Aggressive or Assertive: You Tell Me

Do you agree or disagree?

"For women, the point of life is to make connections. They'd rather cooperate than compete. They want everyone to cross the finish line at the same time, preferably holding hands." - Bridget Brennan, managing director of Speaking Female, a marketing company owned by Zeno Public Relations in Chicago.

I know I don't really want to hold hands, but that doesn't mean I won't give one to help you cross the finish line. Cooperate or compete? Can't we do both?

Robot Receptionist?

The Japanese HR firm People Staff has launched a service that could drastically trim the cost of hiring front-desk help, but it's unclear whether the device has a future in the U.S. Robot Dispatch can recognize up to 10 faces and hold 20,000 stored conversation patterns, songs and riddles.

I'm not sure I would want to be greeted by this "receptionist". Although fun, I think it would be wise to have a back up humanoid on hand.

Do women use the internet to improve relationships?

According to a recent report from Pew Internet and American Life, women view the Internet as a place to extend, support, and nurture relationships and communities.

While both sexes equally appreciate the efficiency and convenience of email, women are more likely than men to value the medium for its positive effects on improving relationships, expanding networks, and encouraging teamwork at the office.

If you are a woman, this is no news to you. Just take a look around at the number of women-oriented internet communities popping up - from networking to mom groups. Women tend to use email more and write about a variety of subjects.

What is a surprise is that men tend to be more intense Internet users than women, being more likely to go online daily (61% of men and 57% of women) and more likely to go online several times a day (44% of men and 39% of women). Men are more likely to use the Internet to check the weather, get news, find do-it-yourself information, acquire sports scores and information, look for political information, do job-related research, download software, listen to music, rate a product/person/service through an online reputation system, download music, use a webcam, and take a class.

This is useful information for the savvy marketer to keep in mind.

Japan Most Difficult Country for Career Women

The Japanese word for wife, “kanai,” is formed from two characters meaning “home” + “inside.” This traditional view starkly contrasts with a modern world where women make up about half the workforce. A belated recognition of the changing role of women in society led to theenactment of Japan’s Equal Opportunity Law in 1986, an event accompanied by a fanfare of press releases about how companies were going to implement the new order. Yet 18 years later, women wishing to pursue a career still find the going hard although Japan is not alone.

A study this April by the U.K.’s Ethical Investment Research Services found that overall, only seven percent of company directors in developed countries are women, while over 46% had no women on their boards. North American companies were among global leaders with women representing about 13% of their boards.(The study covered 24 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, basedon the 1,817 firms listed in the FTSE All World Developed Index.) Pride of place went to Norway, where over 21% of board directors are women. Japan is at the other extreme; only 0.4% of board members are women, easily the lowest score for any major economy. Similar findings came from an earlier study by Corporate Women Directors International that found only 3% of 2,396 listed Japanese companies had even one woman director,the lowest figure of any major economy. Though not alone, Japan is evidently the most difficult developed country for a woman to pursue a career.