Workin' It in the Workplace: A Woman's Guide

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When Elena Kagan was nominated as the 112th Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, women leaders rejoiced. If she is confirmed, there will be three women on the Supreme Court for the first time – quite a measure of how far women have come.
 
Today, more women are graduating from college than men, and there are twice the number of female entrepreneurs as men, according to the Harvard Business Review. And did you know that women control 60 percent of all the wealth in America?
 
So while women have proven capable of handling power, few are making it to the top of their fields. If Kagan is confirmed, she will be only the fourth female justice in Supreme Court history. A mere 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, according to the Harvard Business Review. Just over 25 percent of full professors at universities and only 6 percent of commercial radio station owners are female.
 
Stories such as Kagan’s remain few and far between. But that doesn't have to be. Here are some tips and resources for aspiring young women to help bolster their careers, learn how to better negotiate salaries and seek out promotions. And, ultimately, foster greater gender balance among our nation’s leaders.
 
Be an entrepreneur. Yes, it's a risk to start a new venture, but that glass ceiling is less prominent when you are the boss. And those who are self-employed are considerably more satisfied with their jobs than are other workers, according to a Pew Research Center poll.
 
You also have control over who you work with. This is an opportunity to surround yourself with people smarter than you--and from whom you can learn. “Women shouldn’t shy away from smart people in the workplace or see them as competition,” says Joan Cear, the managing director at G.S. Schwartz & Co., Inc. and president of the New York Women in Communications Foundation Board. “They should learn how to tap into their colleagues’ knowledge and invite other brilliant people to join their team.
 
And the opportunity is there. The New York-based Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute looked at the 15 million new jobs that the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics anticipates will be created by 2018 and predicted that more than half of the small businesses that will produce jobs will be owned by women. That could be you!
 
Be visible — and sing your own praises. Andrea Pinkney, vice president and executive editor at Scholastic Trade, says that women are “still socialized to not be show-offs or to not get big heads.” But in the workplace, it’s important to let people know about the things you’ve accomplished, your strengths and your goals. Simply relate past experience to the conversation at hand, such as: “When I worked at XYZ company, we did it this way. How do you do that here?”
 
In male-dominated fields, it may seem difficult to garner your boss’ attention or hopeless to “outdo” your co-workers. Instead, focus on you. Attend as many industry and workplace functions as you can, Pinkney suggests. “Volunteer to speak on panels, write articles for your industry trade journals, and look for reasons to reach out to people,” Pinkney said.
 
Be proactive. Embrace lackluster assignments – even if it’s just filing papers. “Do it well, make it your own, then talk it up and show it off like it’s the most brilliant piece of brain surgery ever,” Pinkney advises. People will notice. And if they don’t seem to, remember to sing your praises. Along the same lines, take on the projects that nobody else wants. You never know where they’ll lead, and there’s always a hidden advantage and a chance to make them your own. Such projects can also create great networking opportunities. Networking means “not just meeting people, not just seeking their advice and help, but being generous with your time and expertise,” says Cear.
 
Be an effective mentee. Find women who have what you want, and ask them how they got it. Women love talking about themselves and giving advice, Pinkney says. Don’t hold back, either; cast a wide net, and don’t only focus on people in your industry. “Advice can come from many places,” she says.
 
But remember to be in a learning and listening mode. Pinkney, who has been at Scholastic almost five years, still can’t believe how many young adults don’t know how to be a good mentee. “Let [your mentors] know what you’re working on,” she suggests. If you work better with strict guidelines, choose a date each month to send out “checkup” emails – and plug it into your calendar.
 
Be a stickler for higher compensation. A new study, led by Hannah Riley Bowles of the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Linda Babcock of Carnegie Mellon, suggests that women are more likely to be successful in asking for a raise if they explain why their request is appropriate. “People associate men with higher pay because men tend to hold higher-paying and higher-level positions than women,” Bowles told The New York Times. For instance, women may be more likely to leave the workforce to care for children, resulting in fewer years of experience. In addition, men tend to work in higher-paying industries.
 
That said: don’t sit around and wait for someone to notice you deserve a raise – they won’t! Think about the best time to approach your boss (i.e.: after you’ve taken on a major responsibility) and do your research about how much to ask for. The Times suggests that part of the pay gap – women who work full time only earn about 77 cents for each dollar men earn annually — is tied to the negotiating process. Some women may have lower pay expectations, whereas men are more likely to negotiate higher starting salaries.  So talk to your male peers and use Web sites such as Payscale.com and Salary.com to find out wages for a particular position. Other sites, such as Glassdoor.com, allow employees to dish the dirt online about compensation within a company.
 
If you’re unsuccessful in wage negotiations, ask your boss for advice on moving to the next level in your job. That way, you’re still in control and being constructive.
 
As Elena Kagan’s nomination illustrates, women can climb to the top of the career ladder without sacrificing their individuality or identity. Clear the path, and other women will follow.
 
[Photo: Woman working on an airplane motor at North American Aviation, Inc., plant in Calif.; circa 1942/Library of Congress]
 
Read more from YPNation: Q&A with Gabrielle Bernstein on Career, Life and Empowering Women