Business Commons^™

Recent Changes In The Structure And Value Of African-American Male Occupations, Jeremiah P. Cotton

Trotter Review

The occupational structure of black men has undergone major changes in recent years, shifting from largely blue-collar to white-collar and service occupations. At the same time there has been a decline in both the relative and absolute value of black male occupations. Moreover, it appears that labor-market discrimination still plays a significant role in the disparity between black and white male occupational earnings.

Women And Money: Getting Money And Using It, Sheryl R. Marshall

New England Journal of Public Policy

The author of this article has spent her career in the world of finance. Here she examines the way women make economic decisions. The article centers on attitudes concerning women, money, and financial independence; the availability or lack of capital for women who want to start businesses; and a strategy for using their economic clout to forward the agenda of the economic empowerment of women.

Foreword, Rosabeth Moss Kanter

New England Journal of Public Policy

Two significant facts are apparent from reading this volume. First, the authors are themselves examples of women overcoming barriers, breaking into formerly all-male domains, succeeding against the odds, and exercising economic, political, and educational leadership — on behalf of other women as well as on behalf of the institutions they serve. Thus their own lives are eloquent rebuke to anyone who still thinks that women cannot manage effectively in any realm, or that women must always take second place to men, or that family responsibilities make women less serious about public responsibilities, or that women fail to help one another; …

Moving In The Economic Mainstream, Brunetta R. Wolfman

New England Journal of Public Policy

The requirements for economic mobility in a postindustrial society present many barriers for low-income women. Social policy and program goals for improving their opportunities should focus on educational, training, and entrepreneurial activities using individualized assessment, counseling, and academic and occupational advisers. Social consensus needs to be achieved in order to establish viable programs that address women's total needs rather than approaching the problem with fragmented, uncoordinated solutions.

Women, Leadership, And Power, Marilyn Swartz Lloyd

New England Journal of Public Policy

Women strive to attain power because it is the best way to achieve their personal and professional goals. This article describes how empowerment enabled its author to capture the vision of an ideal city in which education, culture, business, and industry all enjoy dignity and respect. Gaining acceptance for a light manufacturing zone in the city of Boston involved learning to build constituencies and rally support for a winning campaign.

Editor's Note, Dawn-Marie Driscoll

New England Journal of Public Policy

This issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy had many beginnings and, like most efforts in which a theme is slowly resolved, probably should not have an ending.

The discussion of this theme started several years ago when a group of senior Boston businesswomen talked about the need and value of meeting on a semi-regular basis. Their purpose would be to focus discussions on a narrow but important issue — the economic advancement of women.

The criteria for these informal meetings quickly fell into place. All the women who comprised the group would be drawn from within the …

Issues In The Corporate Workplace, Carol R. Goldberg, Aileen P. Gorman, Kathleen B. Hansen

New England Journal of Public Policy

Workforce supply and demand has catapulted "women's issues" to the forefront of the business agenda. These issues will continue to be the poor stepsisters of other corporate needs, however, unless they are recognized as broad-based workforce issues of the 1990s. The dynamics of women's entrance into the labor market have dramatically changed the structure of the family and consequently the needs of both men and women in the business community. The corporate challenge for the next decade will be to solve creatively the work/family puzzle and establish an environment that supports the full utilization of women in business.

Women, Power, And Partnership, Elizabeth Graham Cook

New England Journal of Public Policy

As women in a community move into senior positions from which they can influence the economic advancement of women at all levels, commentators have examined factors contributing to their advancement. This article outlines data about the Women's Economic Forum, a Boston group formed in 1985. The degree to which interdependence or "partnership" is a positive element in achieving the group's objectives suggests that other communities could adopt the WEF model.