How Women Can Overcome Challenges in Business and

the Workplace
By Lahle Wolfe, About.com Guide

See More About:

• challenges of women in business
• womens issues
• work life balance
Women business owners and working women face certain challenges and obstacles that men do not.
Working women who have children experience even more demands on time, energy and resources,
and women face gender discrimination in business and on the job. But women are not less successful
than men, in fact, statistics show that women are starting businesses at more than twice the rate of
all other businesses. Women are resourceful, and able to succeed, despite many challenges. Here are
ways that women are overcoming the challenges facing women in business.
1. Finding the Right Work-Life Balance For Busy Working Women
Many women struggle with finding better ways to balance work and life and often this guilt comes
from outside sources like pressure from husbands, family, and friends. Some (wealthier) women opt
to travel by private jet to have more time with their families, while others, like billionaire and super
entrepreneur Marilyn Carlson Nelson believe that women should not feel guilty about having a passion
for work.
• 3 Guilt Traps Mompreneurs Should Avoid Falling Into
• Take Your Child to Work
• How to Work With Your Spouse
• Women Use Corporate Jets to Spend More Time with Family
• Marilyn Carlson on Leadership, Business, and Work-Life Balance
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2. Overcoming Gender Discrimination Against Women in Business
Gender lines are drawn early, and exclusions for women continue throughout adulthood. Not only are
women discriminated against in private businesses, but also by the Federal government. Gender bias
begins in elementary school continuing on into college. Even though more women hold higher degrees
than men, they are still passed over for jobs that go to less-educated and less-qualified males, and
they also receive less compensation than men for the same job.
• Gender Discrimination Against Women: From Cradle to CEO
• Women Are More Vulnerable Than Men During a Recession
• Humor in the Workplace and Sexual Harassment
3. Women's Business Issues and Political Challenges
There are laws that protect women, and laws that hurt women in the workplace and it is important for
women to consider how far we have come in legislative changes - and how far we have to go.
• John McCain and Sarah Palin on Women's Issues
• Barack Obama and Joe Biden on Women's Issues
• H.R. 5050 - The Women's Business Ownership Act
• H.R. 2831 - Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007
• Legal Precedent Allows Women to Be Fired for Being Stalked at Work
• A History of Laws That Adversely Affected Women
4. Job Fields and Industries Women in Business Are Dominating
Women do face many challenges including discrimination and are often paid less than men for doing
the same job. But there are some industries where women are competing and even dominate.
Knowing where women are succeeding can help you decide areas to grow your business and identify
obstacles in male-dominated industries.
• Job Fields Women Dominate
• Jobs That Pay Women the Most Money
• Industry Growth Statistics for Women-Owned Businesses
• Understanding Trends and Statistics for Women in Business
5. Networks and Resources For Overcoming Women's Challenges in Business
Two of the most effective tools in overcoming challenges working women face include networking and
finding a mentor. And two of the biggest challenges women face are finding funding and getting
government contracts.
• How to Create a Strong Business Network
• How to Find a Business Mentor
• Successful Women Use the Internet
• Resources for Asian Women
• Resources for Latinas and Hispanic Women in Business
• Small Business Funding for Women
• Funding for Women from the Small Business Administration
• Tips for Women-Owned Businesses Applying for Federal Contracts
6. Government Challenges and Resources for Women
The Federal Government offers many programs and resources to help business women. But the
government is also one of the worse offenders when it comes to discriminating against women in
regards to awarding federal contracts. Knowing the resources available to you, can help you compete
better in both the private sector and for Federal contracts.
• Why Women Should Use the FTC as a Resource
• Tips for Women Business Owners Applying for Federal Government Contracts
• Consider Certifying as a Women-Owned Business
• Congress Creates a New Challenge For Women in Business
• How the Small Business Administration Helps Women
• How the Small Business Administration Hinders Women
• Federal Resources for Minority Women
• The Central Contracting Registry
7. Finding Inspiration and Support From Other Business Women on Fire
In addition to having a mentor, many women find reading the success stories, tips, and advice from
other women who are already successful in business helpful and inspiring. Women in business features
profiles of famous business women, as well as small businesses owned by successful women
entrepreneurs, and working moms to encourage you on your own path to success!
• Profiles of Famous Women Entrepreneurs
• Profiles of Successful Women in Business
• Profiles of Successful Momprenuers
• Profiles of Business Women in Politics
• Book Review: "How We Lead Matters," By Marilyn Carlson Nelson
Grow Your Business
• Start Up and Funding
• Women Helping Women in Business - Top Resources for Women in Business
• Social Networking - The Future of Social Networking is Pink
More From WIB
• Women in Business Education Levels Compared to Men in Business
• Womens Business Networks - Why Women Should Attend Business Networking Events

WOMEN’S CHALLENGES: INTO THE

21st CENTURY

In 1988 the World Council of Churches launched the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in
Solidarity with Women as a ten-year programme offered to the churches. It was to provide a time for the
churches to look at their structures, their teachings and practices with a commitment to the full
participation of women. It was an opportunity for the churches to reflect on the lives of women in society
and to stand in courageous solidarity with all women. Ecumenical Team Visits or "Living Letters" were
sent to the churches around the world at the mid-Decade point to affirm the achievements made and to
challenge the churches to move forward in their commitments to women. The story the "living letters"
brought back described with great enthusiasm the solidarity among women and the love and commitment
of women to the churches. But it also pointed to the unfinished agenda - the many unresolved questions
and concerns of women. This document records some of those challenges and calls on the churches for
their continued solidarity beyond 1998.
...and in that dry land, endless as a desert, we rediscovered a source, pouring out fresh water. Gathered
around the water we danced with joy; no more forgotten, invisible, suffocated, but blossoming and
creating. Opening gates, raising our voices. Moving walls, building on ruins. And many more came from
within the shadows. We celebrated our survival. We welcomed each other into visibility. But the water
does not meet us only in the depth of the source; water is running down our cheeks. Tears caused by a
violent hand. Silent tears. Tears caused by unjust systems and practices. Memories and experiences - all
that has happened and all that still goes on... breaks out into anger. All this can no longer be! There has
to be change! Therefore we speak again...
The Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women is grounded in the biblical truth of the
common blessing of women and men in creation (Gen.1:27) and the common responsibility they share for
nurturing and serving the church and the world. Our theologies are shaped by biblical words, historical
traditions of the Church, our sacramental experiences and through the power of the Holy Spirit. In all of
these, we affirm that equality between women and men is at the core. Throughout the scriptures, in spite
of the very patriarchal times, women’s witness was strong, and through acts of faith and daring
assertions, women broadened the mission and ministry of Jesus! The Bible records inspiring examples of
women’s spirituality - and God blessed them! The first baptismal liturgies faithfully kept this vision when
they affirmed that "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer
male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28).
Christian history has marginalised or has, on occasion, even ignored this central teaching. So the
affirmation of "the discipleship of equals" is regretfully still largely unrealised. In fact the Bible has been
used to legitimise the marginalisation and exclusion of women from many spheres. The Decade has
offered us a fresh opportunity to become a community of women and men. We long for a church where
women are empowered to minister and serve as well as to live violence-free lives, unrestricted by
traditional, often culturally imposed, gender role expectations and assumptions.
Today, we are called to recognise and welcome women and men as full partners on the journey towards
a just world order where no one will be excluded. The Decade has provided an opportunity for women
and men of faith - the Churches - to be in solidarity with all women in church and society, to overcome the
years of oppression that millions of the women in our world daily experience. The church is called to
conversion so as to stand in active solidarity with all women. This calls for a sometimes radical reordering
of aspects of the life of the church, rooted in a reinterpretation and reconstruction of those practices and
teachings that discriminate against women.
As we move beyond the Ecumenical Decade and into the 21st century, we bring to the churches the
following challenges, which have been identified by women, for action:
• On economic justice: Recognising the context of growing globalisation of economies and the
concurrent liberalisation of markets, individualisation and cuts in social services/welfare, and the
fact that women (and children too) are the most directly affected by these trends, we call on the
churches and the ecumenical movement to:
○ speak out clearly about these trends which exclude whole nations and peoples;
○ demand a cancellation of internal and external debts of the poorest nations, as part of the
Jubilee challenge, and to take steps to ensure that the resources so saved are used to
improve the quality of life of the poor, especially women and children;
○ work for changes in laws that exclude women from property and other rights;
○ promote demilitarisation and challenge the links between militarisation, the arms trade
and global economic institutions; establish specific programmes/desks in all churches for
economic issues; include intentionally gender perspectives in analysis and study;
○ in order to prepare women for leadership, establish more scholarships for them;
○ ensure equal salaries for women and men in church institutions and structures;
○ break the link between the exploitation of the earth and economic growth, and share the
responsibility for the care of the earth and all of creation.
• On participation: Participation of all its members is an ethical imperative for the church. To this
end we call on the churches to:
○ provide more theological training opportunities for women;
○ include in theological education/courses the theological voices and contributions of
women and other socially excluded groups;
○ look again at the liturgical life and ministry of the church in order to incorporate the
experiences and spiritual gifts of women;
○ develop gender policies for all churches and organisations;
 ○ provide gender sensitivity training for all male and female clergy and leaders of the
churches and church-run institutions, at all levels of administration of the churches and
ecumenical organisations;
○ encourage women to take on leadership roles and support them so that they can offer
new understandings of power and ways of using it;
○ provide support structures for women clergy and other women working in the churches;
○ strengthen young women’s networks and organisations and develop instruments to
incorporate the contributions of young women;
○ ensure equal participation of women and other excluded groups in all levels of the life of
the church with specially set quotas, where necessary;
○ reinstate the ancient tradition of ordination of women to the diaconate.
• On racism: Recognising that new forms of racism and ethnic tensions are emerging in all parts of
the world, and that racism and xenophobia have links with economic exploitation, cultural
justifications and exclusion of millions in our world, we call on the churches and the ecumenical
movement to:
○ strengthen where present, and initiate where non-existent, programmes that tackle
racism and xenophobia, including within them a strong educational component;
○ develop a new inclusive vocabulary and a new analysis of racism and xenophobia, taking
into account that it exists even within the life of the churches, and that sometimes the
language of liturgy and theology and the images and symbols we use in the churches
reinforce racial prejudices;
○ develop new ways of celebrating the diversity and differences among us as God’s gift to
the world and develop educational instruments to strengthen this vision;
○ provide a strong voice of solidarity with Indigenous peoples all over the world and support
the women of Indigenous communities in their struggles for dignity, sovereignity and land
rights;
○ strengthen and support the SISTERS (Sisters in Struggle to Eliminate Racism and
Sexism) network at the regional and national level and involve all church women’s
networks in doing this.
• On violence against women: Recognising the increasing violence in our societies and
particularly the violence against women, we call on the churches to denounce the various forms
of violence, culturally sanctioned or not, against women inside and outside the church. We call on
the church to declare that violence against women is a sin. We urge them to take the side of the
victim instead of protecting the agressor, and to offer pastoral counselling that targets a concrete
improvement in the survivor’s life situation instead of simply preaching patience, silence and
submission. To this end we call on the churches to:
○ deconstruct the often used theological explanations and justifications of violence;
○ reconstruct a new theological response to be strongly affirmed by church leaders and
preachers;
○ provide a caring and safe atmosphere for women to be able to speak out fearlessly about
the violence they experience;
○ provide the space and atmosphere for open discussions on human sexuality and affirm
the right of women to make responsible sexual choices;
○ find ways to expose cases of clergy sexual abuse and abuse by other congregational
members, and use appropriate administrative decision making processes which include
the active presence of women, to deal with the perpetrators and survivors of violence;
○ develop pastoral care for victims and congregations where clergy sexual abuse takes
place;
 ○ develop disciplinary as well as pastoral responses to abusers;
○ focus education in congregations on male violence and male sexuality and encourage the
formation of men’s groups to discuss these issues;
○ recognise violence against women as human rights violations and affirm the new
definitions of human rights that women bring, based on their experiences of violence in
their own contexts;
○ denounce the rape of women and girls in any circumstances including the use of rape as
a weapon of war and to challenge governments to ensure the safety of women and
children in times of war and conflict (as per the Geneva Conventions).
We call on the churches and the ecumenical movement, particularly the World Council of Churches, to set
in place implementing and monitoring instruments and programmes to ensure that the above concerns
and recommendations are fulfilled.
... and the source is still there, refreshing water, confirming our being, recognising and welcoming. The
water, it keeps flowing, opening new paths, cleansing, healing, connecting, nourishing the roots of our
dreams ...it never runs dry.
The Decade Festival Office
Justice, Peace and Creation Unit Back to Decade Festival page
World Council of Churches
P.O. Box 2100 Back to list of Assembly materials
1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: (+41 22) 791 6213 Back to WCC homepage
Fax: (+41 22) 791 6409
E-mail: Contact us"

Much as we’d like it otherwise, women are still facing obstacles that men are not. Yes, we’ve made
progress…but there’s a lot more to be done before we can drop the phrase “special challenges”.

So what’s the problem?

For one, we are still earning less than our male counterparts. In a Boston Globe article titled, Gap
shrinking, but women still working for less/Study cites gains; disparity lingers, 3/4/04, staff writer, Diane E.
Lewis refers to a new study presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston the previous day. She
states, “The pay gap between young men and women is smaller than it's ever been, but women still face
an uphill climb in the workplace, (according to a new study presented yesterday)”
So, while the gap is smaller, it’s still a gap…and the women are on the wrong side. However, there are
other challenges besides wages. For example:
• Many professional women on the way up still feel the need to prove themselves. Not just to
colleagues (male or female) but to themselves. These are the women you see who are totally
driven. Success at any cost. The career comes before anything else. All too often the cost is
one’s personal life.

• A vast majority of women are still attempting to do it all – have a successful career, be a fabulous
parent and spouse, run a household and still have time for other interests. How exactly do you
this? Give up sleep entirely?

Women on Wall Street and Their Hidden

Challenges
2:29 PM Wednesday April 21, 2010 | Comments ( 1)
1. Email
2. Tweet This
3. Post to Facebook
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This post was co-authored with Lauren Leader-Chivee.

The Dow is up and, in some sectors, so is hiring. According to the recent Manpower
2010 employment survey, the financial services industry reported a net employment
increase of about 14 percent in the first quarter of 2010 and anticipates an additional 9
percent increase in the second quarter.
That's not the whole story. Despite the great strides women made in the financial sector
in recent years, less than 18 percent of corporate officers and boards of directors at
Fortune 500 financial services firms are female (PDF link). The post-recession hiring
trends do not bode well for improving those numbers or for the future of equal pay for
women.
In recent boom years, 28 percent of highly qualified and successful Wall Street women
took time out for various reasons, including to care for young children or parents,
trusting that they could resume their careers a few years later. Re-entry is proving
harder than they thought. Recent data from the Center for Work-Life Policy (to be
published in the June issue of Harvard Business Review) found that 89 percent of
women who took "off-ramps" want to return to work. However, 60 percent of them don't
succeed.
The economic downturn produced a talent pool overflowing with highly qualified
candidates, both men and women, but evidence suggests that the bar for women to
reenter Wall Street is disproportionately high. Hiring managers are looking for what
Hannah Brazier, a recruiter with Russell Reynolds' Asset and Wealth Management
Practice, calls "an absolute bull's eye" in terms of experience and profile. "If you don't hit
all the elements, it's hard to be taken seriously," Brazier says.
In a recent search for an executive at a top Wall Street firm, the hiring manager
repeatedly told the recruiter that he didn't want to hire women with children as it would,
he believed, impede them from working long hours. The recruiter, who asked to remain
anonymous, felt powerless to argue with the client. "In this candidate-rich market, it's
very easy for companies to cover discriminatory hiring practices under the guise of
having found a more qualified candidate," she said.
Other talented women who left the industry — willingly or not — report that even when
they do land a job, it's extremely difficult to regain the same pay and title levels they left.
Data drawn from the recent CWLP research, including a 2009 survey, shows that the
longer a woman is out of the workforce, the worse the effect on pay. Women out of the
workforce for one to two years lose 14 percent of their earning power. For women out
three years or more, the effect is devastating: a 46 percent drop in earning power.
These high hurdles for women only compound the challenges of growing female talent
on Wall Street. Fewer high-powered women mean fewer female mentors and role
models available to younger women — making it less likely that the next generations of
female talent will climb the corporate ladder. All of this is sobering news for women
thinking about stepping out of the workforce.
While off-ramps clearly pose long-term challenges for women, there are some
companies with other alternatives. More and more, Wall Street firms are thinking about
ways to expand flexible work options as a way to help employees, especially women, to
find balance between work and home without dropping out altogether. Citi and
American Express have incorporated flex work options into their core business strategy,
offering a broad range of options to their employees. Such alternative work strategies
may be the best available option for women who want to stay on track professionally
and financially.
Wall Street needs to address this gaping hole in opportunities for women. If the industry
doesn't get it right now, when there are a number of terrifically talented women
available, it's hard to imagine things improving when the market really turns around.
Hewlett's collaborator on this post, Lauren Leader-Chivee, is a principal at SA Hewlett
Associates, leading the consulting arm of the Center for Work-Life Policy..
More on: Compensation, Gender, Hiring

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Top Ten Ways to Challenge Women to be Attracted to You

by peter white on January 18, 2010
in Outer Game,Top Lists,Understanding Women,What Women Want
Let’s take two guys and one woman. And no I’m not talking about a threesome. The first guy is
nice, accommodating, and generally lacks any real potential girlfriends in his life. The second
guy is also nice, but very busy, and has many potential girlfriends in his life. Who’s more of a
challenge?
Obviously the second guy is more of a challenge. But…
• How can you be that challenge when you don’t have a black book filled of
girlfriends to compete over you?
• How can you be a challenge when you really like a girl and want to let her
know, but everyone tells you that when a woman knows you like her too early
on, she will lose interest?
• When is it safe to let a woman know you like her without scaring her away?
• When should you let a woman know you like her before she loses interest?
and finally…
• How can you be that challenge without playing games?

You’re in luck. In this post you will not only find ten ways to challenge a
woman but also the answers to the question above.
Below is the short list and this information is dangerous so please use it responsibly.
I encourage everyone looking for the answers above to continue reading because I feel you will
not leave this page without gaining incredible knowledge on what a challenge is all about, how
to be that challenge without games, and a comfortable knoweldge of who you are and how to get
where you want to be. If not I want to hear about it below.
Top Ten Ways to Challenge Women
˜
1.) You show interest by enjoying your own life and challenging her to join you.
2). Give her just enough space to wonder what you’re doing.
3.) Tell funny stories about you and your friends, that are women.
4) Avoid answering every question she asks about you too directly.
5.) Show just enough interest to give her the opportunity to miss you.
6.) A mystery challenges the mind to want to know more.
7.) Tease her!
8.) Compete over something.
9.) Be creative. Be Murhpy’s Law and challenge yourself.
10.) Don’t be afraid to reject women the right way.
˜
I failed at being a challenge because I became too available, too accommodating, and never
teased. I thought there were player tactics. I was just too nice to use manipulative ways. I tried
to separate myself from the typical jerk having his way with women by doing the opposite.
And it never worked!
All it accomplished was manipulation from the far left of the masculinity scale, the “too nice”
side. The effect of this on any woman I interacted with was anything but a challenge. I was
the typical nice guy man-whore so to speak but I wasn’t getting laid. I was just that easy.
Now I’m not going to lie to you and tell you the answers to those questions above are easily
understood then put in practice. I’m not going to tell you that there is a solid black and white line
dividing the right answer from the wrong answer. That just wouldn’t be fair to you at all. But I
did want to talk a little about what I feel are the answers and we’ll see where that leads us.
• When is it safe to let a woman know you like her without scaring her away?
The words in this question of “letting a woman know” are very misleading. You should show
interest in her without directly making it clear you like her. Save the “I like You!” for the kids in
school. I realize that you hear women all the time saying,
“I wish men would just let me know they like me. Why do they have to play games.”
I’m blatantly telling you to ignore it and don’t let it affect your actions. The only time you should
tell her instead of showing interest is when you are in a committed stable relationship. And even
then do it sparingly.
One of the best dating coaches out there for men and women actually gives this advice to
women.
Women always want men to express their feelings. One of the biggest complaints I hear from my
women clients is:
“Why can’t he just say he loves me?” or “I wish he would just compliment me more.”
What you need to pay attention to and realize, though, is that men do tell you they love you and
compliment you … they just do it USING THEIR OWN LANGUAGE.
Actually, here’s something most experts never tell you about men: MEN SOMETIMES DON’T
USE WORDS AT ALL WHEN THEY ARE COMMUNICATING WITH YOU.
Accepting this truism about men will help you to better understand men’s verbal and non-verbal
language.
Sometimes it’s not what men say, but it’s their actions that are significant. It is necessary for
women to learn to interpret men’s very roundabout way of communicating with them.
Break New Relationship Man Code
David Wygant
You see I do firmly believe when in a long-term relationship you should verbally express your
feelings occasionally. Particularly when your girlfriend or wife is under real extreme mental or
physical stress such as death in her family. I only believe this because I feel it can be unfair at
times, to expect a woman to spend extra energy figuring you out.
With all that said. Here are the,

Top Ten Ways to Challenge Women to be Attracted to You!

1.) You show interest by enjoying your own life and challenging her to join
you.
• How can you be that challenge when you don’t have a black book filled of
girlfriends to compete over you?
Let’s say you’re just starting out increasing your dating skills because this is where it’s
toughest. Really, how can you not put too much interest in one particular woman when she is the
only potential date you have. Of course over time this will change but in the meantime this
requires control on your part. You exert control over your actions by stepping back from this
woman and not smothering her, or being needy.
2). Give her just enough space to wonder what you’re doing.
You must be strong for this. No excuses. Limit your failures but it is a must to be that challenge.
I used a little inspiration on myself everyday by writing down words like this and reading them
out loud everyday.
“The stronger I am to resist acting on that needy feeling inside me the more powerful my
masculine energy becomes.”
And women can feel this in you. It becomes part of you, naturally and there’s no manipulation
in that.
3.) Tell funny stories about you and your friends, that are women.
Yes. Go ahead and do it. But you must learn to refrain from giving unimportant information and
information that does not directly relate to the stories.
“My good friend Lisa and I were shopping and we…”
becomes
“This woman I know, Lisa. fun girl, went shopping…”
See the difference. It wasn’t important to the story that Lisa was your friend. What was more
important that you know this fun girl and had a humorous experience with her. Which actually
is better story telling anyways.
Ahhhhh Haaaaaaa!
If she has a little interest in you she will begin to wonder or even ask your relation to Lisa.
Which leads to:
4) Avoid answering every question she asks about you too directly.
This is a dangerous one. Too much won’t work. Too little is not challenging. I know must will
call this the cocky/funny response because it is. But I have found there is little room for error
which is dangerous for a someone just starting out. This is because every woman, every situation
seems to have that perfect required balance. And each man’s level seems to affect the curve in
which you can be cocky/funny.
Incidentally David DeAngelo taught me that. I theorized from going through over half his
products personally that,
The more confident you become, the more skilled you become, the less cocky you should be in
your humor. Use it rarely. You see just being funny isn’t enough to challenge a woman. So there
needs to be that cockiness to attract her. But the more confident you become the more
naturally your humor will challenge her.
• When should you let a woman know you like her before she loses
interest?
Again the words “let a woman know” confused the issue in my thinking. Everything seemed to
center around the need of letting her know so I don’t lose her. So I had to switch those words
around to find the answer.
5.) Show just enough interest to give her the opportunity to miss you.
She won’t really lose interest if she misses you and that takes care of the impossible timing of
when to let her know.
That’s really what I did in the story for Law #3. I balanced just enough mystery about what I
was doing when Alicia wasn’t there, with just enough BEING THERE for her to get that girl to
like me more than any other guy she knew.
The standard Pickup logic may not support this, but I’m here to tell you that if a person is
exposed to your presence regularly enough (but not to extremes),they will start to miss you when
you’re not around, and they will feel a burning attraction begin to build for you.
Again, this has to be done with the right method and in the right intensity, otherwise it will fizzle
out into “friendship” territory.
How to Get a Girl to Like You – The 3 Laws of Attracting Women
>Carlos Xuma
This naturally leads itself a little deeper, similar but deeper to:
6.) A mystery challenges the mind to want to know more.
Being mysterious is yes similar but separates itself by challenging her to figure you out. Tell
yourself it’s okay to not feel the need to tell her everything about you. It’s just not necessary to
blatantly a woman, or anyone for that fact, every bit of information about you.
Have you ever watched a movie where the lead character refuses to tell someone his secret even
though it would make his life easier? Have you ever sat at the end of your chair screaming at this
individual, “JUST SAY SOMETHING!” But it was in the character’s best interest to hold
certain things about himself, to himself. They were his secrets.
• <How can you be a challenge when you really like a girl and want to
let her know, but everyone tells you that when a woman knows you
like her too early on, she will lose interest?

7.) Tease her!

Yes tease her. There is no rule that says because you can do something with a woman who you
have to. Walk away once in a while.
• How can you be that challenge without playing games?
Teasing her by walking away once in a while does not have to a game that you are playing. But
when you think about it, teasing is a game. It’s a fun game that creates anticipation. This
anticipation creates a sexually challenging experiences for her. Prove to her that you have the
strength to say no. It’s very powerful and when done properly and ethically will create much
more exciting experiences for both of you.
8.) Compete over something.
Go play game with her. Challenge her through sports, quiet board games, trivia, and anything
you are not too passionate about. The whole purpose here is to have a friendly competition that
invokes a challenging experience. Just don’t be a dick when you win. And be a good loser but
don’t be afraid to raise the stakes once in while when you do lose. Challenge her some more. Just
know when to step back and stop being competitive. It’s not good for relationships, generally
speaking to be competitive. Just a few competitive experiences like a snow ball fight can set you
up as a fun challenge.
9.) Be creative. Be Murhpy’s Law and challenge yourself.
Yeah I know. Be creative. What could that possibly mean? It means to challenge her in a way
lots of men can’t. Scot McKay put it best in this quote.
When it comes to getting what you want when others want it also, the fact is that someone is
going to get what he or she wants. Someone is going to–if even by default–act as the “enforcer”
of Murphy’s Law while the others suffer under its iron fist. That someone may as well be you.
Here’s your challenge. From now on, be Murphy’s Law.
When you see that great woman online, envision all the other guys out there puzzling over what
to write her. You may even visualize all the other “Mr. Nice Guy” or “Mr. Creepy Guy” emails
flooding her inbox.
Then, without hesitation, read that woman’s profile, find what catches your eye about it,
challenge her with a creative first e-mail…and expect results. Be the guy who enthralls her
enough to make her want to hide her profile for now–even as other guys are yet in mid-sentence
typing to her.
How to Succeed With Women – BE Murphy’s Law
Scot McKay
and finally
10.) Don’t be afraid to reject women the right way.
Yes. Rejection is a big part of being a challenge. When a woman realizes that you do have high
standards and are not afraid to skillfully reject those you don’t want, you challenge her to be
better than the girl you just rejected.
• How to Reject Her

Fast Tube by Casper

Go check my page on the Wing Girls.
There you have it. Top tens ways to challenge practically any women to be attracted to you.
Have a great day everyone,
Pete

Photo Credit. Freedigital photos is not a challenged site:

Tagged as: advice, be a challenge to women, challenge, girlfriends, how to be a challenge to
women, how to challenge women, jerk, just, know, let, like, masculinity, men, mystery,
Relationships, tease, want, Woman, Women
Revised on September 15, 2010
{ 5 comments… read them below or Attractive Comments Welcome }

nazmessi October 11, 2010 at 3:40 am

I have a problem.I like this girl but i don’t know how to start….and since we both
student,we have our own life….i have no reason to meet her,talk to her and so on….i hate
to see my friends got girlfriend while i’m not…so,hopefully u can help me solve the
problem…

peter white October 12, 2010 at 8:24 am

Contact me personally Nazmessi and tell me a little more about your situation….
http://www.dialteg.com/about/contact-peter-white-owner-dialteg-tm/
You always have a reason for meeting a girl you might be interested in. Always keep in
mind though until you actually get to know her, that’s as far as your feelings should go.
You just don’t someone from sight or from friends so there’s really no pressure at all.
Challenger January 17, 2011 at 4:24 pm
I recently hooked up with my neighbor. I really like her. We have been sleeping together
for a month now and are just about to take the next step. She told my kids she was my
girlfriend and I do like her like that. The thing is I like her to much. I am scared that I am
being to nice to her. And don’t want to crowd her or hover over her. I don’t want to get
into the comfort mode. Last night I told her I loved her and I don’t know if that was a
huge mistake or not. She did say she loved me also. But I still want to challenge her. I
don’t want her to think the game is over. But because we live right next door to each
other I am afraid she wont miss me or stay curious. How am I to be mysterious in a
challenging way to make her continue to want me without making her think I am up to
something wrong or I don’t like her. Cause truth is I am crazy about her. And to make
things worse her Grandma died this morning. I told her I was here for her if she needs
me. Should I go to her place and hug her and tell her I am sorry. Or should I just sit back
and keep my distance in this time of sorrow? I hope you get back to me. Thanks

peter white January 19, 2011 at 6:53 am

Thanks Challenger.
My best assessment of you situation is you’ve already attracted her, she already said she
loves, I would keep doing whatever you’ve being doing because it worked. The idea is
not to become too predictable at this point. Don’t go switching directions on her because
you will just confuse her and make her wonder if what you said was genuine.
It sounds like you’re a little scared of screwing things up with her so you definitely need
to get yourself away from this fear as far as possible. She already has assumed she’s your
girlfriend so again, what you’re doing has worked well.
It also sounds like in your situation, with the kids and all, she’s not looking for the
greatest challenge of her life. And in the words of Carlos which I just heard coincidently,
“Men screw it up when they get the girl and then try to keep her happy. They start acting
differently to keep her and this does not work. The only thing you have to remember is
keep her attracted to you and she will be happy. ” Paraphrased of course.
Below is a few videos he just released. No signup necessary. There are not that long and I
think you’ll find at least half or may be even more of what you will relate to with regards
to your questions. In fact I think you’ll find them right on in your situation. I apologize
because I know they are a tease but again, you will learn something from them.
THE PRODUCT IS CLOSED FOR THE TIME BEING STOP BACK WHEN IT RE-
OPENS.
In the first one you’re going to hear him telling you that what you used to get her, will not
work to keep her. Please do not think that is exactly what I was talking about above. Most
guys screw it up here because they believe what attracted her was his pick up or his
ability to bring her close with his cocky/funny attitude. That may draw her in to learn
more but what’s going to get her closer is being a strong man who takes charge in his life.
Not hers. But his. His confidence. His masculinity. His mature ability to maintain a
wonderfully exciting family life.
 And that is what she is really attracted to in the end. And that is what you should not stop
doing. Don’t just start kissing her ass because you feel you’re going to lose her.
Unpredictable sparingly used romance is okay now but she wants the man she fell in love
with. As long as you were a challenge in the first place she believes she got you and so
will continually test you on those levels. She wants to know you’re strong enough to stay
the course and not back down from being the strong man she fell in love with.
Now she already knows you’re attracted to her. She already knows you love her. But
relationships are a two way street. You should be thinking she has to keep you around.
That’s how you stay that challenge.
I’m a firm believer the best relationships are built by two complete people who have
found someone to enhance their lives. If you stay away from trying to complete her and
just enhance her life she will feel independent no matter how close she lives by. Vice
versa that strong man in you should expect the same from her. If she continually tries to
complete you challenge her on it and demand nicely you are a complete man and just
want someone to enhance your life.
About her grandmother:
Just keep reassuring her she has a shoulder to cry on when she needs it and be there when
she hints she needs it. That’s all you can really do in that situation.
I hope I’ve helped you a little and feel free to write me back. I will get back as quickly as
I can.
Good luck. I hope you get to experience a wonderful fulfilling relationship,
Pete

peter white January 19, 2011 at 7:08 am

In the world of relationships women do want stability which can be a little predictable but
try to think of it more as just that, stability. You can be unpredictable during romance,
intercourse, and the things you do together to keep things fun and exciting. Remember as
I’ve said so many times before it’s about having fun.
You might run into a space issue because you do live next door to each other but you
know you can use this to your advantage. You can call her up one day, instead of going
over to her and play a little. Tell her all about this new neighbor you’ve met recently that
really turns you on. Tell her one day you plan on building a tunnel between the two of
you so you can see each other more often. Jokingly of course. Call her up and tell her you
wished you two lived closer because the distance is getting to you. There’s a never
ending sequence of flirts you can use here.
Try not to confuse getting comfortable with being needy. Again being comfortable in a
relationship is very important. When it starts to feel like work or you find yourself
working too hard to give her space she’ll fell you pushing away and this is not the
confusion that helps a relationship.
Comfort is good, neediness is not.
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Egypt in Turmoil
NewsHour Coverage and Analysis of the Cairo Protests
Health Posted: Jan. 18, 2011, 3:35 p.m. ET
Violence Against Women Among Challenges in Haiti
Human rights groups are calling for more security measures in the tent camps of
Port-au-Prince to reduce the number of rapes and incidents of sexual violence.

Woman in Port-au-Prince tent camp. NewsHour photo.

BY TALEA MILLER
Among the many hardships facing the more than one million Haitians still living in
tent camps after the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake is the threat of sexual violence.
While there are differing accounts of how widespread rape is in the camps of Port-
au-Prince, most analysts agree that sexual violence in Haiti has been exacerbated
by the conditions in tent camps.
IN-DEPTH COVERAGE
Global Health Watch

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Amnesty International reported this month that the risk of rape for women living in
camps has increased dramatically over the past year. The organization consulted
grassroots groups working with women on the ground and interviewed more than
50 victims.
“Women and girls are in a situation of extreme vulnerability [in the camps],
especially the girls without the protective measures like school or a safe place to
play,” Ducos said. The attackers, he said, are usually groups of young men roaming
camps looking for victims.
But Sylvie van den Wildenberg with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
(MINUSTAH) said sexual violence in the camps has decreased since the early
months after the quake with the implementation of security measures. Regular
patrols by MINUSTAH and the Haitian police were put in place to reign in crime and
more lighting in the camps was added.
"Sexual violence was already a structural problem in the society, that is what we
found out from the testimonies of the women in the camp," van den Wildenberg
said. "Yes, it was exacerbated by the earthquake and the situation in the camps,
but in the camps now it's reduced and I would say the women in the camps now are
better protected than some of the women in other areas."
The number of rapes that have taken place in the camps is unknown – the new
report does not include an estimate but says hundreds of cases have been
reported--and data on sexual crimes prior to the earthquake is also sporadic, says
Emmanuelle Schneider, spokesperson for the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs in Haiti.
However, Schneider acknowledged that patrols are not set up for all of the more
than 1,100 camps in and around Port-au-Prince, and that camps that are more
informal and not as well serviced by aid organizations could be more vulnerable.
Amnesty International called for beefing up and expanding the current security
measures, as well as encouraging community involvement in cutting down the
crimes and full prosecution of perpetrators.
Madre, an international women’s rights group based in the United States, said its
sister organization in Haiti, the Commission of Women Victims for Victims, has
documented more than 300 rapes in 22 camps it has worked in since the quake.
Many women are scared to come forward for medical help or to pursue prosecution,
said Madre's human rights advocacy director Lisa Davis. But the organization has
observed that attackers are becoming more brazen and are acting with impunity
because so few cases end in a conviction.
“A woman was pulled into a car in broad daylight by five men, so we are starting to
see women raped during the day on the streets in front of people,” Davis said.
One of the rape survivors Amnesty International interviewed, ‘Denise," told
researchers she would have preferred to die in the earthquake instead of
experiencing what she did.
“On 10 June, I was sleeping under my tarp shelter when three men ripped it, came
in and raped me,” she told researchers “These men came to the camp to do just
that. A young girl from the camp was also raped.”
On Wednesday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued
recommendations to the Haitian government to take immediate action to prevent
sexual violence against women and girls in the camps. The petition was submitted
by Madre and other women’s rights advocacy groups, who will now use the decision
to advocate action by the United Nations.
Amnesty also hopes the United Nations will start to expand its response to the
issue.
“What we are recommending is that the government and the U.N. system and other
humanitarian organizations make prevention and response to sexual violence a
priority as part of the humanitarian response,” Amnesty's Ducos said. “There is no
alternative for these women and girls”
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 Regina 2 weeks ago
I totally agree with Cyrus. The USA were always looked upon as the leader of the
world, or maybe in Asia's perception. But USA should really increase the security
measures in Haiti.
Flag
Like ReplyReply

Cyrus Potts 2 weeks ago

I really think that those woman and young girls over in Haiti shouldn't have to go
throught what they are going through over in Haiti. We as Americans should really
do something about that situation over in Haiti. We battle in wars, like Vetnam , the
Golf war at Desert Storm, and came out on top. I'am pertty sure we have troops we
can send over in Haiti to help our Neighbors out. Let's Help Haiti Get Rid OF Those
Bad Guys, Let's Help Rebuild Haiti.
I know they are not our responsibility, But isn't this world suppose to be a peaceful
place to live in?
cyruspotts57@yahoo.com
Tell me what you think
Thanks Cyrus
Flag
Like ReplyReply

Mary 3 weeks ago

praying for them
Flag
Like ReplyReply
Reactions

Pinensikwe 2 weeks ago

From twitter via BackType

Violence Against Women Among Challenges in Haiti http://ow.ly/3IM7Q via @PBS
#vaw #women

calherbemonel 2 weeks ago

From twitter via BackType

Violence Against Women Among Challenges in Haiti
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/health/jan-june11/women_01-07.html
 babydocdo 2 weeks ago

From twitter via 6 more retweets from mefime369 kiloerg

BackType CreativeVictual Show all
RT @NewsHour: A rape survivor told researchers she would have preferred to die in
the earthquake http://ow.ly/3GyTK #Haiti

NewsHour 2 weeks ago

From twitter via BackType

A rape survivor told researchers she would have preferred to die in the earthquake
http://ow.ly/3GyTK #Haiti
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focus on nanomechanics and the processing and no more than two times for any one
characterization of nanocrystalline materials. faculty member. Riskin said such
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Despite her accomplishments, when a group of available at UW and many other
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they waited patiently for “Dr. Hodge” to arrive. The there is a stigma attached to taking
catch was, Hodge was already there. They had seen her, advantage of such options.
but assumed she was a secretary. “It had not occurred “What we’re focusing on now is
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chairs know that they might have to
be proactive in asking a woman,
Hodge, a 2004 TMS Young Leader Intern from the Structural Materials Division, laughs when
she tells that story. She laughs when she talks about the men who did not want her in study
groups as an undergraduate—“I thought, ‘Fine, then I’ll ruin the curve for you.’” She jokes about
choosing whether to have a family or a career in science, and about male subordinates
challenging her authority.
For every anecdote about a gender-specific hurdle she has overcome, Hodge can offer a punch
line. Yet the issues she faced could be seen as more than one woman’s humorous life stories.
Many are examples of challenges, from subtle assumptions made by individuals to systemic
difficulties imposed by institutions, that are thought to be deterring capable women from careers
in the sciences.
Those challenges were pushed into the media spotlight in January when the president of Harvard
University offered his own theories for the imbalance of men versus women in science and
engineering, particularly in universities. In short, Lawrence H. Summers stated in a speech that
women, unlike men, were reluctant to commit to an 80-hour work week; that women had less
aptitude for science and math than men; and that socialization and continued discrimination
perpetuate the first two situations (for the full text of the speech go to
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is at www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/2005/womensci.html).
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Harvard community. It was, apparently, a discussion whose time had come.
“I think what he did was, in a really curious way, a great service,” said Alice Hogan of the
National Science Foundation (NSF). Hogan, who was in the audience when Summers gave his
controversial speech, directs a program that is working to improve the status of women in
science and engineering. When the leader of one of the most prestigious universities in the
United States, in an unguarded moment, questioned the scientific abilities and passions of
women, Hogan said, he opened the door to questions about obstacles women such as Hodge face
in the sciences. “If that’s the kind of stuff that someone like that is thinking, you have to wonder
how many people are thinking the same thing,” she said.

ON THE HORIZON: A NEW MAJORITY

Hodge’s tales of succeeding in a man’s world may be humorous, but no one was laughing after
Summers made his comments in January at the National Bureau of Economic Research
Conference on Diversifying the Science and Engineering Workforce. People were talking,
however, and in the opinion of Jong-on Hahm, discussion on the topic is desperately needed.
Hahm is director of the U.S. National Research Council Committee on Women in Science and
Engineering.
She recently compiled some data that points to a changing landscape in the U.S. science and
engineering community: Between 1966 and 2001, the number of women earning science and
engineering degrees at all levels of education has increased. As of 2001, women were receiving
half of all science and engineering bachelors degrees, while the number of bachelors degrees in
science and engineering for men has hovered around the same number since 1976 (Figure 1).
At the graduate-school level, the number of female students rose over the years to 41 percent of
science and engineering degree recipients in 2001 and 37 percent of the doctoral degree
recipients. Meanwhile, the number of male students earning science and engineering doctoral
degrees dropped between 1996 and 2001 (Figure 2). Employment numbers, however, have not
caught up with the degrees. As of 2001, 26 percent of employed doctorate holders were women.
The numbers tell their own story and society needs to listen, Hamh believes. “Women are the
growth area,” she said. “Men—Caucasian men—have not been going into science and
engineering. The proportion has been falling. The only growth is in women’s degrees.
Regardless of what happens or what people like or what they’re used to, the majority are going to
be women. Look, it’s going to happen, get ready for it.”
Ph.D. degrees are considered entrees into a life of university-backed research and teaching. Yet,
some common roadblocks have been found to steer women away from such careers. One
significant obstacle is a system that compels women such as Hodge to choose between family
and career. Universities traditionally do not make the decision easy. To earn tenure, a candidate
must dedicate long hours to research, grant writing, publishing, and teaching, leaving little time
for anything else.
Hodge, who is 31, cannot envision children fitting into such a schedule. “It’s a hard issue,” she
said.
“Myself, I’m looking at going into academia, and if that’s what I’m going to do, that’s all I’m
going to do in order to even make it. Maybe the best option if I want to do well is don’t have any
children at all. It’s unfortunate but that’s how it works.” If she did have children and wanted to
maintain her career, Hodge believes, her husband would have to assume most of the family
responsibilities, which to her is an unappealing option. Hodge’s story is a familiar one for people
in academia.
“That’s a terrible dilemma to be in,” Hahm said. “It’s almost like the one-child rule in China. No
one should be in a position of forcing people to make these choices, especially after taxpayers
have invested so much money in their training and education.”
Some universities are trying to offer alternatives that will keep women in the full-time workforce
—longer breaks for people who have children and more flexible tenure tracks, among them. But
if women take advantage of those options, many fear they will pay a price in career
advancement, Alice Hogan said. Hogan is program director for the NSF’s Advance Program for
Institutional Transformation, which was begun in 2001 to increase participation of women in the
science and engineering workforce, particularly in academic settings.
“A lot of universities have family-friendly policies, but if you use them it’s seen as you just can’t
cut it,” she said. “There is a stigma attached.”

THE SUBTLE SETBACKS

Much has been reported in recent years about quantifiable roadblocks to success for women in
science and engineering—lower salaries, fewer promotions, and fewer leadership appointments
have been documented in numerous studies. Harder to prove are more subtle difficulties women
encounter in a male-dominated field such as material science. Just by nature of being in a
minority, women in such disciplines stand out more than their male counterparts, which can
make their mistakes seem accentuated, said Alissa Johnson, winner of the TMS 2005 J. Keith
Brimacombe Presidential Scholarship. Johnson is one of the few women in her undergraduate
materials science program at the University of Wisconsin.
Although her department chair is a woman, she has had few female professors in her major.
Overall, Johnson said she has been treated as an equal by male professors and students. Still, she
has been a bit reluctant to take risks in class. “I guess I found myself not wanting to ask dumb
questions,” she said.
In addition, as universities look to increase the number of women participating in their programs,
Johnson at times doubts the validity of the honors she earns. “I kind of question when I do get
awards, and I do get into schools . . . am I more qualified or does it make their numbers look
better?”
In the business world, Hodge has found a resistance by men to refer to her with “Dr.” in front of
her name. Toni Marechaux, a TMS member and director of the National Academies’ Board on
Manufacturing and Engineering Design in Washington, D.C., often is assumed to be a secretary
by callers who expect that “Toni” should be a man. Julia Weertman, one of two female TMS
fellows, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and long-time professor of
materials science at Northwestern University, finds that men tend to interrupt female colleagues
more than they do each other.
These minor incidents could be illustrative of an unintentional mindset discussed by Virginia
Valian in her 1998 book, Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women, published by MIT Press.
Valian, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Linguistics at Hunter College and the
Graduate Center of the City University of New York, noted that subtle differences in how
women are perceived can affect women’s progress in business and academia.
In a January 31, 2005, letter to The New York Times, Valian pointed to recent research in which a
group of people were asked to evaluate an assistant vice president in an aircraft company. They
were given background information about the company, the person, and the job. Only the
genders of the applicants differed. The outcome: with identical information in hand, the group
rated male applicants as more competent than the women.
“The finding that emerges from the research, in experiment after experiment, is that bias is a
problem not because it is deliberate, but because it is the outcome of assumptions of which we
are not consciously aware,” Valian wrote. “That bias generally gives men the benefit of the
doubt.”

TITLE IX—NOT JUST FOR ATHLETES

In academia, when more athletic opportunities are being extended to men than women, schools
have to equalize their offerings or risk being found in violation of Title IX—the federal law that
in 1972 was passed to stop sex discrimination in schools receiving federal assistance for
educational programs or activities.
Although the law generated more girl’s soccer teams and better softball fields across the United
States, it did little for science and engineering programs. The law was originally written to
broadly encompass all activities, including hiring practices, at institutions such as public schools
and universities that receive federal grant money, Hahm said. In the near future, Title IX may be
invoked for just such a purpose. At the request of U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Barbara Boxer, the
U.S. Government Accountability Office released a study in July 2004 titled “Gender Issues:
Women’s Participation in the Sciences has Increased, but Agencies Need to Do More to Ensure
Compliance with Title IX.”
The study focused on recipients of grants through the U.S. Department of Education, Department
of Energy, NASA, and NSF. Those agencies are conduits for billions of dollars each year for
mathematics, engineering, and science grants and projects, according to the report.
The study concluded that institutions receiving that funding are not doing enough to promote
equality in their ranks. “Our review of federal science agencies’ oversight for Title IX suggests
that much of the leverage afforded by the law lies underutilized in the science arena, even as
several billion dollars are spent each year on federal science grants,” the report stated.
The report recommended closer review of compliance by grant recipients. “A more aggressive
exercise of the oversight on the part of agencies that wield enormous influence in the world of
science funding—Energy, NASA, and NSF—would provide an opportunity to strengthen the
goal of Title IX and enable this legislation to better achieve intended results,” the report
concluded.
In January, Wyden wrote a letter to President George Bush encouraging the use of Title IX in the
coming presidential term.
“Before Title IX, one in 17 girls in school played sports,” he wrote. “Now, it’s one in 2.5, or 40
percent. Imagine if those same changes could be seen in math, science, and engineering from the
20 percent of science undergraduates who are women today, to 40 percent or even 50 percent.
From the six percent of engineering professors who are women today to 40 percent.” “The
potential of Title IX is enormous,” Wyden continued. “Enforcing it in these fields (math, science,
and engineering) could revolutionize the study and application of math and science in this
country.”

CONCLUSION
Laws that enforce equality in the workplace are important, many agree. Critical, it seems, are
parents who encourage their children to pursue their passions. Marechaux and Johnson reported
that their parents early on removed any barriers to achievement. Both were told they could be
whatever they wanted to be, and they believed it. Hodge said she attended an all-girls’ school
where gender was never an issue. Likewise, Weertman’s parents were fully supportive of her—
with one gender-neutral caveat. “My parents always left me with the feeling I could do anything
I wanted to do, as long as I didn’t catch cold,” she said.
That belief served Weertman well. When she began her career in materials science, there were
no female role models or professors. Now, at 79, Weertman is an esteemed member of the
materials science community, as well as a role model and professor. She continues to work in her
retirement, paring her hours to just 50 or 60 a week, she says. She discusses the schedule with no
complaints.
Marechaux’ mother told her she could even be a nuclear physicist one day, if she so desired.
Marechaux proved her mother right. She did her masters degree—polistron annihilation in nickel
—in nuclear physics. Now, Marechaux sleeps with a handheld computer under her pillow. If she
wakes up with a thought about one of the many projects she is working on, she can type it
quickly so it will not be lost. Her work and social life blend so that she is rarely off duty. A self-
proclaimed workaholic, Marechaux cannot imagine the 9-to-5 lifestyle she has heard about from
friends.
Hodge said she was raised with few gender-based expectations. Strong in math, she gravitated
toward materials science in college. Now, she works 60 to 70 hours a week in the lab, making
time for sleep and little else. She envisions a life in science, and as perplexed as she is by
limitations the work imposes on her personal life, she would not choose anything else. “I think
the life of a scientist is a beautiful life,” Hodge said. And this time, she was not laughing.
Some times sports are just sports. Like the Super Bowl this weekend, they can be fun to watch and don't mean much.
Sometimes though, sports serve as a platform for a greater cause. I'm reminded of this because the day before the
Super Bowl, February 5, was the one-year anniversary of Brendan Burke's tragic and untimely death. Burke died
skidding on an icy Indiana road and crashing into an oncoming Ford truck, but his unique and unusual legacy is still
felt strongly in the National Hockey League community and beyond.
Burke was a varsity goaltender in high school, but quit the team before graduation. He went on to become the student
manager of the University of Miami hockey team. Until November 2009, his only real claim to widespread hockey
fame was as the son of the more famous Burke: Brian, the current GM of the Maple Leafs and architect of the 2007
Stanley Cup winning Anaheim Ducks.
Brendan became famous in his own right, partly still due to his connection to his father, but also as a gay advocate in
hockey. Growing up in the world of hockey, which can be a homophobic culture at times, Brendan quit his high school
team for fear his teammates would find out he was gay. Since coming out in his sophomore year at the University of
Miami and finding tremendous support from both his family and hockey team, Brendan decided to spread his story.
Brendan's efforts, impressive as they were, won't be remembered in the same way as Jackie Robinson breaking the
colour barrier or Muhammad Ali declaring himself a pacifist, simply because Burke was no star of the game. But for
every Robinson, for every Ali, there's a precursor, someone of lesser stature who paves the way forward. In baseball,
60 years before Robinson took the field, there was Moses Fleetwood Walker, a middling catcher for the now-defunct
American Association, the real first African-American to play professional baseball.
Still, Burke's experience and the media reaction it spawned shows that the time for another watershed moment in
sports is drawing near. Soon, there will likely be an openly gay athlete in one of the "Big Four" (NHL, MLB, NBA, and
NFL). And, even though hockey is behind in many ways (no retired hockey player has ever come out, the locker room
culture is often perceived as homophobic), my money is still on the NHL, Canada's league, to produce the first.
There have been numerous gay athletes in baseball, hockey, football, and basketball, and some have even come out
publicly after retiring, but none were openly gay during their playing careers. Glenn Burke, no relation to Brian and
Brendan, the man known for popularizing the high-five after home runs in baseball, has said that both his teammates
and team management were aware of his sexual orientation, and that this played a role in prematurely ending his
career. Still, it's unclear in Glenn's case to what degree knowledge of his sexuality was public.
It's possible that a hockey player will go much further than Glenn Burke ever did, and will come out, not only to
teammates and management, but to the entire media circus. It'll be tough to do, and only a superior player or a
person of superior character will be able to do it—the former because he won't have to fear losing his job, and the
latter because he'll take the risk for a greater cause. Hockey players, for all their "pugnacity, testosterone, truculence,
and belligerence" are still mostly Canadian kids. And my assumption for Canadians is a higher degree of tolerance
than found elsewhere. As recently out journalist Steve Buckley said in an interview with The Good Men Project,
"[R]eading all these emails in the last couple weeks, everybody's got a lesbian sister. Everyone's got a nephew who
is gay. Everyone's got somebody in their lives who's gay. And it's not a question. People say, ‘Well, can a Major
League baseball player be out? Would his teammates accept him?' And that misses the point. It's not a question of
whether those teammates will accept him. It's a question of whether those teammates have already accepted other
people in their lives who are gay or lesbian or transgendered."
Furthermore, Sean Avery, widely regarded as one of the bigger meatheads in professional hockey, has expressed on
record his solidarity with any youths who love hockey but are afraid to come out to their teammates. If Avery can
show this kind of tolerance, anybody can. I have a lot of faith in Canada, and in hockey as a result, to follow in the
trail Brendan began to blaze and bring down the next major prejudice in sports

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Home > Student > Career Planning > Getting a Job
Employment law: Will old prejudices die hard?
Later this year it will be illegal for employers to discriminate on age grounds. Are they ready?
Kate Hilpern reports
Thursday, 2 February 2006
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Age discrimination regulations are the biggest piece of legislation to hit the UK this decade.
Come 1 October this year, employers must ensure that all areas of the employment cycle -
recruitment, training and development, promotion, redundancy and retirement - operate age-
neutral policies. So how prepared are businesses?
Not very, if a number of new studies are anything to go by. One of the biggest pieces of recent
research, commissioned by employment law experts Croner, found that ageism is considered
more socially acceptable than other prejudices, such as race and religion. Respondents to the
study, all employees aged in their thirties to fifties, thought that certain jobs in their company
came with an age tag and even if they didn't agree with this in principle, they accepted it as the
"way it has always been".
"Our exploratory study has shown we have a long way to go in addressing age-related prejudice
and has highlighted the uniqueness and enormous scope of this legislation," says Christopher
Mellor, head of the Croner businesses. "Age is the poor relation in the equality debate and
ageism is worryingly not seen by employees as a workplace crime."
Damaging attitudes are present even at the very top of organisations, according to another study
by law firm Eversheds and Cranfield School of Management. They found that only 20 per cent
of organisations have done any preparation for the legislation prior to the October deadline, and a
further 20 per cent believe their executive board is not committed to eliminating ageism.
"The main problem is that age discrimination in the UK seems to be a natural state of mind,"
says Shaun Tyson, professor of HR management at Cranfield School of Management. "There are
very deep and ingrained attitudes among managers. There is also the common notion of
'attributional bias', such as linking a lack of physical fitness with senility."
HR managers - the very people charged with wiping out workplace discrimination of all kinds -
are not immune to ageism. Cranfield's study shows that nearly a third regard older workers as
unreliable, unskilled and less adaptable to change. Meanwhile, younger staff are seen as the main
culprits for taking sick leave and being less loyal to an organisation.
This should serve as a reminder to employers that it's not just older people who can face age
discrimination, says Sam Mercer, director of the Employers Forum on Age (EFA). "Age
discrimination is unique in discrimination legislation because it can affect anybody of any age,"
she says. "In fact, if the assumption is that it's all about older people, employers may become so
busy focusing on not discriminating against the over fifties that they will miss out on ensuring
younger people don't suffer."
She provides the example of an employer asking for three, four or more years' previous
experience. "Employers need to be sure that they really need that level of experience, otherwise
they could be indirectly discriminating against younger people. I know some people say this is
ridiculous, but there is a huge issue with young people not being able to get jobs because they
don't have the experience and they get stuck in a Catch-22," says Mercer.
Every area of employment will be affected by the new legislation, she says. "So employers
should waste no time in auditing all their employment procedures and getting rid of age bias
wherever possible - not forgetting procedures where there is an indirect age bias."
The other big piece of work that employers should embark on immediately is culture change,
says Mercer. "Employers have until October to make ageism as bad as sexism or racism. If you
think about how culturally acceptable ageism still is, this is a huge task. You can have the best
policies in the world, but if a manager isn't implementing them properly, you'll get into trouble."
The book retailer Borders has been busy focusing on both these areas, says one of its HR
managers, Anna Lloyd: "We are trying to create a culture that recognises the benefits that people
of all ages bring to the company. That's not just because of the forthcoming legislation, but
because it makes good business sense. If we mirror our customer base, we will obviously be
more successful."
Among the recent changes Borders has made to its procedures is eradicating a policy that only
allowed people 17 and over to apply for a job. "The view around young people is often that they
won't be committed to the job, or they'll be late all the time because they go out a lot," says
Lloyd. "But our operations director pointed out that someone gave him a job at 16, and he doesn't
know where he'd be otherwise."
Borders has told the recruitment agencies it uses not to include an age on a CV or its application
form. Borders has removed the section on "qualifications for jobs where they are not seen as
relevant. "Qualifications can be an indicator of age, and we know that even if people don't want
to make assumptions about people based on age, they can do so subconsciously. This just
removes that risk."
Like many companies in the UK, while Borders supports the new legislation, it does have some
concerns about the lack of clarity on certain issues. "There are still no government guidelines on
statutory redundancy, for instance," says Lloyd.
Simon Briault, spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses, agrees. "The proposals are
pretty badly drafted and leave a lot of unanswered questions," he says. "For example, at one
point it says discrimination will not be justified merely because it may be more expensive not to
discriminate. But only a few paragraphs later it says that economic factors - such as business
needs and considerations of efficiency - may be legitimate aims. For small employers,
minimising expense is completely and inextricably linked to business need, so the wording is
ambiguous."
With the final regulations and guidance not expected until the spring, it's not surprising that
many employers report feeling "anxious" and "desperate" - particularly since in Ireland, which
has had age discrimination legislation in place since 1998, 22 per cent of all discrimination cases
are brought on age grounds.
But, says the EFA, the gist of the legislation is already clear. The main thing to ask yourself with
any policy where age is seen as relevant is, "Can you justify it?". Nine times out of 10, believes
the EFA, you won't be able to.
It's not as if no help is at hand. The conciliation service ACAS is busy putting together guidance
for employers and last November, the EFA held the Essential Age Conference, where companies
were invited to join leading UK employers, lawyers and opinion-formers to learn about age
discrimination at work. Meanwhile, the Age Partnership Group (APG) exists to provide
employers with information to help them prepare. Its website, along with those of Age Positive,
EFA and others (see below) are valuable information sources, with plenty of case studies.
According to the Chartered Management Institute, six out of 10 people say they have been
personally disadvantaged at work because of their age. This, believes Laura Williams, a
researcher at the Work Foundation, is why companies should welcome the legislation. "In fact,
I'd be concerned if they just meet the legislation and don't go beyond it," she says. "This is a real
opportunity to make changes that will benefit the business as a whole."
Further information:
www.agepositive.gov.uk
www.agepositive.gov.uk/agepartnershipgroup
www.efa.org.uk
www.managers.org.uk
THE BIG COMPANY: 'Society isn't made up of one age group'
Caroline Waters is director of people and policy for the BT group, which employs 102,000 staff.
BT was a founding member of the Employers Forum on Age and we've been taking seriously the
issue of age discrimination for a long time. For example, it's been over 10 years since BT had
any age restrictions in recruitment or training policy. As we get closer to the day when the
legislation arrives, we've been doing even more. For instance, we have looked at the employee
life-cycle and taken positive action to ensure everyone of every age is as fulfilled as they can be.
The business benefits are clear. Society isn't made up of one particular age group - it's incredibly
diverse. If you have people reflecting that diversity, you have a much better opportunity of
understanding the needs of your customers. We've also found that if you cast aside stereotypes
like "old people don't learn" and "young people are irresponsible", then you really benefit. Some
of our most critical innovators are older people, while some of our best call centre handlers are
young people. It just goes to show that if you don't pigeon-hole people, your business can be
more successful.
Since we've engaged with employees of various ages on their views on products and services, we
have got an additional degree of understanding about how those age groups outside the company
might receive what we're doing. Age diversity is not just an employment issue, it can inform
your whole strategy. We fully support the legislation, although if I had one concern, it would be
that we could do with more clarity and more guidance about what will actually count as
discrimination.
THE SMALL COMPANY: 'Our oldest worker is 78'
Alex Pringle is managing director of Scotguide, which runs open-top sightseeing buses in
Glasgow, as well as guided tours throughout Scotland. In high season, Scotguide employs 70
staff.
Our emphasis on being age diverse started when we realised our staff retention rate, which is
around 95 per cent, meant a lot of our employees were getting older. The problem was that when
we were faced with serious competition, they didn't want to know. Young people, however, are
more likely to accept competition as part of the job and many enjoy it. Now, our younger staff
tend to take the jobs where facing the competition is key.
Being age positive has been beneficial in other ways too. Employees can, on merit, move up to
the more sophisticated and demanding tours, providing they undergo the relevant training.
Conversely, they can stay with the less demanding tours. This is particularly helpful if an
employee decides they want to work less intensively as they get older. Indeed, the reality is that
our young people tend to like going on seven-day trips, whereas the older ones tend not to.
Being age diverse helps us to meet our staff's needs. Many of the older people tend to want to do
two or three days a week, while the younger ones tend to want the 40-hour week. Employing a
range of ages means we can try to suit everyone. Crucially, whether people come to us at 25 or
55, they have the same opportunities - it's up to them which ones they take up - and because there
is no official retirement policy, everyone is encouraged to work as long as they want. Our oldest
worker is 78.
We are flexible as a business and we have fewer people on standby. It is an economic benefit to
us.
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Stop pretending women can’t be old and sexual

The age-old prejudices about women and the menopause are
sexist and outdated
BY RACHEL JOHNSON
LAST UPDATED 12:52 PM, MARCH 19, 2009
Share

L ouise Foxcroft is soooo right. There's a whole steaming pile of negative assumptions about the

menopause out there. For example, when I was invited to write this piece, it was all I could do not to
snap, "Oh, so you think I'm a whiskery old trout, do you?" to the poor bloke who asked. I wanted to
make it crystal clear that I have not yet entered the neighbourhood of the, uh, "change", and do not
expect to, thank you very much, for many more moons yet.
Which tells us a lot. The menopause - which entered the medical textbooks as late as the 18th-
century, something which suggests that before that, women simply got on with it - is simply the
cessation of monthly periods, mostly between the ages of 45 to 55. And yet it's not, is it? It's so much
more.
And as society gets increasingly resistant to the whole sorry business of women aging - men mature
like fine wine, woman merely get shockingly old: just check out the vicious treatment meted out to
Madonna for snagging a 22-year-old toyboy called Jesus - it becomes a bigger deal all
the time.

Men ‘mature’ like fine wine, but women are supposed to stay hot and foxy
It is this clammy reality that lies at the heart of Louise Foxcroft's fine and sympathetic study, Hot
Flushes, Cold Science (Granta, £14.99), which is so much more than a book about the end of
something. No: it's about how women are primarily judged by their age, and by their appearance.
Women are supposed to be hot, foxy, and look like their daughters and so on, as we know. When their
monthly periods cease to act as a metronome of their nubility, however, then the passage of time is
impossible to gloss over - even if a woman has HRT, Botox, a dewy skin and the upper arms of
Michelle Obama.
 This explains the glut of books telling women how to "survive" with the secret or silent process, as if it
were a battle against some sneaky, cancerous enemy rather than a benign phase that all females will,
at some time, face. A man is only old when he's on a Zimmer. Yet a woman is defined as "old" as soon
as her ovaries shut up shop – even if she's as peppy as all get out. That's not fair.

Post-menopausal women are treated by the media like the witches in Macbeth
No wonder, frankly, that the loss of fertility as flagged by the menopause has come to be dreaded
almost as much as death itself. Post-menopausal women are treated like the witches in Macbeth by
most (male) writers, portrayed with sprouting, warty chins, fat thighs, and a criminal lack of
peachiness.
Hot Flushes, Cold Science made me realise that my own kneejerk reaction to the ostensibly unsexy
subject was - in its way - just as bad as that of male doctors, the medicine men who gave women to
believe that as soon as they were short on oestrogen, they had outlived their usefulness as human
beings.
Which just goes to prove how ingrained prejudice is. I loathe the ageist treatment meted out to
women over the age of 50 who dare to be sexual, and reading Foxcroft made me realise how
pernicious it is. And it's daft. One third of Western women are in menopause, and this very ordinary
life event will affect one half of the entire population of the planet. It will happen to us all. So please,
let's agree on one thing. Women should be allowed a meno-Porsche too. I'm certainly going to have
one, when it's time for the change.
Filed under: Menopause, Rachel Johnson, Women
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Comments
Hide comments
Too right. I dreaded the menopause expecting all kinds of horrific symptoms from sexual dysfunction to osteoporosis and
instant haggery. To my surprise it just happened with very little problem and I look much the same as I ever did, sex is
just the same and the great thing is - no more bloody monthlies and no more wondering every month whether you might
be pregnant no matter if you took precautions it could still happen. The children are grown up, I can do what I want, its a
sweet time for a woman.
Posted by Hilary Easton at 3:26pm on March 20, 2009

A man of fifty plus dating a 22 year old woman would be criticised for baby snatching, yet the writer describes Madonna as
'snagging a 22-year-old toyboy', double standards anyone?
Posted by foolonthehill at 11:29am on March 23, 2009

Dear Peter, SOME people would criticize the man of fifty for dating the 22 year old but many would say good on him. It is
standard proceedure for older men to have younger women, since older men are not seen as losing attractiveness in the
same way as women. Would you disagree with this? I have looked on numerous online dating websites and the majority of
older men say they are looking for women 10 or 20 years younger than them, it is rare for them to say age doesnt matter,
but quite usual for women. There is a double standard right enough, but it is quite the other way! I suspect MOST people
jeer at Madonna for getting involved with someone so much younger but some say good on her.
Posted by Hilary Easton at 12:10pm on March 23, 2009

At least men don't go buying babies in Africa from menopausal need. For toyboy read male prostitute, let's have some
equality here! The 'attractiveness' is usually linked to money, thus rich men can and do buy younger women because they
can, thus with Madonna, but don't crow about it as if it's some kind of triumph for gender equality.
Posted by foolonthehill at 10:59am on March 30, 2009

Innumerable studies have pointed out something we all know anyway: women are most attractive between the ages of
about 17-25 - just the age when they are most fecund (surprise, surprise). Men, whose (much more minor) fertility
problems kick in later, are attractive until much older. I'm sorry to have to point out this unfair biological fact, most
ungentlemanly of me, but if you will bring up the subject...
Posted by James Waldron at 12:17pm on April 5, 2009

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Advertisement

The age-old prejudices about women and the menopause are

sexist and outdated
By Rachel Johnson
LAST UPDATED 12:52 PM, MARCH 19, 2009
Share

L ouise Foxcroft is soooo right. There's a whole steaming pile of negative assumptions about
the menopause out there. For example, when I was invited to write this piece, it was all I could
do not to snap, "Oh, so you think I'm a whiskery old trout, do you?" to the poor bloke who asked.
I wanted to make it crystal clear that I have not yet entered the neighbourhood of the, uh,
"change", and do not expect to, thank you very much, for many more moons yet.
Which tells us a lot. The menopause - which entered the medical textbooks as late as the 18th-
century, something which suggests that before that, women simply got on with it - is simply the
cessation of monthly periods, mostly between the ages of 45 to 55. And yet it's not, is it? It's so
much more.
And as society gets increasingly resistant to the whole sorry business of women aging - men
mature like fine wine, woman merely get shockingly old: just check out the vicious treatment
meted out to Madonna for snagging a 22-year-old toyboy called Jesus - it becomes a bigger deal
all
the time.
Men ‘mature’ like fine wine, but women are supposed to stay hot and foxy
It is this clammy reality that lies at the heart of Louise Foxcroft's fine and sympathetic study, Hot
Flushes, Cold Science (Granta, £14.99), which is so much more than a book about the end of
something. No: it's about how women are primarily judged by their age, and by their appearance.
Women are supposed to be hot, foxy, and look like their daughters and so on, as we know. When
their monthly periods cease to act as a metronome of their nubility, however, then the passage of
time is impossible to gloss over - even if a woman has HRT, Botox, a dewy skin and the upper
arms of Michelle Obama.
This explains the glut of books telling women how to "survive" with the secret or silent process,
as if it were a battle against some sneaky, cancerous enemy rather than a benign phase that all
females will, at some time, face. A man is only old when he's on a Zimmer. Yet a woman is
defined as "old" as soon as her ovaries shut up shop – even if she's as peppy as all get out. That's
not fair.
Post-menopausal women are treated by the media like the witches in Macbeth
No wonder, frankly, that the loss of fertility as flagged by the menopause has come to be dreaded
almost as much as death itself. Post-menopausal women are treated like the witches in Macbeth
by most (male) writers, portrayed with sprouting, warty chins, fat thighs, and a criminal lack of
peachiness.
Hot Flushes, Cold Science made me realise that my own kneejerk reaction to the ostensibly
unsexy subject was - in its way - just as bad as that of male doctors, the medicine men who gave
women to believe that as soon as they were short on oestrogen, they had outlived their usefulness
as human beings.
Which just goes to prove how ingrained prejudice is. I loathe the ageist treatment meted out to
women over the age of 50 who dare to be sexual, and reading Foxcroft made me realise how
pernicious it is. And it's daft. One third of Western women are in menopause, and this very
ordinary life event will affect one half of the entire population of the planet. It will happen to us
all. So please, let's agree on one thing. Women should be allowed a meno-Porsche too. I'm
certainly going to have one, when it's time for the change.

Read more: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/46786,news-comment,news-politics,its-

time-to-change-our-attitude-to-menopause-says-rachel-johnson#ixzz1DSyqYVfu
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Rachel Johnson is a columnist on the Sunday Times and the author of the bestselling Notting Hell
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Agism is often defined as prejudice and discrimination against older people on the basis of age.
Women are disadvantaged and oppressed as a result of sexism. Black and minority ethnic groups
are disadvantaged and oppressed by racism. In similar ways age is held against older people due
to agism. The dominant social order of many contemporary societies has been radically changed
by campaigns against sexism and racism. Many countries have legislation intended to end such
discrimination and to ensure equal opportunities regardless of gender or ethnicity. In contrast
there is comparatively little legal constraint relating to age. Age discrimination is when people
are denied resources or opportunities as a result of being judged to be old. Age prejudice is when
older people are viewed in stereotypical and negative ways. At the individual level these actions
are triggered either by chronological age or by the visual appearance of the person: face, body,
and dress. Collectively, agism may be evident in the way in which services are organized,
located, or described. In his classic definition of agism as “a process of systematic stereotyping
of and discrimination against people because they are old,” Robert Butler (1975) did not see
being old as problematic. However, as he goes on to observe: “Old people are categorized as
senile, rigid in thought and manner, old-fashioned in morality ... log in or subscribe to read full
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Bibliographic Details
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
Edited by: George Ritzer
eISBN: 9781405124331
Print publication date: 2007
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Table of Contents
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
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• Contributors
• Acknowledgments to the print edition
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• Timeline
• A
○ ...
○ Affirmative Action for Majority Groups
 ○ Affirmative Action (Race and Ethnic Quotas)
○ Age and Crime
○ Age Identity
○ Age, Period, And Cohort Effects
○ Age Prejudice and Discrimination
○ Agency (and Intention)
○ Agenda Setting
○ Aggression
○ Aging, Demography of
○ ...
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