Candy Tymson Speaks

2011-11-15T13:36:00.000-08:00

Managing Rumours Tip

2011-05-24T19:32:00.001-07:00

Managing Rumours Tip

2011-05-24T19:28:00.001-07:00

Do Men's Egos Generate Unbusinesslike Behaviours?

2010-10-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

According to Christine Lagarde, France's Finance Minister and a Lawyer with some 30 years experience, men's egos make them more prone to taking decisions personally and humiliating people.

In an interview on US ABC network in Washington this week, Lagarde was quoted as saying that in the main, women in such positions of power behave in a slightly different manner.

Mrs. Lagarde said that women inject less libido and less testosterone into the equation. From her experience she said: "it helps in the sense that we don't necessary project our own egos into cutting a deal, putting our point across, convincing people, reducing them to a partner that has lost in the process".

Named the 12th Most Influential Women in the World by Forbes Magazine in 2005, I'm inclined to believe she knows what she is talking about, although there is always the risk of overgeneralising about such matters.

What do you think? We all know women in power who are just as bullish as the boys, and men who use more humanitarian approaches to get results

(The article from the London Telegraph went on to say that Mrs Lagarde is noted for her self-control. She gets up at 6am every day for a yoga session and does not drink alcohol, smoke or eat meat. She took a huge salary cut when she left her law firm to join the government. Sounds like a good role-model although I'm not too sure about the meat and alcohol!)

Taking A Stand Against Sexual Harassment

2010-08-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Whether or not you agree with the way Kristy Fraser-Kirk has gone about her $37m punitive claim against David Jones, nonetheless it is difficult not to admire her courage for taking such a stand.

The case will no doubt change the course and status of sexual harassment cases in Australia.

Her approach of pledging to give the payment to a charity for harassment victims and the wiliness of Harmers Workplace Lawyers to take on the case as a pro-bono also are to be applauded.

Kristy will no doubt have a difficult and challenging time ahead of her as the course of the claim proceeds.

She deserves our full support.

Women Working Want Flexible Hours

2010-07-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

New research released today by the University of Queensland on Perceptions of Work/Life Balance found that the main thing working women want is flexible hours - no surprises there!

Paid maternity leave, employer-provided or subsidised childcare and being able to bring children to work were appreciated, but not rated highly. Then you read the sample and discover that they were 1700 childcare workers and dental assistants and that "most of women surveyed did not have small children"! So much for the validity of those results.

Surely the bottom line is that women (and men for that matter) crave flexible work hours but the challenge always has being how on earth do you manage the expectations of your employer and earn enough money to live comfortably if you are reducing your hours of work?

The financial crisis has meant that many people have been forced to take reduced hours and reduced income. It will be interesting to see how many of them decide to go back to full-time work when that option is presented again. I wonder if they discover the forced reduced hours is actually a blessing in disguise. Do I really need that expensive holiday, car, updated TV etc or is having more time for things outside work of more valuable to me?

It will interesting to track the outcome as the economy and consumer confidence improves.

Why Women Mean Business

2009-06-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought the GFC (global financial crisis) would put women's issues on the back burner, there has been a major ground swell on the impact that woman have on the bottom line.

In their latest book, Why Women Mean Business, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox and Alison Maitland put forward a very credible case that having women in senior roles actually increases the profitablity of organisations. It's now longer a women's issue - it's now a business issue as to why women should have more say in business.

A study by Catalyst Research of the Fortune 500 companies in 2007 found that companies with the highest proportion of women in their senior teams significantly outperform those with the lowest proportion on both return on equity which was 35.1% higher, and total shareholder return at 34% higher.

Now that sounds like a sound business case to me.

Maternity Leave Proposal Family Friendly

2008-09-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

Recommendations by the Productivity Commission for the Federal Government of Australia to provide 18 weeks maternity leave for working mothers, and all fathers a fortnight of leave, seems a great initiative and assists in getting the importance of supporting families back on the agenda.

This next step is to make it easy for businesses to manage so that this important initiative isn't hijacked by the need for organisations to be responsible for it's implementation.

Surely all paperwork should be between the Government and recipients, and not the responsibility of business to handle the tax implications etc. The less paperwork employers need to do, the easier it will be to sell this important package to them.

Is this 'Heelarious' or sexually damaging to our tots?

2008-09-17T01:41:00.000-07:00

Personally, I think these 'high-heeled' shoes designed specifically for babies are cute! In fact they made me smile. Particulary as they are designed for baby girls aged up to six months. (They even have a heel that are soft and collapse when the toddler stands).

But apparently they have caused quite a stir. I was surprised to read an article in the courier mail by Dr Karen Brooks, an associate professor of media studies at Southern Cross University, who seemed to be taking the line that these "Sex and the City meets Imelda Marcos as she struts down Sesame Street" shoes are along the same lines as products which are part of the whole process of Kids Growing Older Younger.

P-L-E-A-S-E! Can't we just dress up for fun anymore?

Yes, they are out of America (naturally) but I fail to see how it is different to dressing your baby in other cute outfits such as denim jeans and jacket, or weeboks.

Anyway, judging by the fantastic amount of publicity the product has received I think the women who came up with the idea are strutting all the way to the bank!

What do you think? Heelarious or hellish?

A Fun Way To Stand Out!

2008-09-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

I'm always looking for fun ways stand out - so my new marketing campaign is sure to be a hit!

Click here and see if you agree

Quote of the Month

2008-09-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

"Communication is the

universal solvent."

- L. Ron Hubbard

Author & Spiritual leader

(1911-1986)

If you are going to promote "ain't it awful", at least get your facts straight!

2008-09-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

I was at a two day "Women in Leadership" conference recently and I must confess got very tired with the consistent message that women aren't progressing in business.

Dr Anne Summers, a well-regarded journalist and feminist, enraged the group with the news that "even Gail Kelly who was recently appointed as CEO of Westpac Australia was earning much less than her predecessor, David Morgan". Summers stated that Morgan earnt $8.5m last year while Kelly's starting salary was only $2.5m p.a..

The group talked about little else over lunch!

It took me 10 minutes to check the facts on the Net that night. Dr Summers' was completely wrong. According to Westpac's 2007 Annual Report David Morgan earned $10.5m not $8.5m that financial year!

But even more startling was how easy it was to find the facts. -The highlights of Gail Kelly's contract were also on the Westpac website. Yes, her starting salary was $2.5m p.a. (more than Morgan's base salary) plus the potential of $8.5m if she meet performance standards, as Morgan so successfully achieved.

But keep reading ... on day one Gail Kelly also got $7m in Westpac shares !!

Another fact is that Morgan delivered a $3.5 billion profit for Westpac in 2007 - a 12% increase on the previous year.

Gail Kelly is a star and knows her worth. She was recently named "one of the world's most influential women" by respected US Publication Forbes - ranking 11 in the top 12 nominated.

So ... can we please stop focusing on "ain't it awful" and celebrate the achievements of our leading women, and men.