Equality in Business? Not if I Can Help It

Written by MaryAnn Shank


I have a splendid sign over my desk. It is bright pink with white letters: “All men are created equal … poor things.”

I have believed for years that women should not aspire to equality with men, nor should any minority aspire to equality withrepparttar “norm”. Women are better than that. So are blacks. So are Hispanics. So are allrepparttar 140588 other minorities.

Whenever I forget this little lesson in life, something seems to crop up to remind me. Most recently, I read an interview that BusinessWeekOnline conducted with Marianne Sensale-Guerin,repparttar 140589 Small Business Administration’s Small Businessperson ofrepparttar 140590 Year. In response torepparttar 140591 question on why she thoughtrepparttar 140592 SBA chose her, Ms. Sensale-Guerin said, “…I think they looked closely at how I treat my employees. I pride myself on taking care of my employees – they have to have insurance, flexible hours, vacation time. We live in a world where you have both parents working, and as an employer, I’m very sensitive to those issues.”

And Ms. Sensale-Guerin’s goal? To be successful enough so that she can sell her business to her employees – they, then, could reaprepparttar 140593 benefits of their hard work while she retired.

How many employers have you ever worked for that were so sensitive torepparttar 140594 present AND future needs of employees? How many employers even care?

No, I am very glad that women are not equal to men. Women bring a whole new perspective torepparttar 140595 business world. And it’s about time.

I’m very glad, too, that we have managed to get pastrepparttar 140596 early years of “women’s lib”. Back then I was one ofrepparttar 140597 early members inrepparttar 140598 businesswomen’s association of Silicon Valley. I am sad to report that we once devoted an entire meeting to talking about what kind of scarf/tie to wear with our business suits: should it be soft and floppy, or short and stiff? Worse yet,repparttar 140599 consensus was that it should be as much like a man’s tie as possible, so that we could “fit in.”

We’ve come a long way, baby. And it’s about time.

My grandmother was an entrepreneur beforerepparttar 140600 word was invented, as yours may have been. Many women were left alone to fend for themselves and raise their families. My grandmother ran a gas station and managed a small farm, with two stickers on her window that she was immensely proud of: one fromrepparttar 140601 Army, and one from Navy, each showing she had a son in their service. That was during WW II. She had raised those two sons herself with her gas station and small farm, and continued with both until her death a decade later.

The Waves Come and Go!

Written by Arthur Zulu


The waves come and go likerepparttar feet of an unsteady woman inrepparttar 140507 house of an unfair lover.

The waves roar and clap their hands likerepparttar 140508 protestations of a woman inrepparttar 140509 hands of a Don Juan.

The waves wear downrepparttar 140510 shores like a woman dissipating over unrequited love.

Yet,repparttar 140511 woman is bound torepparttar 140512 man asrepparttar 140513 oceans are in covenant withrepparttar 140514 moon, for a woman needs a man.

Andrepparttar 140515 waves come and go becauserepparttar 140516 celestial body would not leaverepparttar 140517 seas.

That is whyrepparttar 140518 oceans are full of tempests as love is replete with broken hearts!

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