Working women in the U.S.

PROVIDED BY: Guide to International Relocation

Women are a significant and increasing presence on the American business and professional scene. They are still a minority among senior managers and are even less visible at the very highest operating levels, as presidents and chief executive officers of major companies. They are strongly represented on boards of directors, in middle management, and in lower staff positions, where not infrequently they may constitute the majority of personnel in an office. More than half of all American women work outside the home, although the great majority are in low-level, often poorly paid jobs.

Pay scales and discrimination
Although pay on the average still lags behind that of men in similar positions, the gap is steadily if slowly being closed and, in general, the professional woman has found greater acceptance in U.S. business than is the case in any other country. This is in part a consequence of public policy. National law prohibits discrimination in hiring and pay on the basis of gender, as well as other grounds such as race. State governments and local jurisdictions in many instances have supplemented federal law with their own area-specific guarantees of gender equality in the work place.

Dealing with businesswomen
It is increasingly likely that a business visitor to the U.S. will encounter women as their American counterparts in initial contacts and eventual negotiations leading to agreements. This will present no problems, even for visitors from countries where women are not a significant presence in business, providing the same basic business protocol is followed and courtesies observed as would be the case in dealing with a man. A condescending or overly solicitous attitude should be avoided at all cost. It likely will be taken as signaling that the discussion is not regarded as one between equals.

Courtesy and equality
The businesswoman should be addressed in the same courteous but businesslike fashion as a man would be. She should be questioned as pointedly and her answers should receive the same serious attention as would those of a similarly qualified man. If she has suggested lunch or a discussion over drinks, she should be allowed to pay without any fuss. It is acceptable to observe the small courteous gestures customary in social contact among men and women. A man may help a woman with her coat, open a door and allow her to proceed him, and summon a taxi for her, but there is no need to accompany her further.

The visiting businessperson would do well to keep in mind that an American woman counterpart may well have superior business skills to many men in comparable positions. Although equality is the policy and increasingly the practice in the U.S. work place, the field is not yet entirely level. A woman still is likely to encounter more obstacles in pursuing a career than is the case with men, especially in rising through the corporate ranks. Promotions at higher levels of management may require from a woman greater evidence of ability and a more impressive record of achievement than might be expected of a man. Women whose incomes averaged some US$250,000 a year most often credited their success to consistently exceeding performance expectations.

Foreign businesswomen
Foreign businesswomen will be treated as equals by their American counterparts and should have no trouble in being taken seriously. Although there is no guarantee against sexual harassment, the U.S. business community is hypersensitive to the issue, conducting workshops for its employees on a regular basis.

Business attire
For the business woman, dressing is simpler than for men, who may encounter varying styles among colleagues. Wearing a classic suit with a dressy blouse and well-chosen accessories, she will fit into the professional scene anywhere in the country. Tailored and even moderately dressy dresses, especially if worn with a jacket, will usually be equally acceptable, as will skirts with a blouse and a non-matching jacket. Shoes with heels that are not too high are preferable, with the possible exception of when a business event is also a social occasion.