Women in Business
Fortune 500 – the 500 biggest companies in the USA
Board of Directors – the group of individuals responsible for the running of the entire company
CEO = Chief Executive Officer, the highest level director in the company
Women now represent 50 % of university graduates. To get the best brains, it’s obvious to me that we need more women.
Eivind Reiten, CEO of Norske Hydro
Complete the statistics using the numbers in the box. Compare your answers with the partner.
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4.1 % 12.5 % 46.5 % two 11.7%
a _________ of all workers in the USA are women.
b _________ of senior managers in the Fortune 500 are women.
c Women represent ________ of top earners.
d Women comprise ________ of individuals serving of Boards of Directors.
e However, there are only ____ women CEOs in the Fortune 500.
Discussion 2 Check the statistics in 1. Then discuss the questions.
Women in the workplace
46.5 % of US labour force
49.5 % of middle management positions
12.5 % of senior managers
11.7 % of board directors
4.1 % of top earners
2 Fortune 500 CEOs
a Is the situation similar in your country?.
b Do you think this situation will change in the future?
3 Careers&women.com is a web site aimed at women who work in – or would like to work in – technology-related jobs. Read the extract from their site and answer the questions after it.
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CAREERS
LOGIN
NEWS
JOBS
TRAINING
SHOP
BULLETIN BOARD
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& CAREER SPOTLIGHT
A DAY IN THE LIFE Tell us about a day in your life. What’s it like to be in your shoes? Visitors to careers&women.com are thinking about what university courses to take, which new job to apply for, or what career path to follow. It’s important for them to know exactly what’s involved. How can you help? Simple! By completing the questionnaire below. Please answer in detail but if you feel a question is irrelevant or to personal, skip it. |
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FIRST NAME
SURNAME
JOB TITLE (E.G. PRODUCTION MANAGER, L |
TECH
RESOURCES
WOMEN. COM
ABORATORY
TECHNICIAN, NETWORK ANALYST)
a Who is the questionnaire for? ___________________________
__________________________________________________
b Why does Careers&women.com want this information? _____
__________________________________________________
c Do women who respond have a answer all the questions? _____
___________________________________________________
Read the replies of one woman who answered the questions. Match the questions below to her answers.
How much holiday do you get?
What sort of company do you work for?
What do you enjoy most about your work?
What does your job involve?
What do you do?
Have you got any advice for women that are interested in going into your field?
How much travel does your job involve?
How many hours a week do you work?
Do you work late or at the weekend?
What is the female ratio in your position/field?
a __________________________________________________
In my company they call me a Regional Marketing Manager, that’s my job title.
b __________________________________________________
We’re a multinational with offices in 15 different countries around the world.
c __________________________________________________
I’m in charge of sales support for my country, and I’m also involved in developing new marketing strategies.
d __________________________________________________
35 hours. I’m based in France and officially that’s the maximum number of hours you can work.
e __________________________________________________
No, I never work later than six. We have a couple of hours for lunch as well. I usually have a sandwich at my desk, though, and then I like to go for a walk to clear my head.
f __________________________________________________
Quite a lot. It’s mainly within Trance and occasionally other European countries. Once or twice a year I go back to the States for a meeting at our central office.
g __________________________________________________
In France we get five weeks a year. It’s quite generous compared to the USA.
h __________________________________________________
I’d say that marketing departments usually have more women than men. At least, that’s usually the case in the USA and France, which are the countries I’ve worked in.
i __________________________________________________
I love my independence. It’s hard work but usually very interesting.
j __________________________________________________
Get some work experience while you’re student, even if you have to do it for free. Companies are more interested in experience than qualifications. Obviously, you need a degree if you want to be something like an engineer, but it’s easier to find a job if you’ve got some practical experience.
Fluency 5 Work with partner. Ask questions to complete the charts.
Speaker A
Your partner has the missing information. Complete the chart by asking questions.
Name Janice Della
Job title Director of Retail sales
Type of company chain of clothing stores
Working hours 45
Responsibilities Leading a team of 25. Accounts and stock control. Maintaining inventory in stores.
Weekend/Late evening work One evening and one weekend day a week. Sometimes ‘one call’ with a pager in case of emergencies.
Most enjoys Satisfying internal clients. People she works with.
Travel Not often. Trips to different stores. 3 trade fairs a year.
Holidays 2 weeks. 3 weeks after 5 years’ service.
Ratio of women to men in 60 % male, 40 % female
position/field
Speaker B
Your partner has the missing information. Complete the chart by asking questions.
Name Janice Della
Job title Production Manager
Type of company software company
Working hours Normally 40-50 hours but can be up to 75
Responsibilities Managing website. Leasing with
international offices.
Weekend/Late evening work Not in her present position.
Most enjoys Doing something that makes a real
difference to the company.
Travel Occasional trips to other offices
Holidays 3 weeks.
Ratio of women to men in Half the department are women but
position/field only two have technical skills
ask your partner similar questions and write down the answers.