Letters to the Editor
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Five year rule
The claim that there is a glass ceiling holding women back often conflicts with my own observations that although men and women enter the workforce as equals women sometimes fall behind due to their (1) unwillingness to assume additional responsibilities and (2) unwillingness to upgrade their skills. I am stressing the word "unwillingness" because it comes across that way. Recently, I asked 2 female senior accountants on the same day to attend a local seminar on recent accounting pronouncements and they both simply refused with no real explanation. I sent a "temp" employee instead to represent our company and made a mental note of their refusal. On other occasions, other women have simply said "no" to additional responsibilities along the lines of: "I really don't want any additional responsibilities. Thank you very much". I have been in supervisory positions for 25 years and I generally do not hear these commments coming from the guys at any age or any level in the company. I am aware that many women have full time jobs at home but they also need to be more diplomatic with their employers when opportunities come their way.
This becomes noticeable after about 5-6 years in the workforce or around 30 years old.
Your comments please.