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100 Best Companies for Working Mothers List 2007 - This year's winner

Employment Organizations  
Useful employment organizations and services available to you.

Education Resources - GED Information & Links
All the resources you need to know from how to obtain a GED. to attend college, from financial aid to grants from the government.

Financial Aid for Single Moms
Useful information regarding financial aid, includes money available from the government for Single Mothers that are attending college.

Articles & Tips About College & Financial Aids
Never Too Late: Entering College as a Non-Traditional Student - by Kelly Kennedy from singlemotherresources.com - If you are single mom and found that you had to give up going back to school to care for your children, you aren’t the only one.  Single women do it all the time in order to raise their children.  However as children grow up and go to school themselves, single mothers want the chance as well to go back to school.  Whether it is to finish where they left off or get continuing education.

How to turn bad sales prospects into good ones - Valerie Minard from Spirituality.com - A few years ago, just after 9/11, business had slowed down.
Difficult Boss? The employee pours on patience - Beth Carey
The Golden Rule of selling - Christopher Michael
Why I Volunteer - Chris Radel
It's all growl - Chris Shoaf
Soul search - Jeroen van Olst from Spirituality.com 
Spirituality at the United Nations  - Judith H. Ryan
Finding security when leaving a job - Peter Winterbottom
The pause that in-stresses - Kathy Ream
The supreme boss - Maria Erb 

Women Studies
Schools & Colleges for Single Moms -  Here you can link to most women's studies programs in the U.S. (only those programs with Web sites will be listed).

WORKING MOMS FEATURED
Treasure Map Your Way to Success - By Leslie Grossman - While taking a personal growth course, I discovered a remarkable and effective method of visualizing my dreams and goals, and I offer it to you! Called “Treasure Mapping,” it has changed the lives of entrepreneurial women across the country, personally as well as professionally. The process involves going through old magazines and cutting out images, words and expressions that represent what you want to manifest in your life.

Marsha "Marty" Evans - President & CEO American Red Cross - GIVE BACK by workingwomen2000.com  - Marty entered the Navy in 1968 for what she thought was going to be a two-year break between college and graduate school.

"I Had No Fear. I still Don't." by Linda Spradley Dunn  WorkingWomen2000.com Linda Spradley Dunn speaks about strong ideas in a powerful voice and she never, ever minces words. This time she is talking about women of color in corporate America. "There is a particular issue with women of color in corporate America. And it does add to our impatience, because when you're trying to change corporate culture, you are also trying to change a microcosm of society's attitudes on race. That can be very frustrating.

Susan Braun  - President of The Sudan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation - when Susan found out that her roommate from college had died of breast cancer at 36, she couldn't sit by quietly.

Lisa Iglesias - Spherion’s Lisa Iglesias believes that “being proactive” is one of the main ingredients to achieving your goals. Find out how this go-getter set her ambitions at an early age and never looked back.

Working Moms
Top Ten Characteristics of Successful Women Business Leaders - By: Sharon Hadary, Exe. Director Center for Women’s Business Research - Women are transforming the face of business and society, moving into leadership roles as business owners and in corporations.
Mind Over Matter - Your Attitude Makes the Different -  Margaret Bath - Vice President, Research, Quality & Technology Kellogg Company - Mother knows best, as they say, and Margaret's mother is no exception.
STAND OUT: Communication Tips for Getting Ahead - Lindsey Pollak - Author/Career Columnist - Everybody talks, but how many people really communicate? Here are some tips for making your communications stand out in a world of continuous cacophony.  
It's all about attitude - Melphine  evans Controller, Centralized Functions BP International - WorkingWomen2000.com - Melphine Evans' 15-year-old daughter calls her mom her hero. That's probably because with all her work responsibilities, this single mom manages to sing songs with her children first thing in the morning and make it to their games later in the day.
Stay Open to Possibilities - WorkingWomen2000.com - by Akosua Barthwell Evans - By being open-minded and well prepared in her twenty plus years of experience as a lawyer, management consultant, and banker, Akosua Barthwell Evans has demonstrated an ability to take risks and explore new possibilities.
If You Don’t Ask... Getting the Business Help You Need By Judy Katz - My sweet little grandmother used to advise me all the time, “Judy darling, remember: If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” 
Hone Your Skills - Negotiating: Turn that 'No' into a "Yes' - by WorkingWomen2000.com - Negotiation is the currency of business. It's the way we resolve conflicting priorities or manage multiple demands on our time.
What Do Successful Moms Do?  They Inspire! - by Christiane Holbrook, M.A.
We all want to succeed in our businesses!  We want to be financially independent.  We want to make a difference, find fulfillment and use our gifts.  But we also want to be there for our kids. What most of us don't realize is that we can have both: an opportunity to make a huge difference in the world and to be a great positive influence in our children's lives. And it all starts with being a role model for our children.
A Matter of Serendipity - Success Strategy - Judith Shapiro, President of Barnard College - believes that women’s career paths should not be rigid.
International traveler speaks the language of the heart - by Beth Carey - from Spirituality.com - A beggar woman with crutches kept a daily vigil outside Margie Hamlin’s hotel in Vietnam.
Reinvent Yourself - Featured Linda Fuller - Co-Founder of Habitat for Humanity International, speaks candidly about her early personal struggles. She’s reinvented herself by traveling half-way around the world and interacting with different cultures.

Strategy for Success: Advancing - Achieving Your Goal
I Didn't See it Coming: The Only Book You'll Ever Need to Avoid Being Blindsided in Business by Nancy C. Widmann (Author), Elaine J. Eisenman (Author), Amy Dorn Kopelan (Author) - I Didn't See It Coming provides savvy advice and strategic insights for recognizing and dealing with the situations that can threaten your career. This book will help you develop the skills you need to read the room, correctly assess what is happening around you, and control your career destiny. It shows you why you need an exit strategy, how to navigate the political terrain, how (and why) to differentiate between colleagues, and why it's important to follow the money. Everyone can benefit from understanding how office politics works and what you can do to enhance your position. For anyone in a dicey situation—even if you don't know it yet—this is the ultimate guidebook for office survival. When it comes to your career, don't take chances! Take charge and make sure you see it coming. Our goal in this book is not to place you in a constant state of anxiety and paranoia, but rather to give you the tools you need to step up, charge forward, and reach the top without getting blindsided. Learning to see those red flags will guide and inform every decision you make. It will also give you the power to be a confident and creative leader.

Your Job is What You Make It - Mary Credo - by workingwomen2000.com - They offered her a job, and today she looks back at her decision to take it with no regrets. "Now 25 years later, I've never been more fascinated with the insurance and financial services business. It's a passion of mine, and I truly enjoy it in a way I never dreamed I would."

Feedback: Easier to Give Than to Receive - By Nancy Ahlrichs Raichart speaks at WLE conferences around the U.S. No one escapes receiving feedback today--not the teacher, hospital administrator, attorney, elected official, consultant, or you: the businesswoman.

Career Tips:
Health Tip: Avoiding Co-Worker Conflict - by Amanda Bach Co-worker conflict isn't always avoidable. From time to time you'll have to deal with someone who is rude, a bully, or someone who tries to sabotage your work.

What is mentoring & why do we need a mentor? - by Amanda Bach - It seems perfectly clear that, although it is not fatal to lack a mentor, it certainly helps one a great deal to have one, both in technical and conceptual knowledge, learning from a broad base of experience and rapidly gaining a wealth of contacts.

Quick check list - by Amanda Bach - Choosing a career is a big decision. A decision that should involve more than thumbing through a book or newspaper and picking a job that sounds kind of interesting.

Being prepared is the key to stress-free mornings - by Diana Pemberton-Sikes - "There ought to be a law against looking that good this early in the morning with three little kids in tow," another mother told me recently at our preschool. "Stop it! You're making the rest of us look bad!"

 

Resources, Research & Surveys
The Salary Gap Between Women and Men - Sources by Amanda Bach - Back in 1974, few Americans would have been surprised to learn that women earned less money than men. Women who did work outside the home often worked part-time or in lower-paying jobs. Few women entered professions such as law, medicine and accounting. Although women have made significant gains in education, the pay gap between college-educated men and women persists, experts say. While some may label as myth the assertion that 30 years later, in 2006, women still earn less than men, statistical data confirm the reality that a gap continues to exist between salaries earned by men and women. In fact, a 2003 survey by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) shows that women who work full-time, year-round, earn 76% of what men earn. According to NAFE, the gap between men's and women's pay narrowed by only 2 percent between 1991 and 2001.  In a study released in March, Ross found that the median hourly pay for California men with a bachelor's degree was $31.03 in 2006 while women with the same degree earned $24.75. A new report to be released today by the American Assn. of University Women sheds light on what is holding many female graduates back — and what they can do to catch up.

Women in Business: A Demographic Review of Women's Business Ownership - Sources by Amanda Bach - Women-owned firms increased nearly 20 percent, while all U.S. firms grew by seven percent over the latest period studied (1997 and 2002), based on a report released by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The report uses newly released U.S. Census and other data to describe women's contributions to the economy.

Living Dangerously: Even Workers With Desk Jobs Take Big Risks Without Disability Insurance - LIFE Foundation Offers Six Misconceptions about Disability Insurance and the Risk of Becoming Disabled - Sources collected by Amanda Bach - Washington, D.C. – It’s been said that life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. But while Americans have a knack for planning – whether it’s for a business, a wedding or a vacation – many do not have a plan in place to protect their greatest asset – their ability to earn a living.  In an effort to turn a corner on this issue, the non-profit LIFE Foundation is addressing some commonly held misconceptions regarding disability insurance and offering tips to help consumers evaluate their coverage needs.

METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT - By Amanda Bach - DECEMBER 2005 Unemployment rates were lower in December than a year earlier in 273 of the 367 metropolitan areas, higher in 80 areas, and unchanged in 14 areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Thirty-three metropolitan areas registered jobless rates below 3.0%; 24 of these were in the South. Four areas recorded rates of 10.0% or more. The national unemployment rate was 4.6%, not seasonally adjusted, down from 5.1% a year earlier.

The Top Growing Jobs for 2006 - By Amanda Bach - We're seen many big companies with massive laid-off these past few years. We're seen the unemployment rate hit record low & remain at 5% range. Recently, we're also seen the employment numbers continue to pick up as they did for the last two quarters of 2006. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and many independent research firms note the job market will continue to improve in many industries. Retail salesperson is still the highest growing job that is projected to increase over 700,000 from now till 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The conundrum of the glass ceiling - Amanda Bach - National Association Of Women Business Owners - Why are women so persistently absent from top corporate jobs? It is 20 years since the term “glass ceiling” was coined by the Wall Street Journal to describe the apparent barriers that prevent women from reaching the top of the corporate hierarchy; and it is ten years since the American government's specially appointed Glass Ceiling Commission published its recommendations.
Job opening? Work-at-home moms fill bill - National Association Of Women Business Owners - By Stephanie Armour - Like many stay-at-home moms, Christie Thomas spends much of the day doting on her daughter, reading her stories, making her lunch and putting her down for afternoon naps.
Career Spotlight: Mommy track can derail career - By Nisha Ramachandran - National Association Of Women Business Owners - The study examined the ease with which women re-entered the workforce after taking a hiatus to raise a family, care for a parent, or tend to other personal matters. Among the findings: An overwhelming majority (70 %) of women initially felt positive about leaving their full-time jobs.
Number of Women-Owned Businesses Soars to 10.1 Million - By Amanda Bach - Center for Women’s Business Research - It seems that if women own businesses equally with men, or are a minority stakeholders, they are largely unaccounted for in the annals of women’s business research.
Low-Level Jobs Increase Cardiac Risk - Contributed by Amanda Bach - If you're stuck in a low-level job where your boss pushes you around, you may be at increased risk of heart disease.
The Top 12 Job Search Mistakes - By Deborah Walker - Stalled in your job-search efforts? Check out this list to make sure you aren't committing some of the worst job-search mistakes.
Florida has best employment outlook - Sunshine State has vibrant job markets, report says - If you want to know where the jobs are, you probably need to ask where the retirees are going. Indeed, that's still the Sun Belt.
Wage Gap Increases Between Women and Men - US Census Reports - Figures released by the US Census Bureau last week show that the pay gap between women and men widened in 2003.

Women Work! The National Network for Women's Employment
They assist women with career counseling, job placement, job readiness, and life skills development, and have offices throughout the country. To find the office closet to you, call them.
Phone:1-800-235-2732
Phone: 1-202-467-6346
Website: www.womenwork.org

CareerWomen.com - Leading career site for women, job bank, resume bank, & more.

Sexual Harassment - Job Discrimination

Great & Useful Books
ENCORE: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life - Marc Freedman - The boomers are rejecting conventional notions of retirement and crossing into a new stage of work--and their energy could transform what work means for all Americans. The movement of millions of sixty-somethings into a new phase in their working lives constitutes one of the most significant social trends in this country in nearly half a century. Encore describes the competing visions for work that are already lining up to capture the hearts and minds, and the time, of waves of baby boomers who are not content, or affluent enough, to spend their next twenty or thirty years on the golf course. Baby boomers are searching for a calling in the second half of life; they are moving beyond midlife yet refusing to phase out or fade away. If the old dream of the Golden Years was the Freedom from Work, the dream of this new wave is the Freedom to Work--in new ways, on new terms, to new ends. As their numbers begin to swell, these individuals hold the potential not only to transform work in America, but to create a society that balances the joys and responsibilities of contribution across the generations--in other words, one that works better for everyone.

Getting Back on the Career Track - by Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin - Authors of Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay at Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work - Would you like to return to the work world but are concerned about how to find an opportunity that will allow you to fulfill your family or other non-work obligations, nervous about how to “market yourself” to potential employers, or unsure about what type of work you want to do? They took time out to be home with their children, and then relaunched their careers years later. Based upon our experience, and that of the 100+ women they interviewed for this book, as well as the career counselors, recruiters and employers whose advice they sought, they’ve developed a detailed process to help you negotiate this major transition. Returning to the workforce can be a daunting job for full-time moms. Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin understand, because they've been there. And as women who have successfully relaunched their careers, they know it can be done with careful planning, strategizing, and creativity. Now, in Back on the Career Track, they offer a prescriptive, seven-step program that covers such topics as building confidence, assessing career options, updating job skills, preparing for interviews, getting the family on board, networking, and much more.

Excuse Me, Your Job Is Waiting - by Laura George - Other job search books may change your job; Excuse Me, Your Job Is Waiting will change your life! Learn how to make the Law of Attraction bring your dream job to you! Make traditional job search tools work for you. Learn why human resource people do what they do. Excuse Me, Your Job Is Waiting approaches job-hunting from Lynn Grabhorn's philosophy of the astonishing power of feelings introduced to more than half a million readers. Laura George applies the powerful Law of Attraction to the life experiences of both losing and getting a job. George captures the style and substance of Excuse Me, helping you identify the qualities you want in a job. She shows you how to flip the negative feelings you may be carrying ("the economy is terrible"; "I can't believe I got laid off"; "I'm too old") so you can stay focused and upbeat to attract that perfect job to you. Experienced in job hunting from both sides of the interview table, George understands all the highs and lows in this emotionally draining process. By exploring the power feelings have on your job search, this new job seeker's guide is unlike any other. George shows you the job market through the employer's eyes and offers insider information on Resume and cover letters, internet job boards and on-line applications, interview and salary negotiation strategies, and much more.

I Didn't See it Coming Book - by Nancy C. Widmann, Elaine J. Eisenman, Amy Dorn Kopelan - The authors of this utterly unique career guide are three high-powered former executives from major corporations. Each has been on the firing line, faced situations where she didn't see it coming, and emerged more knowledgeable and successful. Not only do the authors know how to spot dangers and wage a clever campaign of corporate politics, they each have worked with and interviewed hundreds of executives whose stories reveal all the different ways and reasons people get blindsided. Our goal in this book is not to place you in a constant state of anxiety and paranoia, but rather to give you the tools you need to step up, charge forward, and reach the top without getting blindsided. Learning to see those red flags will guide and inform every decision you make. It will also give you the power to be a confident and creative leader.

The Application Essay - by Anna Ivey - an excerpt from the book The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions - Whether you're submitting a personal statement, a statement of purpose, or a diversity essay, make sure to follow these rules - Rule #1: Edit and Proofread, Then Proofread Again  Your grammar, spelling, and punctuation must be flawless. When in doubt, pullout those old standbys The Chicago Manual of Style and Strunk & White. If grammar, spelling, and punctuation aren't your strong points, enlist a friend to help (and give you a tutorial, while you're at it). There's no excuse for a college graduate to mess this up. And beware the spell-check trap -- it won't catch "right" when you should have written "write," and it won't catch your "commitment to pubic service." (You laugh, but I saw that typo as a law review editor.) Always have a second pair of eyes proofread your essays before you send them off.

Useful links & information

Job & Training Information

Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) - www.doleta.gov
Phone: 1-877-US-2-JOBS (1-877-872-5627)

or use America Service Locator - www.servicelocator.org
To find the location of your nearest One-Stop Career Center, where you can go to learn about current job openings and training opportunities in your area.

America Job Banks - www.ajb.org
A federal Website that give full-time job listings from all over the country that represent all types of work.

USA Jobs - www.usajobs.opm.gov
Explore the 18,095 Federal jobs in the USAJOBS database. It's your one stop source for Federal jobs and employment information.

America Career InfoNet - www.acinet.org/acinet/ - America's Career InfoNet is a resource for making informed career
decisions to support a demand-driven workforce investment system.

Career Voyages - www.careervoyages.gov - Start exploring career options and be in demand by knowing about high growth jobs with better wages and brighter future.

• Career Exploration

• Career Tools & Services

• Services for Job Seekers

• Hire Vets First

• Career Guide to Industries

• Occupational Outlook Handbook

• Occupational Outlook Quarterly

• Office of Workforce Security: Labor Exchange

• Foreign Labor Certification

• One-Stop Employment Services

• Senior Community Service Employment Program

• Trade Act Programs

• Employment Opportunities at the Department of Labor

• Major Occupations at the Department of Labor

• Pay and Benefits at the Department of Labor

• Jobs in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Washington, DC

• Jobs in BLS - Regions

101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women	Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman	Working Mothers 101	All Mothers Are Working Mothers
The Single Mom's Workplace Survival Guide	Survival Tips for Working Moms	The Big Sister's Guide to the World of Work	In the Company of Women