The study also found 5 powerful “antigens” or barriers in SET corporate cultures that help explain the female brain drain:

• Women in SET are marginalized by hostile macho cultures.
• Being the sole woman on a team or at a site can create isolation.
• Many women report mysterious career paths: fully 40% feel stalled.
• Systems of risk and reward in SET cultures can disadvantage women, who tend to be risk averse.
• Finally, SET jobs include extreme work pressures: they are unusually time intensive.

[source: Center for Work-Life Policy]

I’ve been in SET corporate culture and have been frustrated with the 3rd case in point. I wanted to do more but I couldn’t see it happening in such a setting so I left and ventured out on my own and haven’t been back since. I know this isn’t a path that everybody wants to take, but I do understand the feeling of being stalled and really not knowing what’s going to happen next because you’re bound by the corporation, and quite frankly, with the macho culture in an all-boys club where the preference to get higher up the corporate ladder is given to them.

When it comes being the only female on a team or on a site, for me it helped that I have been “one of the boys” since my teenage years. I think one of the main thing is to not be intimidated by it, and instead treat it as an advantageous position to take initiative and the lead.

For you women out there: Have you experienced any of these barriers?

Men, do you see this happening?

[~ found via Women on Business]

I am usually pretty good at doing my own time estimates, from estimating project and task times, to knowing how long it will take me to shop, or getting to a meeting 15 minutes ahead of time. In fact, when I was at a beginner’s improv class and we were asked to estimate how long it took us to a series of scenes while verbal instructions were given, I was only off by a couple of minutes, while the rest of the class thought it was half the time, having been lost in all the emotions and actions. I was, too, but my internal ticking clock was right there with me counting while I was in ‘other worlds’.

Anyway, I’m sure the link above would prove useful not only for managing your work and business estimates, but also for personal time management.