Musings of a Texas Gal in NYC – Working Mother Conference – Instant Polling
Aug 7 2007
Soon after the Opening Keynote with Dr. Bertice Berry at the Working Mother Multicultural Conference (POWER: OWN IT. — USE IT. SHARE IT.), they did a fascinating Instant Polling session sponsored by Ford Motor Company. To view the pdf version of the full PowerPoint presentation courtesy of Working Mother Magazine, please click here: Instant Polling Presentation.
Some of the slides I found most interesting are as follows:
I was thrilled that over 55% of attendees made more than $100K! We’ve come a long way baby! I am in in the 7% group making under $49K because I’m starting my own business. In the early days of a startup you are lucky if you make anything! If luck smiles on us, then I will be in the > $100K category some day!
Women feel most powerful at home because that is where they have seen/been told their role is in society. Even top executive women generally feel the same according to this poll. Also, unfortunately if they feel they do have power in the workplace, it presents challenges in their intimate relationships (i.e., we have a hard time finding an equal partner who is comfortable with our power.)
It was interesting to see what super power each person would like. I think I voted for the ability to time travel, but I remember it being a toss up between that and reading people’s minds. I guess I figured if I could time travel I would figure out how to read people’s minds. 🙂
Other things I found interesting:
+ 42% of attendees did not have children (despite it being a Working Mother Conference)
+ 32% were mid-level executives and 15% were senior level executives
+ 43% of Asian-Americans, 41% of Caucasions, 35% of Latinas, 40% of Multi-racial women, and 46% of Men felt “My confidence in my skills and knowledge makes me powerful.” Whereas 38% of Black/African American, 100% of Native Americans, and 46% of Men felt “My belief in my purpose in life is my source of power.” Keep in mind I think there were about 5 guys and 2 Native Americans.
More posts to come on the conference…
Author: Aruni | Filed under: conferences, networking, new york city, working mother | 3 Comments »
Wow. Forty-two percent did not have children. That is interesting. Also, I don’t know the national statistics, but I would wager that most working mothers (yes, they have kids!) out there in America make less than $49,000 a year. Here’s a thought-provoking essay that I recommend as reading for working women out there: “How the Superwoman Myth Puts Women Down” by Sylvia Rabiner.
Thanks Jackie! I have read that essay you mentioned and it’s so true. I would agree that most working mothers do make less than $49,000 a year. It would be interesting to see if there was a correlation between those women who did not have kids and the salary levels. The attendees of the conference were obviously not representative of all the women in the US.
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