Posts Tagged Business

It’s not the “year of the woman” in American business, either

What do Apple, Bed Bath & Beyond, Blockbuster, Citigroup, Comcast, Costco, Delta Airlines, Exxon Mobil, Intel, Kohl’s, Loews, McGraw-Hill, Pepsi Bottling, RadioShack, Sysco and Virgin Media all have in common?

None of these Fortune 500 companies has a single woman executive officer.

The list of companies with absolutely no women in the top ranks was released this week by Catalyst as part of the 2010 Catalyst Census. The Census tracks the number of women in executive and top earner positions. This year, 14.4% of executive officer positions at Fortune 500 companies are held by women, up from 13.5% last year. Women now hold 7.6% of top-earning positions at these companies, an increase of 1.3% from last year.

The companies that ...

What do Apple, Bed Bath & Beyond, Blockbuster, Citigroup, Comcast, Costco, Delta Airlines, Exxon Mobil, Intel, Kohl’s, Loews, McGraw-Hill, Pepsi Bottling, RadioShack, Sysco and Virgin Media all have in common?

None of these Fortune 500 companies has a ...

Young Feminist Enterpreneur spotlight: AuH2O

I had the awesome pleasure of meeting Kate Goldwater (pictured) this weekend (actually at Jill from Feministe‘s Holiday Party). Kate and I spent an hour or so talking about entrepreneurship and feminism, specifically focusing on her business AuH2O.

Kate and I are the same age (26) so I was hella impressed that she’s been running her own clothing boutique (featuring many of her own designs) for four years now.

I loved everything about AuH2O. The store is named such because it’s the chemical equivalent of her last name: Gold (Au) water (H2O). Perfect blend of nerdy and cool. It’s based on principles of recycling, and all the clothing and accessories sold are vintage or used, including the ...

I had the awesome pleasure of meeting Kate Goldwater (pictured) this weekend (actually at Jill from Feministe‘s Holiday Party). Kate and I spent an hour or so talking about entrepreneurship and feminism, specifically focusing ...

Women’s mass exodus from the financial industry

Just when you thought the finance industry couldn’t get any more dude-heavy, The Wall Street Journal (via Annie Lowrey) reports that women are leaving the financial industry behind:

In the past 10 years, 141,000 women, or 2.6% of female workers in finance, left the industry. The ranks of men grew by 389,000 in that period, or 9.6%, according to a review of data provided by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The shift runs counter to changes in the overall work force. The number of women in the U.S. labor market has grown by 4.1% in the past decade, outpacing a 0.5% increase in male workers.

It’s also interesting how this breaks down by age and advancement. Older women have ...

Just when you thought the finance industry couldn’t get any more dude-heavy, The Wall Street Journal (via Annie Lowrey) reports that women are leaving the financial industry behind:

In the past 10 years, 141,000 women, or ...

New “female-friendly” sex shop opening in Portland Oregon


I was excited to find this new sex shop opening in Portland Oregon. The website says late November–any readers from Portland know if it’s open yet?
While She Bop doesn’t use the language “feminist” sex shop, it sounds pretty close to it!
From their website:

She Bop is a women-owned sex toy boutique specializing in body safe products. We strive to inform consumers through a variety of workshops and educational resources. Our mission is to promote healthy and safe sexuality by offering quality products in a fun and comfortable environment.

You can learn more about She Bop here, and take a peek at the inside of their store here.
As Ann pointed out, the name is a ...


I was excited to find this new sex shop opening in Portland Oregon. The website says late November–any readers from Portland know if it’s open yet?
While She Bop doesn’t use the language “feminist” sex ...

Recession fueled youth entrepreneurship

Description of video content after the jump.
Campus Progress has an article, Getting Creative in the Great Recession, to go along with the video above. According to the article:

In October, unemployment for individuals ages 20-24 hit 15.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It’s pretty sobering news for people in their early twenties. But not everyone is dealing with the difficult job climate in the same way. Some folks are using their under-employment as a motivation to try their hand at entrepreneurship.
Two friends of mine, Sara Fatell and Causten Wollerman, featured in the CP article and video are examples of this. They decided to start a socially conscious bakery that would cater meetings for the many ...

Description of video content after the jump.
Campus Progress has an article, Getting Creative in the Great Recession, to go along with the video above. According to the article:

In October, unemployment for individuals ages 20-24 ...

New French Quotas for Businesswomen

The Guardian reports that France’s center-right party, that of President Nicolas Sarkozy, has proposed legislation that sets benchmarks for businesses to bring women into the boardroom:

In a bill submitted to the French parliament this week, all companies listed on the Paris stock exchange would have to ensure female employees made up 50% of their board members by 2015. If passed, a gradual implementation of the law would see businesses obliged to have women in 20% of board seats within 18 months, and 40% within four years.

As of June 2008, women only comprised 9.7% of the top 300 European company boardrooms. Norway’s female representation in boardrooms grew from 22% in 2004 to 44.2% after quota legislation in 2008. ...

The Guardian reports that France’s center-right party, that of President Nicolas Sarkozy, has proposed legislation that sets benchmarks for businesses to bring women into the boardroom:

In a bill submitted to the French parliament this week, all ...

Largest LGBT newspaper publisher shuts down, taking six publications with it

Via Queerty, news today that Window Media, the entity that published six LGBT newspapers and magazines, shut its doors this weekend leading to the death of six publications: Southern Voice, Washington Blade, South Florida Blade, 411 Magazine, Houston Voice and David Magazine.
This is just another casualty in the journalism meltdown we are experiencing, but it’s particularly sad to see a company take down these LGBT publications. Often times those magazines and newspapers are really important for folks in the queer community, to connect, find events and read about the world from an LGBT perspective.
According to the AP, Window Media was the largest publisher of LGBT newspapers in the country. From Queerty:

So many LGBT Americans turned ...

Via Queerty, news today that Window Media, the entity that published six LGBT newspapers and magazines, shut its doors this weekend leading to the death of six publications: Southern Voice, Washington Blade, South Florida Blade, 411 ...

What About Our Military Mothers?

Lately I have been mulling over military moms who, upon notification of deployment, scramble to find childcare for their children. I can’t help but wring my hands and ask: where are all the fathers? And I am not talking marriage here or even money. I am talking about mutual parental involvement. Women are expected to step up when their husbands go off to war. We should expect the same of men whose wives are deployed.

My heart goes out to army moms, women who are practically invisible in war coverage. This piece stumbles on so many kernels of truth about the societal discrimination women face. For me, this narrative is particularly revealing:

Sergeant McFadden, who holds only an associate’s degree, wanted ...

Lately I have been mulling over military moms who, upon notification of deployment, scramble to find childcare for their children. I can’t help but wring my hands and ask: where are all the fathers? And I ...
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