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Harriet Rubin’s article published on Portfolio.com is an eye-opener.    Rubin reports that although women have made huge professional gains in the past 30 years, advancement has actually been backsliding for the past 3 years on key indicators such as pay, board seats, and corporate-officer posts. 

Unequal Pay Still Persists

Regarding pay, in 2005 women earned 79.4 cents for every dollar earned by men, while in 2006 it slid to 78.7 cents. The shocking truth is that women have only seen a 5-cent increase in the 16 years since 1991. Further, the American Bar Association states that between 2005 and 2006, the salaries of female lawyers slipped by 7% when compared to their male counterparts.

Fewer Women in the Boardroom

Regarding our rise within Fortune 500 firms, the number of female officers has actually declined each year since 2005. Rubin reveals that “In the early and mid-1990s, the number of female appointees to Fortune 500 boards steadily increased. But since then, progress has slowed, and it stalled last year: In 2007, women held 14.8 percent of board seats in Fortune 500 companies.”  "And some of the companies thought to be the coolest are the most shamelessly female-averse: Apple has one female board member, appointed just this year; Microsoft has one; and Google has two."

Becoming Their Own Boss

The unanswered question is why this backslide has occurred over the past three years.   The most popular theory is that women are opting out of corporate America to become moms, and simply dropping out of the workforce altogether. If correct, it takes companies off the hook – but it’s simply not accurate.   In fact, many women are indeed choosing to work – but they are choosing to work for themselves. Indeed, the Center for Women’s Business Research says that women have been starting businesses at twice the national average (42% versus 24%) and 81% of these women-owned firms are without employees, many home-based. So large is this sector now that women-owned businesses brought in over $160 billion in revenues.    

Yes they are willing to work, and damn hard - which puts the burden right back on corporations. As any entrepreneur can tell you, starting a business isn’t a part-time endeavor, and in fact many work even more hours than they did in corporate life. But they decide the hours, and they know they alone are responsible for their own success. This level of empowerment among women is unprecedented.

I remember when I failed typing class in high school in 1980, my mother, a full-time homemaker, patted me on the shoulder and said “I guess you’ll just have to have your own assistant some day.” As we sat there though, the only role models for strong women we could come up with were Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, Gloria Steinem and Barbara Walters.  But my mother believed it was possible, so I was the first woman in my family to get a college diploma, work up the ladder to become a successful executive, and to have an assistant. (Ironically, now as editor-in-chief of Vjournal, I type most of the day.)

There are still plenty of situations where I am the only woman, but I’ve met more female entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and angel investors over the past 3 years than ever before – and that’s the difference.  Women are likely much less fearful of stepping out on their own because chances are they know a woman who has done it – perhaps not personally, but there are more resources, leadership conferences, and press articles covering business women than ever before.   Likely Title 9, which gave girls equal access to sports in school, has also helped as it empowers women develop a competitive spirit and confidence in their own abilities, something most women over 45 did not have the same opportunities to learn. 

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