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 Home : EOWA Employer of Choice For Women : What is EOWA Employer of Choice For Women : Female Friendly Test

The Female-Friendly Test

So, you've received a job offer' Here are some questions to ask before accepting it.
 
  • How many women are there in senior management, and at what levels'
  • What is the career path for this job (what would be the next position up)'
  • What are the opportunities to move from line/operational roles to staff/support roles and back again'
  • How are work assignments made' Do supervisors ad-lib them or is there a formal process that management uses to make decisions'
  • What is the success profile here - for the job and for the company'
  • What is the work culture like (client-driven, face-time-focused, etc.)'
  • Is there a formal mentoring program' How does it work'
  • Is there a women's network' What does it do'
  • What kind of training and development is offered'
  • Is there a formal process for performance appraisal'
  • What flexible work arrangements are available' Do people use them'
  • How much control would someone at my level have over her own schedule'
This is not to say you should confront a prospective employer with a barrage of questions!

However, you may find some way to work them in, especially if you're having a series of interviews with different people and are talking to potential colleagues, who will also probably know a lot of the answers and may even talk about them if you're tactful in bringing them up. You may also be able to get some of this information from publicly available documents and the organisation's website.

Should you take a job at an organisation that's not female-friendly'

All things being equal, probably not. But in non-traditional fields for women, such as the sciences, engineering and heavy industry, you may find advantages in being a pioneer. Opportunities for advancement may exist because you are the only woman, or one of only a few.

Whatever you decide, remember:
  • Be prepared to take career risks and go after the high-profile jobs and line assignments that make up the core of the business;
  • Maintain effective internal and external support networks (with both men and women); and
  • Know your own worth!!
The Female-Friendly test is sourced from Be Your Own Mentor - Strategies from the Top Women on the Secrets of Success, by Sheila Wellington, President of Catalyst, the US executive women's research organisation.

 
 
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Did you know . . .
Male graduates earn a starting salary of $42,000 compared to female graduates, who earn $40,000. Male graduate salaries increased by $2,000 from 2005-06 while female graduate salaries only increased by $1,000.

...Grad Stats Dec 2006
Quote
‘For most men, the responsibility of children does not impact on the number of hours they work, nor does it affect their ability to work. Further, very few men indicated that they made any work-related decision on the basis of child-raising responsibilities. The same simply cannot be said for women. For women, business and family life are not so distinct and, in many ways, any such distinction is completely unreal, since a woman’s ability to even participate in the workforce may be completely contingent on her ability to acquire childcare. The decision to retain childcare is an inextricable part of the decision to work, in business or otherwise.’

Canadian Judge L’Heureux – Dube.