Next event: Tele-interview for Business Women Connect

Tuesday, June 3, Noon (eastern time), teleconference, free.

Business Women Connect is an Indiana-based organization for women interested in personal and professional growth. And I get to be their guest interviewee for the June 3rd teleconference!

The teleconference is free, but registration is required. For more info or to sign up, click here.

On the shelf...

I didn't look for my book in stores for over a month after it came out because I was afraid it wouldn't be there. My first bookstore signing was at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Charlotte in early February and they had a table display of my book, which made me feel great. I went back to Charlotte for a visit this weekend and visited Joseph Beth because I have a ton of "must read" books on my wish list I wanted to pick up (and I love to support a local bookseller). I checked the "business and careers" shelf and, sure enough, Skirt! Rules was there.

Quote of the day...

“Work is a slice of your life. It’s not the entire pizza.”
~Jacquelyn Mitchard

I've been through the burnout cycle too many times in the life of my career to count and I still have trouble recognizing when I'm in it. I constantly have to remind myself that (1) I am not my job, (2) my job doesn't define me, and (3) I need more than my job to be a happy, productive human being. Being able to let go of what's going on in the office when you drive out of the parking lot is a skill we have to constantly work at. Here's your reminder for today to do something different, to try something new, and to take some time for yourself. You'll be a happier employee for it!

Quote of the day...

"Women of America: Put your lipstick on, square your shoulders, suit up...the revolution starts tonight."
~Senator Barbara Mikulski, moments after Senate Republicans blocked the effort to move forward on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Can we really handle another four years of an administration that puts issues of parity (ALL issues of equality, not just those concerning women) on the back burner? If we continue to accept the status quo, I'll be a few years away from retirement age before the wage gap is closed (current estimates put this at 27 years, considering the rate of change over the past 30 years). The fact that passing this bill may create liability for corporations and open them up to ongoing lawsuits is NOT a good reason to dismiss this issue. These companies should be held liable for not paying female employees an equal wage.

In the interim, we'll see more and more women dealing with issues like this one. Because every time the fair pay issue is knocked down in the Senate, it sends a message to employers that it is OK to treat women as second-class citizens, to pay them less, to fire them on the off chance they might become pregnant, and to dismiss serious allegations of discrimination as "hysteria."