welcome to beyond the headlines, i'll cheryl jennings. every week we focus on different topic. today we're talking about women and the workplace. according to the department of labor, in 2009, women made up 46.8% of the total u.s. work

force. that was 66 million women who are employed full time and part time. percentage of female workers is only going to increase within the next decade. congresswoman jackie speier founded the professional businesswoman of california 22 years ago to address some of the issues that women encounter in the workplace. recently i had a chance to ta tk to her about pbwc in the workplace. >> it's an effort to put on a conference every year, 3,000 to,000 women come every year. so women have been really uplifted by the experience, it's not just a conference but an all year program with seminars and breakfast meetings that really make it a full-fledged program that women can access throughout

their professional career and throughout the year, as well. >> there is still an inequity women versus men with salaries in the workplace. it must have been so much different back then? >> it was and it's now a lot different. that in the business world and the political world, all these great strides made, we can point to 1992 for the year of the women in politics but if you look at the last ten years, there were more women elected in 1992 to the house and senate than had been elected in total in the last ten years. if you look at the professional world, if you rook at the business world, there are fewer ceos that are women today than there were last year by four.

so they have gone down from 15 to 11. inequity in salaries -- we've edged up a little bit, it's now 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man, but we're not gaining the kind of traction a should b. as we should be. that the rate it will be the year 2100 before women actually reach equity. >> a lot of women don't want to go into that sort of business, it's hard -- they are afraid they won't have the support they need. how do you change that? >> it's between changing the dynamic because one of the things we also know, women are great negotiators for others. but when it comes to negotiate a salary, they link it to a root

canal. they feel it's competitive sport. we look at that indifferently. so when we look at fact that women, for instance, in the business world, when you have women at the top, the return the financial return to the company is greater. and yet there is also the sense that you can't do something part time and women really feel compelled to raise their children and oftentimes will take those tha time off and they've lost a lot in that regard, as well. part time employment should be fostered not discouraged. >> how does women gain leadership skills? >> i think that women that they

need to spend more time mentoring other women. we try to do this at pbwc and whether it's the grocery store the cable car, the parking lot and they say, you know that absolutely changed my life. that he have taken their careers and they have left the corporate world, gone back into the corporate world andtrepreneur be entrepreneurial. it is really what we should be doing whether a professional setting or a political setting. >> a lot of women are worried they won't be liked. i know politicians, that goes right out the window. >> politicians, they like to give the impression they are everybody's side so they try to impart that which gives them a lack of integrity that they are criticized for. i think it's important to

realize that people wanted less to like you and more to have confidence that what you say is what you do. the integrity factor is huge. >> congresswoman jackie speier. we have to take a quick break. i'll have more of my conversation with her when we come back. [ asst mgr ] what are you doing? fixing the name. it'siber none. looks like one.

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account only for 8% of the top corporate executives in the state. >> once you reach the highest level of the firm your chances are making it to the board is roughly the same for men and women. so most of the action in terms of discrimination whether it's intentional or otherwise is happening lower in the organization. >> bay area overall had the highest percentage of women in top leadership positions. here is more from my conversation with congresswoman jackie speier. >> as we look at the political sphere, our state ranked 59th in the world in the number of women in leadership positions. we represent about 17% of those that serve in congress. now, that is startling figure. this last election process fewer women aren serving in congress for the first time we have seen an actual decrease in

the number of women serving in congress. we're still only 20%. we site see it in the state legislatures and city councils and board of supervisors, the numbers are not increasing. they are either stagnating or decreasing. >> is eight fear factor? >> i don't know. some suggest it's the intensity factor, it's not the same intensity. yet, women of our age and position should be maximizing the opportunities for young women and calling out to the women in their 50s and older to really recognize a deem and important responsibility to foster young women. >> you have made some very powerful comments about the military and what is happening with female soldiers.

their risk at personal safety. >> i was so astonished when i got to congress. there have been 18 studies in the last 16 years looking at the issue of rape in the military and nothing has changed. so recently an organization has filed a lawsuitilian civilian court to address the issue and 17 women and a number of men have come forward to be the plaintiffs in the class action. i feel very strongly about this issue, if we don't fix it it's more than shame on america. 19,000 women are raped every year in the military, 19,000. more likely to be injured by a

fellow soldier than bee killed by military enemies. 13% were actually reported and that is because they are basically told that it's not going to be taken beyond the command level. first reported to the command and then the command makes the decision as to whether or not it's reported to military court system. so it reflects poorly on the command if they have rapes going on and they don't report. there are other issues that you touched on briefly. health and health care. i know that is dear to you, as well. >> we had a huge battle in recent months over funding of family planning and specifically planned parenthood. the continuing resolution was held hostage and we were going to shut the government down when it was exposed that the one

issue, the one sticking point was defunding planned parenthood. the president said that is my line in the sand and female senators, said that is my line in the sand. and the money on planned hiarnt hood, a very strong argument, by defunding planned parenthood you are adding to the deficit. and an important note president richard nixon signed the family planning law back in the early '70s. republicans. >> republicans and scrorj bush the 41th president, big proponent of family planning. so the effort to defund planned parenthood because they offer abortion services is irrelevant because this money can only be

spent on family planning services. by the way, abortion -- >> jackie speier will be attending at conference may 10th >> we have a keynote speak where us today, renowned arthur as bell allende. we'll be right back. male annou] using frontline plus shows your pet you care... by unleashing a complete killing force against fleas and ticks. and not just adult fleas. what makes frontline plus complete is that it breaks the flea life cycle -- killing adults, eggs, and larvae.

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welcome back to beyond the headlines, i'm cheryl jennings. joining me in the studio is cindy solomon, she is ceo of solomon and associates and a new author. you are in leadership and consulting process and you work with executives all over the place. >> i think the things i see consistently across industry and around the world in my work is women struggle with three very speck things that i believe get in the way. the first is women think networking is nice to do but rather than have to do. as they continue up the corporate ladder it's theships

relationships they build within their industry that will help them succeed tanned get to the higher levels. second thing, women don't ask. we believe if we sit and work harder than anybody else and keep focused on the job, somebody will come up behind us and give us the promotion that we want. the reality is that we have to ask for those things. women don't do it. less than 20% of women ask for a raise, ask for a promotion or ask for that assignment as compared to men. i think the third thing that women struggle is we forget that our development is our job. going after those new skills and taking the time to prioritize skill development is part of what is responsible for in our careers. it's not our company's job to develop ourselves but it's our job. >> they do expect to be hand today them? >> absolutely. >> and i spoke to the

congresswoman, we wanted to be liked? >> that's right. >> how do we get over that? >> i think the biggest thing we need to find people to mentor us and model those activities for us. i think that is one of the amazing things that pbwc does amazingly. you get to interact with your friends where you can practice skills and do it in a safe way. we just have to bite the bullet and become more courageous about taking care of ourselves, asking for those promotions and going for more money is taking care of ourselves. >> we have 30 seconds left. what can we expect from this year's conference? >> this year's conference we have the best line-up in my personal experience in the past ten years that we've ever had. keynote speaker is going to be speaking to later. we have an amazing roster of women who have been incredibly accomplished and successful in their own arenas.

from the literature to business with the co. on of facebook to someone that coming to speak to us and advocate for young women. it's spectacular. >> all right. cindy, i will look forward to hear you speaking there, too. i'm going to learn from you. >> you, as well. >> we do have to take another break. we have world-renowned author isabel allende in just a few moments. [ alarm blares ] [ female announcer ] important events can sneak up on you. oh, i am not ready. [ female announcer ] but in two weeks, you could feel ready. introducing yoplait light's two week tune up diet plan. you could lose 5 pounds 2 weeks when you replace breakfast and lunch with a fruit, grain, and yoplait light. betsy bets. you haven't changed a bit.

oh...neither have you... sean. well, yeah. [ female announcer ] go to yoplait.com to start your two week tune up. welcome back to beyond the headlines, the professional businesswomen of california is holding annual conference tuesday may 10th at moscone center in san francisco. it's one of the largest gathering of businesswomen in the country. it has an impre impressive linef speakers.

and facebook coo and "good morning america"'s leigh wood rough and in the studio we have renowned author isabel allende. she has written 18 books that has been translated into 30 languages. she sold 57 million copies of her work. i'm so delighted to see you. >> thank you for having me. >> what is that? >> it's strong women. i know how strong they are and how hard most woman's lives are. that is what i write about. the journey of the hero, you overcome obstacles and you finally get what you are

fighting for. i think that is the life of most women. >> it's a great theme for this upcoming conference. >> i think there is a connection. we are connected and we are together if we help each other. we are strong and we can do anything. >> one of the messages that strong women, is going to be an important part of your speech. you will be one of keynote speakers. >> i want to talk about how important it is the work that every woman does for other women. we have health care. we live that country where we have cancer, most of the women don't and we tend to forget it's our privileges and our right and extend it to everybody we can lose it very fast. so my message to women is always the same, get together, be connected and be informed and be educated and remember your

sister. >> cheryl: i had some information about women can do a lot, for every dollar spent, 20 dollars is spent on men? >> children's programs. for every ten programs, nine goes to boys, one goes for girls so it'sg appalling the difference. and with government have known for years and years if you invest in your women you bring the family out of poverty and they soon develop. backward countries are the ones that put women down. having that knowledge we can get much more.

so we have to bring women up. >> cheryl: obviously what is the message. how do we do that? >> philanthropy but the most important thing that women have to be aware of who is going to change the world. men? why would they. so it's us. this is the moment. we're at the cusp of a moment yearning for attention. the planet, the world is a mess and we need to get young women involved. >> and young women in the united states that have everything and yet they don't call themselves feminists. >> thank you so much. it's great to hear you speak at the conference. it's a pleasure you are to see

you here. >> we do have to take another break. we'll be back with more about the pbwc conference. in just a moment. [ ma announcer ] 95% of all americans aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's easier than you think, because general mills big g line of cereals is america's number one source of whole grain at breakfast. there's whole grain in every box... ♪ ...from chex... to cheerios... to lucky charms. so you can get the whole grain you want with the taste you love. get started on the whole grain you're missing with your favorite big g cereals. make sure to look for the white check.

welcome back. i'm cheryl jennings. i'm with the coo marion friegsen cofounder and coo of efactor.com the world's largest burial is community. >> we started efactor because we felt there was a need for a support system for entrepreneurs. we heard from the prior speakers isabel and cindy how women struggle to find a support system and how they need to develop themselves. efactor does that for entrepreneurs, men and women, i have to say. we've built a twok over the last

few years close to a million members in 68 countries. >> cheryl: how are able to get that support? >> efactor is focused on four primary things. i think every entrepreneur needs, we provide them with mentoring, with knowledge and advice. we provide them with funding for their business. we help them save costs all over the world. and we help them expand their business. but the membership is an important component. we efactor it's not just online but as you call it, we bring people together and we help them help each other and that is such an important piece of the entire puzzle and how you support young people and other people that want to go into business anywhere in the world. >> cheryl: it sounds something, like how am i going to do this.

so who makes a good entrepreneur and who doesn't? >> that is hard to say. to be a great entrepreneur you need to have courage. you need to have passion about what you do. if you don't have passion, if you don't have a great idea, you feel passionate about something in your life that can be a good business because the passion will helpful you overcome the obstacles. we come across a lot of people that are successful in business, worked for a corporate company for many years, have always talked about starting their own business at some point. they never seem to -- if you are hesitated that go much, time after time give up on an opportunity to become lead your own company then you may not be right for it. >> cheryl: not taking kha chance means that they are not motivated? >> it's motivation, passionate and determination.

i think with a lot of people, they like the safety net too much. being an entrepreneur is not just something you do on the side. it's a lifestyle. it's not somebody as one of said the other day, it's not that you have a life-work balance. entrepreneur is 24/7. >> cheryl: thank you so much. i can't wait to hear you at the conference. >> all right. out are now out o. i thank all of you for joining us and thank you for joining us on beyond the headlines. find this information on our website at abc7news.com if you are looking for community resources in your neighborhood dial 211 for help. i'm cheryl jennings. join us at the conference on may 10th. we'll see you next time. [ older brother ] hey, that's the last crescent. [ younger brother ] oh, do you want it?

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