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8/15/04
DIVERSITY
Women should be trying to land more leadership roles, including the country's ultimate job: the US presidency. That's what Marie C. Wilson, former president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, told an audience of about 1,000 that attended the Simmons School of Management's commencement Aug. 6 at John Hancock Hall in Boston. Wilson was keynote speaker at the graduation, where 90 women were awarded MBA degrees. ''If you do not lead, it will not give others courage,'' said Wilson. ''You have to go where girls are and you have to get the numbers. Until we have enough women, we cannot promote our agenda.'' Wilson also urged the graduates and members of the audience to encourage other women to become more politically active, more vocal, and more focused on attaining positions of power. ''In the next 24 hours, think of one woman you know and call her,'' she said. ''Encourage her to run for city council, or the state legislature or Congress ... We are not in the gender business anymore. We are in the transformation business -- transforming our country.'' Wilson, president of the Ms. Foundation in New York for two decades, resigned from the position in May to devote more time to The White House Project, a nonprofit she launched whose goal is to put more women in top leadership positions. The Ms. Foundation, which encourages women's business goals, is best known for its creation of Take Our Daughters to Work Day and helping poor women start their own businesses. She is also the author of a new book, ''Closing the Leadership Gap,'' which urges women to consider ways that they can change their lives and have an impact on the future. Wilson took over the presidency of the Ms. Foundation in 1984. The nonprofit job had plenty of potential, she said, but the organization lacked financing and its three-member staff was too small. ''I had four little offices, three employees, and no money,'' said Wilson. ''There were four of us and a fax machine. But we built microenterprises for low and middle-income women and we built Take Our Daughters to Work Day.'' Now, a dozen years later, Wilson is focusing on The White House Project. One of the project's goals is to support a woman for the US presidency. Wilson maintains the country should have more women leading at the highest levels, including the country's chief executive. --DIANE E. LEWIS
EXECUTIVE SUITE A survey by ExecuNet, the online networking and executive search firm, reveals that corporate executives are uncertain about their future job prospects. The survey of 165 executives found that 24 percent are confident demand for their services will increase over the next six months as the economy improves, down from 26 percent in July. Sixteen percent were not confident, and 60 percent were just somewhat confident. Mark Anderson, president of ExecuNet, said a seasonal slowdown in hiring and mixed reports about the economic recovery have dampened executives' expectations. He said the percentage of executives who believe the labor market improved over the last 30 days dropped to 35 percent this month, down from 38 percent in July. Jobless executives seem slightly more optimistic. When asked how long they expected to look for work before landing a job, most said 10.9 months, down from 11.8 months in July. Executives with résumés that show limited job-hopping might have an easier time of it, according to a separate survey by NETSHARE, an online recruiting site for managers and executives who earn $100,000 or more per year. The site reports recruiters are shying away from candidates whose résumés are loaded with short-term stints at different firms. During the poll, NETSHARE asked 200 executive recruiters for their opinion of candidates who job hopped over a 17-year career. Forty-two percent said they expect job candidates to commit to a firm for at least four to five years. Twenty-one percent said they would accept a commitment of one to three years. Many of the recruiters said a candidate whose résumé showed several short-term positions would be cause for concern. Of those polled, 38 percent said they would be concerned about a candidate who had worked for six to seven firms over a 17-year period. Twenty-eight percent said a candidate with eight or more employers would cause them to question the person's commitment. Nearly a third said candidates with eight or more employers on their résumés might be difficult to work with and less likely to be satisfied with the new job. --DIANE E. LEWIS
JOBS WASHINGTON -- Fewer US jobs opened in June than the month before, while the number of new hirings rose, the Labor Department said last week. Job openings as of the last day of June stood at 3 million, down from 3.1 million in May, as declines in the construction, trade, transportation and utilities, professional and business services, and education sectors offset increases in manufacturing, leisure, and hospitality. The department's monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey is more dated than other job market gauges, but it has improved as a measure since the Labor Department began adjusting the numbers for seasonal variations earlier this year. The government report said the job openings rate was unchanged at 2.3 percent in June. The rate, calculated by dividing the number of job openings on the last business day of the month by employment plus job openings, has ranged from 2 percent to 2.4 percent since October 2001, when the US economy was mired in recession. The department said there were 4.3 million new hires in June, up 2.9 percent from 4.2 million the previous month. The hire rate, or number of hires in the month divided by employment, rose to 3.3 percent in June from 3.2 percent in May. The report said June marked the 14th straight month that hires outpaced separations due to firing, layoffs, quitting or retirement. Total June separations rose to 4.1 million from 4 million in May. The separation rate, or number of separations in the month divided by employment, remained unchanged at 3.1 percent. The June rate of quits, a barometer of how easy it is for workers to change jobs, was unchanged at 1.7 percent. The quit rate rose in construction and in professional and business services, but was unchanged from May in most other sectors listed in the report. --REUTERS
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