The Broad Experience

A few years ago I found out the most popular job for women in America is the same as it was in the 1950s - administrative assistant, or secretary. I was shocked. How could this be, in an era where women are more educated than men? Why are so many of us still working to support other people - mostly men - rather than pursuing something for ourselves? I set out to tackle those questions in this show, and take a look at the assistant role as it exists now. Typing and dictation are out, while managing executives' lives and company projects are in. But traditional aspects of the job remain. This is a role women still flock to, and are sought for, while men are largely absent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brooke Lark was raised to think having a career was selfish and motherhood was sacred. She had four children by the age of 29 and never expected to work outside the home. But as she began to have more contact with the outside world, the certainties of her religion began to crumble. At 35 she was faced with a whole new prospect - not only working, but being the main breadwinner for her family. In this show we hear Brooke's story of being raised Mormon, losing her religion and joining a workplace she had no idea how to navigate.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Patricia Jones was born and raised in Utah, a state with a conservative bent and one of the highest wage gaps in the US. 60% of the population is Mormon, but belonging to a conservative faith never stopped Pat from having a family and a career, first running a business, then as a politician. In her latest role she's on a mission to raise the status of women at work in Utah. And that means persuading a lot of pale males it's a good idea.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Women have a problem valuing themselves, both setting prices and believing they're truly worth something in the marketplace. A lot of us charge too little for our work. Sometimes we don't charge at all. It's a complicated, multi-layered issue, and part of the reason women earn less than men. As someone who squirms whenever I have to talk about how much I'm worth, I knew I had to tackle the topic on the podcast. Guests are Adrienne Graham and Kathy Caprino.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The boundaries between work and home are fraying all the time. We spend work time doing personal stuff, and time at home working. We talk about our personal lives at work too, and vice versa. But some of us aren't comfortable sharing much about our home lives with colleagues - we like our boundaries. Yet not sharing can put us at odds with a world where everyone's connected on social media. My first guest guards her privacy, but wonders if she's hurting her career by being circumspect. My second guest has a different take on openness at work.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For years Sallie Krawcheck was one of the few famous women on Wall Street. She earned millions of dollars, had a huge office, and the use of a private jet. A few years ago, all that changed when she made the switch to entrepreneurship. In this interview we talk about the relationship between her gender and her firing from Citibank, why she won't shut up about diversity, stodgy company cultures, and handling sexism at work.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's mini-show Rachael Ellison is back to talk about leave. She says delegation plays a big part in having a successful leave, but more importantly, a successful return. Whether you're going on parental leave or you suddenly have to take care of a sick parent, your exit can be fraught with uncertainty. Then there are the unexpected surprises that await you when you get back. Rachael talks about ways that employee, boss and team can work together to plan for a smooth absence.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A lot of women admit it: we have trouble delegating. How many times have you said, "It's just easier if I do it"? But you can't pull off a senior role without giving away some of your work to other people. In this show we look at the cultural reasons why women shy away from delegation, and how we can get more comfortable with it. My guests are coach and consultant Rachael Ellison and management professor Jodi Detjen.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A lot of women dream of scaling back their careers after they have kids, even if it's just for a while. Some quit altogether and stay out of the workforce for years. In this show I talk to Kathryn Sollmann of 9 Lives for Women about the pros and cons of dialing back your work life. Kathryn says one vital point often gets left out of these 'leaning out' discussions: the importance of long-term financial security.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk a lot on the show about being a woman in a man's (work) world. But lots of women are in female-dominated fields, and that can bring its own challenges - one of them being lower pay. Meanwhile your boss is still likely to be a man. Tune in to hear from listeners in two majority-women fields and from sociologist Marianne Cooper.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Anyone can burn out at work, but women seem to be doing it faster and younger than men. In this show we take a closer look at what leads to burnout and how to prevent it in the first place. My guests are career and burnout coach Dana Campbell and journalist and former Buzzfeed News editor Stacy-Marie Ishmael.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Nordic countries have a reputation for equality and excellent work/life balance. American women look enviously at these nations as they scrape together a short maternity leave or finish another 10-hour day. But here's the paradox: there are just as few women in powerful roles in Scandinavia as there are in the US. Why?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this show we look at how class can play out at work. Each of my guests works in a professional setting but both grew up in blue-collar households, and each has had trouble navigating the white-collar workplace and the attitudes of some of its workforce. I also talk to Daniel Laurison, a sociology professor at Swarthmore. He co-authored a study on the 'class ceiling' in Britain. It showed that on average, people in high-status professions who began life in a working-class household earn less than their more privileged peers.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Countries like the US and UK may thrive in many areas, but not when it comes to women in politics. The US Congress is about 20% women and in the UK, Parliament is 23% female. Yes, it's an improvement on former decades, but in 2016 why aren't more women holding power at a national level? We have two fantastic, outspoken guests on today's show, which was first released in early 2015: Megan Murphy, former Financial Times Washington bureau chief (now with Bloomberg), and Madeleine Kunin, former and first woman governor of Vermont. She once ran against Bernie Sanders. We discuss the landscape for women in politics today, what life as a female politician is actually like, and why it's so important that more women go into politics in the first place.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A lot of people are working with some kind of health condition. Many of them keep that a secret from bosses and co-workers. In this show we look at perceptions of weakness at work, and talk to two guests with health issues. One of them is still deciding how and when to reveal her condition, and wonders if she does, will she ever be promoted again?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Two women dominate discussions about women in the workplace today: Sheryl Sandberg and Anne-Marie Slaughter. In this show New Yorker writer Sheelah Kolhatkar and I talk about each woman's message and philosophy and how they differ from one another. We also hear from some of you about what you think of them. And we ask what will galvanize change for women long-term - individual effort, or a system overhaul?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is a mini-episode. It sprang from my conversation with Tina Alberino, who featured in the last show on the beauty business. She surprised me at the end of our interview by mentioning she was awkward with people. I'd just had an animated 40 minute conversation with her, so I probed, and this short show is the result.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Self-care. You hear that phrase all the time if you're a professional woman. We're all urged to care for ourselves, to take time to do yoga, go to the gym, maybe indulge ourselves with a little beauty treatment once in a while. Many of us get something done on a regular basis - from a haircut to waxing. But how often do we think about the working conditions of the women who work on us? In this show we take a look inside the beauty business - and it isn't pretty.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Women's conferences are springing up all over the place, promising empowerment, inspiration, and motivation. But at the end of the day are they galvanizing real change, or do they just make women feel good? My guests are SHE Summit founder Claudia Chan, and New Yorker writer Sheelah Kolhatkar. Her Business Week piece about women's conferences earlier this year inspired this episode.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this show we hear the second half of my conversation with sexuality counselor Evelyn Resh. We talk about why prioritizing your children can backfire, the sex/work dynamic in gay relationships, and why Evelyn hasn't been taking her own advice - and how she's trying to change that.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.