Heart Book Series

Women Step Up as Men Lose Jobs

Click USA Today link and story here.

Caitlin Lawson, 17, races into the dining room to report that she has been accepted at her favorite state college. Alex Lawson, 49, a longtime auto sales executive, wraps his daughter in a bear hug. Beaming nearby is mom Antonia, 50, aka "Tuppy," whose colorful works of ceramic art fill the family’s immaculate suburban home.

But like many images in these ruthless times, this picture deceives.

The Lawson home is spotless because it’s for sale so they can reduce their debt. Alex has been unemployed for nearly a year; in January, he had a stress-induced stroke. Tuppy became the financial head of household overnight: She has abandoned her decade-in-the-making art career and taken a sales job at the local Apple store to keep her brood, which includes another daughter in college, solvent.

"It’s all so bizarre," says Tuppy, head tilted, looking like someone who has just been told the moon really is made out of cheese. "But I’m going to do what I have to do, and do it the best I can."

Throughout the USA, moms such as Tuppy are rushing to the helm of the family ship.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
67% of women with children under 18 work
and women make up 46% of the labor pool.

But this recession could soon make women a majority of America’s workforce: 82% of the 2.5 million jobs lost since November were held by men.

Behind that cold statistic is an often heated rearrangement of the family dynamic. With gender roles and responsibilities being radically redefined, wives now face the pressure inherent in being the sole breadwinner while also retaining their household responsibilities. Meanwhile, husbands must reconstruct their definition of contributing to the family enterprise, often swapping a paycheck for a broom.

Working mothers — and just a few fathers, as many declined to talk — reveal equal parts pride in leaping into the breach, and frustration that things have come to this. Some express relief at seeing a husband develop new at-home skills; others despair when a spouse simply shuts down.

What all of them exude is an ability to focus uncomplainingly on taking care of business.

"Times are a-changing, and you got to roll with the times," says Christina Fekas-Gorman, 34, of San Diego, a secretary in the county offices who recycles cans for cash to cover staples such as diapers for 2-year-old Zoe.

Husband Sean was laid off from a pool repair company a year ago and quickly sank into depression. The couple fought a lot, and he moved out.

"I felt like, ‘I cook, I clean, I shop, and now I’m the only one with a job?’ " she says. "That got physically and mentally draining real fast. He apologized and came back home."

A silver lining?

Some observers say the recession could benefit women’s march toward social equality.

"How interesting that four months of a terrible economy could in a way prove to have more impact than four decades of feminism," says Amy Keroes, founder of mommytrackd.com, a networking site for working mothers.

"The women on the site who are primary breadwinners say they’re proud to be that, but at the same time there’s also a longing to be home," she says. "The economy has simply taken choices away from people."

Past recessions and, notably, World War II also saw women charging into the workforce. But those leaps forward were often accompanied by steps back into the home, says Rebecca Traister, who writes on women and politics for Salon.com. This time, she says, things will be different.

"Feminism laid the groundwork for progress in income, in job positions," she says. "On top of that, now you have a radical shift in the view of fatherhood and its importance. So really what remains to be seen is whether that all translates into (a male) embrace of the drudgery that is domestic work. Either way, these times will require a huge re-imagining of roles."

In the best cases, which the Lawsons typify, these domestic flip-flops are faced with both humor and acceptance.

With Tuppy’s peaceful daily routine — tea and National Public Radio, waiting for inspiration to strike — replaced by a daily job, art is but a distant memory. "I can’t really think of anything I want to create," she says.

Alex has learned to conjure family dinners, searching for recipes when not pumping out upward of 40 résumés a month.

The idea to sell the house was his. Tuppy blanched at first, then agreed it made sense.

"We’d sell anything to help our girls stay on their academic tracks," says Alex, whose eldest is a junior at Stanford University. The family is awaiting word from both girls’ schools about financial aid, which will determine their scholastic fate for next year. Until then, selling the house helps the Lawsons become debt- and mortgage-free. And flexible.

"If I land a job, we can go as far as Timbuktu," Alex says.

In the meantime, Alex says he has a newfound appreciation for the simple pleasure of returning from work to a cooked meal. And Tuppy "finally understands why (Alex) would come home and insist on a glass of wine," she says. "After a day of customers asking questions, I totally get it now."

But for many families, the turmoil that sweeps through the house when a husband is laid off can have the effect of a tornado ripping through a campground.

Life was good for Bridget Culpepper, 37, and her husband, who had a successful career in the mortgage business in Portland, Ore. "Times were great," she says. "He’s a good person."

The freefall was painfully long. With the mortgage industry in decline last year, her husband retreated into online gaming. Culpepper began to work, taking any job she could to help provide for the couple’s two young girls, from freelance Web design to running Spanish-language play groups. "I was sure things would turn around," she says.

Instead, the couple lost their house and cars. Then she nearly lost her will: "I hit a wall, and contemplated suicide."

The couple separated. He lives with his parents and she lives in a rented apartment with the girls.

"This is happening to many people I know," she says. "The ones who do OK are in partnerships in which sometimes you know that the parts might shift. There’s excitement in redefining roles. But a lot of people are having a hard time with it."

Count Teresa Maute-Carr, 37, of Quakertown, Pa., in that group. After her husband lost his longtime construction-related position in February, her job — and health insurance — in the billing department of a local hospital became the family’s lifeline.

"We were always people who lived within our means, we didn’t do anything wrong, so why are we paying for it?" she says, her voice cracking. "I sweat bullets to stay within our budget. Our 6-year-old keeps asking why Daddy is still at home."

And that frustration shoots in her husband’s direction. "I want to yell, ‘Just fix it.’ But I know it’s not his fault."

After a long silence, Maute-Carr laughs. "I will say it’s easier now to ask my husband to unload the dishwasher or to vacuum," she says. "And I do think he might see me differently. He admires me."

‘This is what needs to be done’

There’s mutual admiration in the Lage home in Richmond, Va.

Both Cheryl, 44, and Scott, 41, have roots in the ad production world. When Scott’s 15-year career with Circuit City crashed to a close in January, he was left with part-time employment while Cheryl scrambled for work after seven years at home with twins.

"The way it worked out with us both freelancing is great," she says. "And he’s home a lot more. I loved being with the kids all the time. But this is what needs to be done now."

In the Bretana home in Irvine, Calif., Anne, 42, is impressed with the adjustments made by husband Louis, 43, who has quickly developed go-to dinners and figured out the school schedules of daughters Emilia, 5, and Lily, 3.

"I’m not going to say it wasn’t hard at first, to go from being the guy bringing home the money to being in charge of shopping, but I look at it as a chance to expand some skills," says Louis, whose architecture firm cut him back to half-time recently. That means he has home duty but also needs to make sure clients are happy.

Anne is in the same field; she works 80% and is now pushing to go full-time. "There’s a lot of pressure on me to make sure I’m not laid off," she says.

"I didn’t think I’d be dealing with this sort of situation in my 40s, when our careers and lives should have been well-defined. I thought life would be different. But there you go."

SERIES for WOMEN coming back into the workplace:
Hosted on Wednesday mornings in San Diego April, but available to bring to your city as a 2-day Boot camp! CLICK HERE.

TIPS for WOMEN coming back into the workplace:
Heart of a Woman in Business
by 8-time Business Owner, Sheryl Roush
Stories, Strategies and Skills for Business Success
Available at Amazon.com, or click here

“Heart of a Woman in Business”
Book Review
by Amy Lupold Bair
Click here for original article posting

Type-A Mom Gift Guide – Gifts for Moms
November 7, 2008

Books have always been a favorite holiday and birthday present both for me to give and receive, but some books tend to make better gifts than others. Heart of a Woman in Business by Sheryl L. Roush is one of those books. As a stay-at-home mom who just recently launched an online business, this book could not have entered my life at a better time. This small, square bedside tome makes for perfect evening reading.

Buy Heart of a Woman in Business here. 

Author Sheryl Roush shares with the reader not only her best practices and suggestions, but she has also assembled a marvelous collection of inspirational quotes and wonderfully written passages from highly successful men and women.  One such passage that I’ve found particularly inspirational is from Kimberly Anne’s “What is Your Occupassion?”  She writes,

I remember one of my girlfriends in elementary school who said that she wanted to be a flight attendant when she grew up…She still loves being a flight attendant.  It’s what I call her ‘occupassion.’  We’re not all like that, though.  I certainly wasn’t.  I didn’t realize my calling, so to speak, until I was forty-two years old.  I used to secretly think that there was something wrong with me because I’d start looking for something else whenever I was in a position for a few years.  The realist in me seemed to always pursue jobs within the same field, but that thing in me that wanted to feel fulfilled by the work I did still yearned for something – something it wasn’t getting.

This work is not only something that I have been able to relate to, but have found to be simultaneously inspirational.  I highly recommend checking out this book as well as the others in the Heart Book Series for the women who hold your heart this holiday season.

Heart of a Woman in Business is written by Sheryl L. Roush, an international speaker and author. Her website is www.SparklePresentations.com. You can purchase the book here : $16.95 for paperback.

National Business Women’s Week Poem:
Heart of a Woman in Business

Heart of a Woman in Business
by Sheryl L. Roush

A woman in business is like no other
Multi-brilliant at work, and often too, a mother.
Guided by vision to make a difference in this world,
Reporting for service, with her hair even curled.
Ready to go, whenever the need
She knows in her heart, there’s a calling to feed.
To do right, to speak up, determined to succeed
A role model that plants the possibility seed.
Knows who she is, right down to the core
Her essence, her passion—shine all the more!
She’s in charge with a handle on it all.
At the office, at home, or at the mall.
Even in the depth of all she may know
Realizes there’s still plenty room to grow.
So energetic, creative and fun…
Early rise, there’s much to be done!
She still finds time to laugh and to play
Sacred time too, to kneel and to pray
It comes from inside, driven by vision,
Get on board – she’s on a great mission!
Her daily prayer resides in God’s grace
Serving others from her heart sets the pace
Making use of her talent, wisdom and skill
From strengths and trust in Divine will.
Gentle, compassionate, loving and strong
In this sisterhood of success you want to belong
Anything she puts her heart to she can do
She’s not alone sis’ta – as you can too!
The road to get here has been quite a ride
“Call me ‘Woman’– it’s my source of pride!”
Come along, she’s blazin’ new trail
A woman in business—whom we all hail!
-Sheryl L. Roush
©2008 Sheryl L. Roush, All rights reserved.

Permission to distribute or publish this poem, you must include author and book credit.

Sheryl Roush is an 8-time business entrepreneur, starting her first business at the young age of 16 in the patio of her parent’s home. She is a top-rated international speaker, inspiring people to bring their heart to work. Her programs rekindle the spirit, raise the bar and create excitement. www.SparklePresentations.com

Order your autographed printed copy of Heart of a Woman in Business book before October 31, 2008, and receive the FREE eBook version of Sparkle-Tudes! inspirational quotations for & by women, also written by Sheryl L. Roush. Order directly from the Sparkle Store at www.SparklePresentations.com for this offer.
(CLICK HERE FOR SPECIAL OFFER)

National Business Women’s Week
October 20-24 – Stats of Interest

More than 70 years ago, President Herbert Hoover designated the third week of October as "National Business Women’s Week."

Here are some current facts and figures about women and the labor force that can help human resources specialists put women and work into perspective for their organizations’ own culture and diversity initiatives.

1. There were 61 million women in the labor force in 1998. Seventy-four percent (45 million) were employed full-time and 26 percent (16 million) worked part-time.

2. In 1999, 60 percent of women age 16 and over were either working or looking for work, Nearly three out of four women between the ages of 20 and 54 were labor force participants.

3. Women’s share of the labor force reached 46 percent in 1994 and has remained at this level. By 2005, women are expected to make up 48 percent of the labor force.

4. In 1998, 40.7 percent of employed women worked in technical, sales, and administrative support occupations, 31.4 percent worked in managerial and professional fields, and 17.5 percent worked in service occupations.

5. In 1998, 3.7 million women were multiple job-holders, compared with 4.2 million men.

6. Women accounted for half of the 5.6 million contingent workers (temporary help agency workers, independent contractors, part-time and temporary workers) in 1997.

7. The labor force participation rate for working mothers in 1998 was 71.8 percent. The participation rate for married mothers with children under a year old was 57.6 percent, and the rate for unmarried mothers with children under a year old was 58.8 percent.

8. In 1999, 255,000 women in their 70s, 80s, and 90s were employed or actively seeking employment in the United States, an 80 percent increase since 1985. The U.S. Social Security Administration projects that more than 7 million people aged 65 and over will fill the labor force by 2020, and 3 million of them will be women.

Source: BPW/USA’s 101 Facts on the Status of Working Women, Washington, DC., www.bpwusa.org
Source: BNET Business Network

National Business Women’s Week:
Recommended Reading

This week is the nationally celebrated as National Business Women’s Week, acknowledging the accomplishments of working women everywhere.

Released September 9th and in honor of this annual celebration, Sheryl Roush released the newest book in the Heart Book Series, Heart of a Woman in Business, is an inspirational and professional treasury of original short stories, poems and quotations from over 80 contributors.

Heart of a Woman in Business is an inspirational collection celebrating working women and their unique contributions to the workplace. This "here’s how" book combines sisters-sharing-with-sisters insight with guidance, ideas, stories, and "I am doing it, you can too!" encouragement. It is a powerful book written by and for entrepreneurs, executives, professionals, part-timers, free-lancers, retirees, and working mothers. Experts, coaches, speakers, trainers, retirees, share their top tips, secrets and advice in conversational tone.

Contributors include: Andrea Glass, Christine Kloser, Darlene M. Fahl-Brittian, Debbie Allen, Debbie Lousberg, Helen Blanchard, Jeanie Callen Barat, Juliet Funt, Linda Salazar, Lynn Pierce, Marcia Reynolds, Sharon Wilson and "Dr. Zonnya" Laferney.

Sheryl Roush, an eight-time entrepreneur since age 16, knows a thing or two about being a woman in business. From competing in men’s sports beginning at age 8, to replacing men in corporate positions at age 20, and succeeding in traditionally male-dominated industries and organizations. She is the President and CEO of Sparkle Presentations, Inc., based in San Diego, California. Organizations hire her to rekindle the spirit, raise the bar and create excitement, from creating positive work environments to enhancing communication skills, and boosting morale and cooperation. Some of her clients include: 7-Up; IBM; Sheraton; Stampin’ Up!; Sony, the Women in Publishing Society, Hong Kong; Union Bank; US Census Bureau; Womens’ Council of Realtors; Women in Business Symposiums; and the Zoological Society of San Diego. Her other books include: Heart of a Woman, Heart of a Mother, Heart of the Holidays, Corazon de Mujer, and Sparkle-Tudes!

For autographed copies of the book, click here.
To learn more about Sheryl Roush visit www.SparklePresentations.com.

Heart of a Woman in Business
Book Contributors Announced

The long-awaited list of names of those contributors whose original submissions for the Heart of a Woman in Business book is finally posted!  Today, Sheryl Roush, author, reveals the list of those to be published in the fifth book in the Heart Book Series, produced by Sparkle Press in San Diego, California.

Congratulations to each of these ladies and thank you for sharing your stories, strategies, and skills with working women everywhere.

Andrea Glass <www.WritersWay.com>
Andrea Gold <www.goldstars.com>
Becky Palmer <www.ctihome.com>
Belinda Sanders <www.BelindaSandersConsulting.com>
Betty LaMarr <www.nadisa.com>
Cappi Pidwell <www.cappipidwell.com>
Carol J. Grabowski <www.memorialcare.org>
Carol Shields <www.carolshields.net>
Cath Kachur-DeStefano <www.HumanTuneUp.com>
CeCe Canton <www.cecephoto.com>
Celeste Michelle Alba Lim <www.wlfcentre.com>
Christine Kloser <www.loveyourlife.com>
Darlene M. Fahl-Brittian <www.TakeUpTheCup.com>
Debbie Allen <www.DebbieAllen.com>
Debbie Barnett <www.DebbieBarnett.com>
Debbie Lousberg <www.LousbergUnlimited.com>
Debra Snider <www.DebraSnider.com>
Eileen Burke <www.queeneileens.com>
Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez <www.dynamicvisionintl.com>
Elizabeth Bateman <www.csc-a.com>
Helen Blanchard <www.HelenBlanchard.comt>
Iris Adam <www.uci.edu>
Ivka Adam <www.marshall.usc.edu>
Jan Mills <www.janmills.net>
Jan Smith <www.inlandmgtgroup.com>
Jana Stanfield <www.JanaStanfield.com>
Jane Ilene Cohen <www.janecohen.net>
Janice Weight, Retired teacher
Jeanie Callen Barat <www.CallenFitness.com> <www.Fit2BeMoms.com>
Joni Wilson <www.JoniWilsonVoice.com>
Judy Tejwani <www.sayitinembroidery.com>
Juliet Funt <www.TalkingOnPurpose.com>
Karen Hudson <www.KarenHudsonSeminars.com>
Karen Robertson <www.GiantStepSuccess.com>
Karen Tate <www.KarenTate.com>
Katherine Wertheim <www.werth-it.com>
Kathi Burns <www.addspacetoyourlife.com>
Kay Starr, Retired Tree Farmer
Kimberly Anne Eaton <www.all-about-home-businesses.com>
Kristen Crawford, Speaker
Lanie Adamson <www.ewordpro.com>
Laura Rubinstein <www.TransformToday.com>
Laurie Sheppard <www.creatingatwill.com>
Lidia Martinez <www.southwest.com>
Linda Salazar <www.awakenthegeniewithin.com>
Liz Myers <www.rootedliving.com>
Lyn White <www.lwhiteinsurance.com>
Lynn Pierce <www.LynnPierce.com>
Marcia Reynolds <www.OutsmartYourBrain.com>
Marcy Decato <www.cswebsitedesign.com>
Maria Carter <www.fallinlovewithyourlife.com>
Marianne Matheis <www.changespeaker.com>
Marilyn McLeod <www.CoachMarilyn.com>
Mary Lenore Quigley, Professional Poet
MaryPat Kavanaugh <www.queenofmarketing.com>
Michelle Burkart <www.think-biz.com>
Mona Moon <www.MonaMoon.com>
Moonstone Star White <www.spiritwindpublishing.com>
Morgana Rae <www.charmedlifecoach.com>
Nancy Bahr <www.nbahrdesigns.com>
Nikki Goldman <www.DrNikkiGoldman.com>
Oprah Winfrey <www.Oprah.com>
Pamela Kelly <www.pkelly.com>
Pat Morgan <www.SmoothSailingSuccess.com>
Patricia Stewart <www.AurorisEntertainment.com>
Peggy O’Neill <www.YoPeggy.com>
Raven Blair Davis <www.WomenPower-Radio.com>
Regina Baker <www.Wahmcart.com>
Ruth Koepp, Volunteer Extraordinaire
Sarita Maybin <www.SaritaMaybin.com>
Sharon Wilson <www.coachingfromspirit.com>
Sherrie Rose <www.SavorHealthyLife.com>
Sherry Netherland <www.sherrynetherlandconsulting.com>
Sheryl Roush <www.SparklePresentations.com>
Sheva Carr <www.fyera.com>
Shirlie Cunningham <www.aei-casc.com>
Suzan Tusson-McNeil <www.webenomads.com>
Trina Hess <www.yourshiningexample.com>
Valerie Rickel <www.SoulfulLiving.com>
Vicki Notaro <www.sandiegozoo.org>
Vijaya Jayaraman, McLANE
Virginia A. Ellis <www.poetrybyginny.com>
Zonnya Laferney <www.DrZonnya.com>