Not just one, but a number of factors favoring working women are coming into play at the same time. Any one of these factors could push women over the Tipping Point and out of second-class status in business.

Pay attention:
Very soon there will be more than one correct way to talk, act, and dress in the upper ranks! Men, don't worry—this is a win/win proposition—we will be working with you!

Factor #1
Women are starting businesses at more than twice the rate of men.
Fortune Small Business, July 18, 2004

A new study by the Center for Women's Business Research, a nonprofit research group in Washington, D.C., says that women now own a 50% or greater stake in 48% of privately held U.S. companies, up from 44% in 1997. Women start 424 new enterprises every day, more than twice as many as men do. And those businesses are taking off:

• Employment at woman-owned firms has risen 24% over the past seven years, twice the 12% rate for private companies overall.
• Revenues in the same period climbed at an average annual rate of 5.6%, vs. 4.8% for all firms.

Factor #2
Women are the skilled employment pool, earning 32% more college degrees than men.

Women now earn more associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees than their male counterparts. In the academic year 2001-02, 57 percent of bachelor's degrees (that calculates out to 32% more degrees than men earned) and 59 percent of master's degrees were awarded to women, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.Women also earned nearly half of the Ph.D.s (46.3 percent) as well as first professional degrees (47.3 percent), which include medical, law and dental degrees.
CNN/Money, April 27, 2004

Factor #3
Corporate financial success linked to more women in upper management of Fortune 500
BusinessWeek
January 26, 2004

Factor #4
Women hold the consumer wallet!

Companies with women well-represented in the ranks increases the likelihood of appealing to the top customer—in most cases that is women. The facts are:

• Women purchase 80% of consumer goods
• Women purchase 60% of cars, and influence 90% of purchases
• Women make 80% of all health care expenditures
• Women select 89% of new bank accounts
• And according to Tom Peters, women purchase 80% of all riding lawn mowers

And women also hold the business wallet:
More than half of all company purchasing officers are women.

Factor #5
Business now wants:
collaborative leadership, relationship skills, sharing of information, and win/win negotiation—skills that come naturally to most women.

Factor #6
Women are highly rated as managers.
National Business Employment Weekly

Women managers are earning slightly higher ratings than men in 37 of 47 managerial categories. You might expect that women are better at motivating and developing employees—and you'd be right—but women are also rated higher at decisiveness and planning.

The Evidence is Clear
As you can see, not just one, but a number of factors favoring working women are coming into play at the same time. Wake up women!

• Men are giving you the green light to act like women in business.
• Men are looking forward to the increased financial success women can deliver.
• Men agree "Do it Because it's Good for Business" is an inviting incentive.

Wake up women—it's time to renegotiate!

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About the Speaker:

Nancy Clark is the CEO of WomensMedia, the #1 Site for Working Women. As a well-known expert on Gender in the Workplace, she has been requested to speak at conferences, businesses, and even at the Pentagon.

Also see Nancy Clark at .

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