The Broad Experience

In this show author Alison Wolf discusses how the rise of elite women has created a less equal world. The gap between the highly educated and everyone else is bigger than it's ever been, and Wolf explains how we got here, why Sweden isn’t the beacon of equality many of us think, and how pizza helped get women into the workforce.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this show we talk to two women with different perspectives on getting ahead at work. One is a Generation Y journalist who's worked for Newsweek and Tumblr, and is still navigating the new world of journalism-slash-content-creation. The other is a seasoned business owner and newspaper columnist. She says if women could just rein in their guilt, they might achieve their ambitions.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the first show of the fall season my guest, author and management professor Jodi Detjen, says women aren't making it to positions of power because they're too busy trying to be 'the ideal woman' - attempting to do everything perfectly at work and at home, all the while looking great and, of course, being nice. But all that striving for perfection doesn't leave much time for anything else. Detjen and I discuss why women still fall into this trap and how to adjust your assumptions in order to have a saner existence - at work and at home.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Let's face it, no matter what women do for a living, they're far less likely than men to feel comfortable in any kind of spotlight. The Write/Speak/Code conference for women in technology set out to change that. Tune in to hear three different voices discussing Why women have trouble saying what we think in a professional context Why it's hard for women to claim expertise (and how to get over that) The importance of speaking in public Bluffing (start cultivating your bluffing powers) Why being referred to as a 'woman in technology' is incredibly irritating  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I'm starting a series called Tips for Success, and this first episode features a candid conversation with Monique Nelson, CEO of UniWorld Group, a multicultural advertising and marketing agency based in Brooklyn, NY. Most CEOs are white and male. Monique is neither. In the interview Monique talks about: Making mistakes - lots of them - to learn and get ahead The advantages of being on more of a 'jungle jim' career track than the traditional ladder Speaking up for yourself at the office The importance of mentorship and sponsorship The part race plays in her everyday life and work Keeping an eye on Yahoo's Marissa Mayer, and being a pregnant CEO herself  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s a cliché , but true: women can be truly horrible to one another at work. In this show we look into the origins of female aggression, why it plays out in such an underhanded way, and what you can do if you’re caught up in an office bitch-fest.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"We have the independence and freedom of being freelancers but without the fear and horror of being out there on your own." - Em and Lo Entrepreneurs - and sex and relationship writers - Em and Lo began working together at Nerve.com in the late '90s. They left the mother ship to form their own 'sex writing empire' (or close enough) in the mid 2000s. Many entrepreneurs are advised to take on at least one partner. These two women did that, and the partnership is still going strong many years (and four children) later. In this show they talk about the advantages of working with a partner, how they suffer from some of the afflictions common to professional women (they may be able to talk openly about sex, but asking for more money from an editor is another matter), how a brand like theirs has to evolve as they, and their kids, get older, and why their music teacher's husband can't look them in the eye.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week The Broad Experience sits down with three guys to talk about how men and women interact at the office, political correctness, women-bashing on the internet, and men’s evolving roles as caregivers. Will The Hangover’s premise — that men looking after a baby is funny — be hilarious ten years from now? More candid conversation on everything to do with women, men, work, the relationship between the sexes, stay-at-home dads and sexism.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ever read a book or article about a superwoman and secretly wondered about her sex life (i.e. does she have one)? This is an aspect of successful women's - and men's - lives that's rarely discussed, and certainly not openly. But for many people sex is an important part of a healthy, happy relationship. Sexuality counselor and author Evelyn Resh says many busy professional women are putting their sex lives to one side as work and kids swallow their time and energy. She wants to change that. This show is about much more than women's sexuality - it focuses on their ability, or lack of it, to switch out of work mode and focus on life's pleasures, whatever they may be.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What you look like matters when it comes to your career. But not always in the way you think. The suits and makeup that may be pretty much required in one workplace could look absurd in another. But whether you dress up or down, the image you present to your bosses and colleagues can affect your progress. And it's not just women who have to think about this stuff (why else did they invent nose and ear-hair trimmers?)  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's tough to raise money for a startup, regardless of your gender. But when women go out and seek funding they sometimes come up against some interesting attitudes. Tune in to hear LaunchBit co-founder Elizabeth Yin share some tales from Silicon Valley. And in part two of the show we talk to women from two global companies that have just won awards for their efforts on behalf of women in the workplace. Apparently, Icelandic men couldn't be happier to have more women in their midst.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's book 'Lean In' was famous - or infamous, depending on your point of view - before it was even published. Once it came out, it shot to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. This week six women from Generations X and Y gather over food and wine to debate the merits of Sandberg's advice. Views are varied and unvarnished.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode I talk to career coach and Forbes writer Kathy Caprino about how much, if at all, women have to 'fix themselves' to succeed and fit into company culture. Shouldn't companies change their cultures to meet women halfway? In part two we find out why international consumer goods company Unilever is attracting women by cozying up to their parents.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This time we look at why women stay in jobs longer than men, even when they know they should move on. Danielle Maveal, formerly of Etsy, discusses why it was so hard to quit, and why women should have the courage of their convictions. And we meet former Wall Street equity analyst Whitney Johnson and talk about her journey from music major to equity analyst, and why she's so invested in women's happiness.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What happens when a female employee asks a female boss for a raise? And why do so many women in tech companies work in 'empathy roles' rather than technological ones? Tune in to find out, with guests Ashley Welde, Sara Laschever and Lauren Bacon.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Africa's economies are growing fast and this is partly linked to entrepreneurship. Women make up a large number of African entrepreneurs, so when I went to Kenya in January on a Habitat for Humanity trip I was keen to interview a couple. Find out why Kenyan men are apparently chilling out as Kenyan women do more and more in the workforce, and meet the young woman who is putting the youth from Africa's largest slum on the filmmaking map.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How does a woman's age affect her life at work? Hillary Clinton may be going gangbusters at 65, but can the rest of us hope for a fruitful career later in life? Tune in to hear from one successful executive who's navigating the sometimes choppy waters of life as an 'older woman' at work, and find out why it's never too late to decide to do something new with your life.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this show I talk to 5 interviewees about how women come across in the media. Why are there still so many stereotypes around in 2012? Are young women affected by what they watch and will those portrayals have any impact on the way they choose to live their lives?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are women afraid to describe themselves as ambitious? Do they even want the corner office? Nicki Gilmour of The Glass Hammer and Caroline Turner of Difference Works help me break down women's often tricky relationship with ambition and power.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we meet author and journalist Lynn Povich, who was part of the first ever female class-action lawsuit, brought against Newsweek in 1970. We talk look back at the Mad Men office era and ask how much has changed for working women during the last 40 years.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.