women on Boards

    The 2007 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors, Corporate Officers, and Top Earners of the Fortune 500 was released on December 10, 2007. The report shows that despite the flat growth in the number of women in senior leadership positions, women held a greater percentage of powerful board committee chair positions in 2007 compared to 2006. Read More

  • High School Dropouts: A Problem for Girls and Boys

    (Washington, D.C.) An alarmingly high number of girls are dropping out of high school and these female dropouts are at particular economic risk compared to their male counterparts, according to a report by the National Women’s Law Center. Read More

  • Citi Education Series on Family Economic Security

    The Citi Education Series on Family Economic Security at the National Women's Law Center covers topics that are vital to women and families. Read More

  • South Carolina Women Entrepreneurs: A Status Report

    The Authur M. Spiro Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership study, South Carolina Women Entrepreneurs: A Status Report, commissioned by The Alliance for Women, serves as a foundation for the 2007-08 Alliance agenda to increase women’s economic autonomy. Read More

  • National Women's Law Center Releases its National Report Card on Women's Health

    The 2007 National Report Card on Women's Health, published by the National Women's Law Center and Oregon Health & Science University, ranks South Carolina as 43rd in the nation on this issue. Read More

  • Key Facts about Women-Owned Businesses: The Overall Picture

    Nearly 10.4 million firms are owned by women (50% or more), employing more than 12.8 million people, and generating $1.9 trillion in sales. Three quarters of all women-owned businesses are majority owned by women (51% or more), for a total of 7.7 million firms, employing more than 7.1 million people, and generating $1.1 trillion in sales. For the past two decades, majority women-owned firms have continued to grow at around two times the rate of all firms (42% vs. 24%). Women-owned firms, 50% or more owned by women, account for 41% of all privately held firms. Read More

  • National Research Project to Accelerate Growth of Businesses Owned by Women of Color

    Five cities were selected as sites for a national research study to identify obstacles to business growth faced by women business owners of color. Day-long research forums, conducted by the Center for Women's Business Research and Babson College, have been held in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and San Francisco. Read More

  • South Carolina 47th in earnings gap between men and women in US

    The April 2007 AAUW research report, Behind the Pay Gap, highlights the magnitude of the salary gap in South Carolina. Nationally, a dramatic pay gap emerges between women and men the year after they graduate from college and widens over the ensuing decade. Read More

  • SC Commission on Women identifies HPV vaccine as Number 1 health initiative for 2007

    Medical experts call the new human papillomavirus cervical cancer vaccine nothing short of a miracle. The South Carolina Commission on Women and The Alliance for Women have identified the HPV vaccine as their Number 1 women's health initiative for 2007-08. Read More

  • Think Tank on Women Entrepreneurs makes recommendations to improve climate for women in SC

    The Think Tank on Women Entrepreneurs completed its work in September 2006 and sent the report with recommendations to the Governor, the State Chamber, the Competitiveness Council and the SC Department of Commerce. Read More

  • Alliance for Women Agenda

    Increasing women's economic autonomy. A pay gap of $9800 is not acceptable! And waiting until large employers with good paying jobs move into SC is not the answer. The answer is increasing the number and growth rate of women-owned-businesses. For more information on how SC might transform the climate for women's business. Read More