Single, smart , analytically minded women get the short stick – from everyone

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Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Can you believe it? Bloomberg News reports that single women who are analytical and smart are penalized in their careers – fewer promotions, etc. – more than any other type of worker, including single men and married women!

If you’re sharp-minded and not known for your people skills – as are so many men – you will be punished. And check out the paragraph about vacationing with friends versus with husband and kids! Just unbelievable. And, as they say, depressing.


Amazing – though maybe not – that smart single women are still such a threat to so many, male and female, in our society. The way some of the laws around reproductive rights and voting are changing makes me think the next thing you know, smart single women will start getting thrown into bodies of water to prove they’re actually witches.

Here’s the link. Read it and weep. 

Why Single Working Women’s Week is tied to August 4

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Well, ladies and gentlemen. it’s that time of year again. Single Working Women the world over, hurrah! According to Chase’s Calendar of Events, an entire week is officially dedicated to celebrating the courage and creativity of single working women everywhere. “Single Working Women’s Week” takes place this year between August 4 and August 11 (and every year during the week surrounding August 4).

A few media outlets have asked the question: Why is this holiday connected to August 4? That date, August 4, was designated Single Working Women’s Day because it’s the birthday of the woman who inspired this movement, Perrine Knight – a talented, young woman who bravely faces the challenges of single womanhood – and the even-bigger ones of single motherhood – and who was also the woman to notice that although there are holidays for relationships of all sorts – mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, lovers, bachelor/bachelorettes, brides, grooms, weddings, and wedding anniversaries – nowhere in that long list is anything to celebrate what it takes to live, work and sustain mind, body and heart through life as a woman on one’s own in our society. And that seems an especially egregious omission given the realities of doing so on the generally 1/4 to 1/2 less money many females are paid for their labors.

The unique challenges of single life for a woman tend to be even larger in the realm of human interactions. The glass ceiling in business is still a grim reality, despite some improvement in middle management levels. And despite anti-discrimination laws, which tend to be sidestepped by disguising prejudice as something else, single women are often singled out for less desirable assignments and to endure other subtle forms of injustice. Read specifics on how these types of prejudices manifest themselves in single women’s lives at Psychology Today’s column Living Single by Bella DePaulo, PhD.

Socially, single women tend to be bypassed when coupled colleagues, friends and family get together. Single men usually continue to be invited – friends even work actively to “fix them up” – but single women are often excluded. So the happy single woman finds ways to connect with other single women to enjoy life. Though, of course, she often finds herself in a restaurant being offered the dining table by the kitchen door, or told she must pay 25% to 50% more for the privilege of being a single passenger on, say, a cruise, etc.

So if you have a single working woman friend, consider this holiday your opportunity to appreciate her for all she does. Take her out for a drink and compliment her on her resourcefulness and her guts. Tell her how much you admire her courage. Even better, do a task or an errand for her – although be sure to ask how first, as single working women tend to be fiercely independent and, like many women of all stations, often have very specific ways they want things done!

God willing an’ the creek don’t rise, life is getting a little better for single women. All we can do is keep up the good fight. Time will tell if we’ll be able to make enough more progress to matter for single women, people of color, LGBQT people, and so on before the looming disastrous consequences of global warming make all our questions and struggles around fairness and equality simply moot.

If you thought your vote didn’t count…

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A new source of in-depth data and analysis about unmarried women and what’s known as the “Rising American Electorate” is now available at Voter Participation Data Center. It’s interesting and puzzling to see from the graphic (below) that so many single women did not vote—even ones who were registered—in recent elections. What’s up with that?

 

There are 57 million unmarried women in America today—and by the time the 2016 election rolls around, they’ll be a majority of voting-eligible women. The Voter Participation Data Center aggregates research on the social, economic, and political lives of unmarried women, giving a complete picture of the ways in which they’ll shape our economy and our policies in the decades to come. It’s got demographic and economic profiles of unmarried women and analysis on the recent legal and electoral developments that most affect the lives of unmarried women—including paid sick leave, equal pay, workplace fairness, and the Affordable Care Act.

 

The Voter Participation Data Center puts out all this data in the form of shareable graphics that encapsulate it in a quickly-readable and easily-digestible form, making it easy for you to make your friends, family, and political leaders aware of how important unmarried women are going to be in the coming decades—and how important it’ll be for political leaders to speak to their needs and concerns.

 

Registration and Voting Rates in 2012
Voter Participation Data Center is intended to serve as a one-stop shop for anyone interested in understanding unmarried women—who, along with people of color and millennials, form the Rising American Electorate who may cast a majority of the votes in 2016.

 

Just in time for Single Working Women’s Week this August 2 through 8, 2015.

Learn how mapping your life can change everything

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Do you feel like you’re in a rut?

Last year we were privileged to have Monika Moss visit us on the SWWAN Dive radio show. Here’s a link to her session on Life Mapping—her own specially developed technique for breaking through the dailiness and getting to where you really want to go.

She’s doing a public seminar during the upcoming holiday made just for SWWANs, Single Working Women’s Week. If you’re anywhere near Cleveland and you want to change your life, here’s the info:

Life Mapping: A Journey of Self-Discovery and Path Finding
Retreat Seminar
with Monika K. Moss

August 7, 2010 10 am – 5 pm
Register here

If you feel stuck.  If you feel like you need support making this transition.
If you have forgotten what you dreamed of being when you grew up.  If you just can’t seem to figure out what is holding you back.  Come spend the day mapping your life with Monika K. Moss.

For over 20 years, Master Mapper, successful business consultant and life coach, Monika K. Moss has been making her dreams come true through this process called Life Mapping.  She has dedicated her talents to helping people transform themselves and move toward a more peaceful and enlightened way of being. Monika shares her Life Mapping process which has helped hundreds of individuals chart a map to their ideal lifestyle, enrich their lives and bring added value to their family, organizations and community.   The exercises in the book allow anyone to map a route from vision to reality. Life Mapping has guided Monika in overcoming life’s obstacles and creating a road to success, happiness and joy.  Spend the day with Monika and create a road map to your ideal life style.

This one-day retreat will guide you through the process so you leave with a clear vision, new awareness about what is getting in the way and an action plan for the next 90 days to guide you and keep you focused.

Upcoming Retreat:
The Mandala Center for the Healing Arts
114 East Park Street (Chardon Square, 44024, two doors from the library in the brown building, parking lot in front)

August 7, 2010 10 am – 5 pm
Register here

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Polar bears in trouble – lessons for single working women

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Saw a TV special the other evening. ‘Face to face with the polar bear.’ Global warming is causing increasing difficulties for these magnificent bears. The story focused on watching a pair of cubs grow up into adults. It talked about how the ice is melting sooner, thus eliminating big sections of the frozen areas and cutting short the time for polar bears to hunt.

The male cub had learned how to hunt effectively and was able to feed himself. But unlike her brother, the female cub didn’t get very good at the required hunting skills. The early breakdown of the ice surfaces meant she had less time to get enough food to survive the long months when the bears don’t have easy access to seals, their main food.

When this beautiful female bear came out of the water, she looked like a walking skeleton with fur. It was so sad. It made me think about the hunting grounds of the human economy these days. Companies are dying; opportunities are fewer and harder to find; competition is intense. Effective hunting skills are essential for survival.

Founding members get to list their information on our website. You can list your consulting company, your qualifications, whatever you want to highlight about yourself. We are also considering starting a directory of single working women in business so that if you have a need for services, you’ll have the chance to do business with a fellow SWWAN.

Send us your business name and the services or products you offer. We’ll see what develops.

Starting a business in Ohio? Consider the franchise…

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If you’ve thought about starting a business but shake in your boots when it comes to things like legal hassles, inventory, marketing and so on, franchising can be a savvy approach. Well, there’s a guy in Cleveland who can help you figure it all out–believe it or not, at no charge to you. He’s Joel Libava and he operates a website full of information and resources about franchising–psst! he even has a section “franchising for Women Only!“–and writes a very friendly blog called The Franchise King, which just happens to have a very nice reference to SWWAN. Here’s the company’s online bio:

Since 1990, the Libavas have been helping folks with their dreams of business ownership. If you want to lower your risk, and learn how to choose some great franchises for our area, we are the ones to speak with! Call 216-831-2610 We specialize in the franchise business segment, helping those who wish to explore and learn about which franchises they may be a great fit for. We also work with young franchise companies wishing to market online, with our state targeted website, Statefranchisecenters.com

I know Joel professionally, and I can tell you he’ll probably be glad to share his knowledge even if you live somewhere else.

Thanks for the shout out, Joel!