Hard-nosed Biz Guru Says “No” Women Can’t Have it All  – While Shipman/Kay Say Women Need to Re-Write the Rules

By Kathy Groob, Publisher ElectWomen Magazine

The debate rages on whether or not women can have successful careers while balancing a family and home life.  In their new book, Womenomics, journalists Claire Shipman and Katty Kay profess that women can live and work the way they want, and that the companies that hire more women executives are more successful.  On the other hand, hard-nosed, former G.E. CEO, Jack Welch says there is “no such thing as work-life balance.”

Womenomics deals with the principles that women can be successful while enjoying their life and spending time with their families.  The authors cite the CEO of a Virginia consulting group that used to only employ “women as men”, as described by Dan McGinn.  He’s changed his mind and is now a cheerleader for employing women on their own terms.  He now focuses more on productivity and success rather than rules and hours. 

On the other hand, former G.E. CEO Jack Welch says that while taking time off from work “can offer a nice life, the chances of going to the top on that path” are smaller.  Welch, who spoke recently at a national conference of human resource professionals, said that women who take time off for family could be passed over for promotions. 

Shipman and Kay devote an entire section to “what women really want,” and the bottom line is “women want a win-win.”   They want to stop juggling and struggling and finally start living.  “The one-size-fits-all” workplace doesn’t work any longer and companies that recognize this can impact their bottom line. 

Women often do not recognize the value they bring to their organizations and in trying to balance their personal lives with career goals, focus more on pleasing everyone else.  Womenomics includes a chapter about saying “good-bye to guilt and hello to no.”  The book outlines three simple steps to gaining control over guilt and to embrace saying no.  1.  Guilt is a useless emotion that keeps you from achieving work-life balance. 2. Changing the guilt soundtrack in your head will open the door to a powerful, life-changing little word:  NO.  3. If you don’t say NO to some things, you will end up doing everything.

The whole point of Womenomics is not to do everything 100% but to achieve integrated, in balance to be free from the pressure of professional perfection and to be free from the tyranny of domestic perfection as well. 

To read more about the new book, Womenomics, visit: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061697180/Womenomics/index.aspx