The Broad Experience

Remember sexuality counselor Evelyn Resh from episode 19, Women, Work, and Sex? She's back. In this show we take another look at what our work lives do to our intimate lives, and what we can do about it. We had so much to talk about I decided to divide the conversation in two. The next one will come out next week.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A lot of us give to causes we care about. But how many of us ever think about the workers at some of these nonprofits - aid organizations like Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, or Oxfam? The aid world is full of women, and in this show we meet one of them. Work/life balance? Not easy when you and your partner need a UN helicopter to visit one another. The job can be physically grueling and also dangerous. Sexual harassment happens all the time. But the work is also rewarding and challenging in ways she couldn't have imagined.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For centuries women didn't have the opportunity to make decisions outside the home. Now they do. But even today, after decades in the workplace and in public life, our decisions are questioned more than men's. In this show we meet Therese Huston, author of the new book How Women Decide: What's True, What's Not, and What Strategies Spark the Best Choices. We discuss myths around women and decision making, why we're still second-guessing Marissa Meyer two years after she canceled Yahoo's work-from-home policy, and what's at stake when women take a risk.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is the second of two shows on generational differences at work. They're there, even if we don't always acknowledge their existence. This time we focus on Gen X women and some of the ways in which they differ from their younger colleagues and fail to understand them - and vice versa.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we look at generational conflict between women at work. We all know it’s there, lurking, even if we talk about it behind eachother’s backs. This show features a generation expert plus a baby boomer and a millennial on the gaps in experience and understanding between women. This is the first of two shows on this topic. Next time we get Generation X's perspective.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this show two guests take on two listener questions. The first asks whether women have to strive so much for equality. Can't they just be happy if they enjoy their jobs...even if they know the guy before them got paid more for doing the exact same thing? Another listener says there's a huge gap between her and her husband's salaries. She likes her job, but wonders if she should give it up to stay home with her child so her Silicon Valley spouse can have what his colleagues do: a stay-at-home wife 'who makes his life happen.'  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Traditionally it was always men who followed their fathers into the family business. But in the last 15 years, the number of women joining family firms has quintupled. More and more daughters are choosing to go where once only their brothers did - and some are taking over the reins. But even today, women face a different set of challenges when they enter family companies.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this show we reconnect with a previous guest, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox. You won't hear her use expressions like 'women's leadership'. We talk about the concept of balance, nature versus nurture, why companies have to stop looking for women to fit their cultures - and why internal women's networking groups may be a waste of time.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is the second of two shows looking at unwanted attention at work. This time I talk to Jennifer Berdhahl, who actually studies sexual harassment for a living. We talk about what really motivates it, how to tackle it, and why it's such a problem in one area in particular: academia.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There's outright sexual harassment, and there are the subtler ways of keeping women in their place. This is the first of two shows that looks at harassment and unwanted male-to-female attention at work - and what to do about it.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The way women communicate is getting a lot of scrutiny these days: from upspeak and vocal fry to indirect emails and over-apologizing, we're being urged to change our ways. In this show we look at whether the way women use language - especially at work - is our problem, or society's.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's the end of the year - a time when a lot of us think about changing our lives in one way or another. In this show we talk to two traditionally successful women who left their old work lives for the unknown. But jumping meant leaving their identities behind as well as their paychecks.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Study after study shows women have less confidence than men. But you hardly need a study to work that out. Just look around you - how many women do you know who exude the same self-belief as the men in your life? Confidence, or the lack of it, is a big issue in many women's careers, including my own. In this show I talk to business owner Denise Barreto, whose confidence I envy, and NPR reporter Stacey Vanek Smith, who shares a lot of my hangups. She has to psych herself up to ask for things at work, because she's not quite sure she deserves it.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The income gap between women is widening fast as well paid, highly educated women outsource traditionally female tasks to women who earn far less, and have little job security. First I talk to Alison Wolf, a professor and a labor market expert. Then we spend the rest of the show with Jennifer Bernard, a Trinidad-born, New York-based nanny. We hear about the unequal work environment that is the home, how she began to gain confidence on the job, and what makes her feel successful.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our appearance affects the way others see us, whether we like it or not (hello, Hillary Clinton). Most successful women spend a lot of time thinking about the image they present to the outside world. But how you 'should' look in a professional setting can depend on where you work. And while there's endless emphasis on women's appearance, men have to think about this too. The power of image runs deep.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Every month for much of their lives, women go through something at work that men do not. In this show we delve into the intersection of menstruation and work. The workplace is becoming ever more female, yet women are largely still fitting into a structure designed by men, for men - and that means dealing with both periods and menopause in whispers.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this show we look at the merits a single-sex education and what that does for you as you enter the workplace. America still has more than 40 women's colleges, and many of them are thriving. So does being educated among other women mean you have a better or worse experience when you get into a workplace designed by men, for men? Featuring Barnard president Debora Spar along with three women's college graduates.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's a cliché but it's true: many women dislike working with other women. They claim female bosses and colleagues undermine them, talk behind their backs, and generally make them miserable. But what if you're part of the problem? In this show we delve into the dynamics of female relationships, why they can be so antagonistic, and how to redress the balance.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last year I released a show on authenticity at the office - how authentic, really, can women be at work, I asked? It depends on the place, but for many women the answer is 'not very.' That said, the conversations on that podcast revolved around being too big a personality for your workplace, which was the only point of view I'd considered. A few months later I met a friend for dinner. She mentioned how awkward she felt at her office because she was an introvert in a sea of extroverts. This show looks at the introvert's side of life in the modern workplace - how to adapt to extrovert expectations, and when to accept you don't fit in.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this show I talk to author and journalist Laura Vanderkam about women and time management. Her latest book is 'I Know How She Does It - How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time.' Laura says many of us buy into a negative storyline about what's (im)possible as a worker and a parent. She argues there are ways to have a senior job and a family and not lose your mind - you just have to think creatively.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.