by Solange Lopes | Mar 19, 2014 | Career
elev8.com
Many working mothers in Big Corporate have to make different, and drastic decisions, especially when it comes to work. What with the cost and scarcity of childcare, to simply the kids’ schedules being different and tighter than everybody else (even with after-school care, one still has to be able to pick up their kids by 5 or 5:30pm, and that’s when you can even afford after-school care. If not, you have to figure out a way to pick them up by 2pm in my neck of the woods, talk about arranging fora drastically different schedule).
As a result, many working mothers and corporate sisters do have to re-arrange their work schedule accordingly, most times having to request to come in early and leave later. While working with other corporate sisters who either are not parents or have the necessary support to put in the extra hours, as well as with males who also benefit from the support of their respective spouses to put in the extra time, these working moms often face the reality of the perception of “working less.”
“Although I come in earlier than everyone else, the mere fact that I have to leave earlier makes it seem that I don’t put the same amount of work in”, complains A. “Do I have to give up all career aspirations just because of I don’t conform to the regular core hours”, retorts C.
Despite all the advances in women’s empowerment in Big Corporate, it still seems like much has to be done to lessen, or even eliminate, this perception that working a different schedule means that you’re working less.
Have you experienced this at work?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Mar 11, 2014 | Career
ibtimes.com
Happy Tuesday!
I was listening to NPR earlier about the #banbossy initiative by Sheryl Sandberg and the Lean In movement. Basically, the #banbossy is a continuation of Sandberg’s Lean In movement for women and girls to create for themselves more opportunities for career success, and for the world at large to stop viewing women leaders as bossy, but rather as deserving, fully competent…women leaders!
This year, God willing, our family will be welcoming a new baby girl, and I will be an auntie again. A couple of my dear friends are also preparing to welcome little baby girls of their own. These little girls already are the women leaders of tomorrow.
Yet still in many parts of the world, from Africa to India and the Americas, the birth of a baby boy is heralded with more hope than that of a little girl. Still in today’s modern America, little boys’ participation in class is more welcome (and expected) than that of little girls’.
As we look at women’s place in contemporary society, as we keep pushing through an elusive glass ceiling that keeps receding from view, are we failing to start at the beginning? Are we missing the start line in this race against ourselves by focusing on where we wish women would be by now, rather than uncovering the many false starts in women’s and girls’ education?
As a corporate sister, a double-minority in a less-than-favorable environment, I strive so that my own first-born daughter will have a better start than I did. So I push towards an elusive goal of career success, without at times realizing that the most significant part of the work is not achieved as young girls reach leadership levels, but before they actually even know what leadership is.
Tackling the problem in schools and other institutions of learning, as well as in the professional sphere, by banning certain words may not be as effective as actually raising young girls to face the certainty of the world’s pre-conceptions and stereotypes. Not as effective as teaching ourselves as parents to rid our subconscious of our own pre-conceived notions about the place of boys and girls in society. To understand why it is that, after all and after centuries of gender equality, we still believe a man stands a better chance in the world than a woman.
So yes, do not call young girls bossy, encourage them to raise their hands in class and lead in life, but most importantly, teach them to expect the world to call them bossy and still be the BOSS!
by Solange Lopes | Feb 23, 2014 | Career |
black+woman+reading
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Happy Sunday! Hope everyone is having a great, hopeful restful and restorative week-end! On this side of the blogosphere, temperatures are warming up, even if temporarily…It’s Sunday morning, and for those of you who are rolling to the side of the bed, grabbing your phone, rubbing your sleepy eyes, and squinting to read us today, these are some of the headline news or simply fun, enlightening (or some combination of both) that made our week..Ready? Smile, and read…
- We have been waiting all week for the 45th NAACP awards, and Essence has all the juicy scoop in its Red Carpet Recap;
- For all the 30-somethings career-minded corporate sisters wondering if we’re late bloomers career-wise (I know I do), Black Enterprise is confirming that even career-wise, 30 is the new 20, and research says yes;
- In “keeping it real” news this week, I particularly enjoyed Medium’s post on life hacks for people pleasers who want to get sh…. done, it’s time to say NO more!
- Diversity Inc. is tipping us off on millennial tactics that can benefit any generation;
- As a Public Accounting veteran, I could not agree more with this Wall Street Journal article, basically asking the much dreaded question: When the boss works long hours, do I also have to?;
- In our “reality check” section this week, we loved loved this Huffington Post on how money changes the way we behave, an absolute must-read with a serious dose of humility and self-questioning for all of us ambitious corporate sisters;
- I do my best work in the wee hours of the morning, but for all the night owls and for my occasional pick-up on snowy, cold days, The Daily Muse has just what we need, the night owl’s guide to getting up earlier (and if that came with a strong cup of Starbucks espresso too, we’d love it even more);
- On a more fashionable note, given that I am a dress addict, I loved loved Refinery 29’s selection of 27 best work dresses for the office, you should check it out too;
- And last but not least, our own The Corporate Sister is still having its usual rants, one of which this week is around how diversity is a winning value for corporations ( we knew that, but wanted to say it over and over and over again!); and we’re also making a fighting analogy between kickboxing (yes, recently started, muscles still sore) and starting strong at your new job!
Well, happy Sunday, and happy reading!
by Solange Lopes | Feb 20, 2014 | Career
achikeummuna.lawoffice.com
So you’ve gotten the job offer you were waiting for and accepted it! You’re anxious and excited at the same time, eager to start. And before you know it, day 1 arrives and there you are, the newbie! In the best case scenarios, you are welcomes with open arms and made to feel part of the team. In the worst case scenario, well, you are not…
Yet in any case, there are those infamous rites of passage that differ in magnitude from person to person, and that no one really tells you about…until you find out for yourself:
You will be nicer than you’ve ever thought you could be! ‘Tis the time to use those Crest whitestrips you’ve been eyeing for a while now…because you will be showing those pearly whites. Not only will you want to make the best first impression, but you will be so nervous you won’t be able to wipe that smile off your face…
You will be cured of your Internet addiction…at least temporarily! For once in a long time, you will discover what it means to be Internet-free at work! You will be so eager to show your impeccable professional side that your clicks will be far and few in between…Now you can take up that smoke cessation program, one addiction down, a thousand to go…
You will have a love-hate relationship with IT! Starting a new job is a process, and so is getting personally acquainted with the systems you’ll be using on the daily. You will find out that each IT department has its own communication protocols and codes, and that if you thought you would never run into grumpy Bob from IT again, well, you may have just met his twin…
Last but not least, you will learn to take things in stride! It’s a new job, and you ain’t going anywhere for a while. So no matter the temporary inconveniences, the questionable personalities, or the serious IT delays, you will learn that not everything happens on your timetable. And you will find patience and humility where your old self would not have tolerated less than excellence…And when it all comes down to it, you will come to cherish those first days on the job, except of course for grumpy Bill’s twin from IT…
What are those things that no one told you about when starting a new job?
The Corporate Sister
by Solange Lopes | Feb 18, 2014 | Career |
Professional transitions – huffingtonpost.com
In today’s professional world where career loyalty is an endangered professional species, frequent career transitions have become the norm. Whereas professionals used to remain in the same company for their entire careers, nowadays, millenials abhor career stagnation, opting instead for transitional paths and redirected steps to get to the top.
Today, you can no longer judge someone’s resume by the longevity of their tenures but rather by the breadth and width of their experiences. And that experience may not only span throughout many companies, but even through numerous fields and disciplines…
As thriving professionals and corporate sisters, how are we to handle the new norm? How do we manage both those transitions we willingly and strategicall choose, as well as those that are somewhat imposed to us?
I once watched a great contorsionist during a Cirque du Soleil show, and remember being amazed at the unbreakable flexibility of their limbs. He could bend whichever way without any sign of pain or over-extension whatsoever, while still displaying the most incredible grace under pressure. Each movement was synchronized with the next in a gracious continuum that looked like it was always a single act. Yet when you looked closely, you could decompose each micro movement into the overwhelming sum of its components.
And so are professional transitions. As seemingly individual as they may appear, the secret to building success out of the modern and fragmented careers of our times, is to graciously combine all our professional transitions into a seamless career continuum. To instill a flexible, adaptive approach to non-conventional career paths. To favor successful professional transitions, as unconventional as they may be, rather than opting to stay put in unproductive and un-gratifying professional settings.
The Corporate Sister
