Men who love and respect women--go forth and multiply!

You know, I've been meaning to get to this all month. And today's almost the last day--of Women's History Month. Did you know there's actually a "national women's history project"? Yep, visit it and be inspired.

Women--we are such complex and wonderful creatures, are we not? Is it any wonder that there has been so much effort over the centuries to keep women out of power, out of politics, out of sight? I think it was Aristotle or Plato or one of those early wise guys who said, "If woman should ever becomes man's equal, she will quickly become his superior." Now just think how long ago that was...

With the rise of increasing numbers of independent single working women, the sight of women being strong and successful in their own right becomes ever more common.

Let us hope that the wise and loving men in our world who give women their due will spread their wisdom and multiply their kind in great numbers. And then we can look forward to the day when the new reality will no longer be considered a threat.

What makes us want to "be there" for each other?

What does it take to make people willing to share their weak spots, to make themselves vulnerable? Is it a common bond? Do business people have to get to know each other in social situations in order to develop that feeling? The Chicago NAWBO (National Assn. of Women Business Owners) has put together an Affiliates coalition aimed at bringing together women who work in nonprofits to get to know each other and hopefully share resources. Here's their latest post on "women in business coalescing." It's got to be harder in business to get people to cooperate, especially when some members may share pieces of the target audience. Competitiveness and territoriality are huge factors for many people.

If we think of groups--as in Yahoo! groups and others--we think of people writing and sharing ideas with each other around a particular topic. The topic can be very narrow, say, grandmothers of 2-year-olds sharing stories. Or it can be broad, such as, single working women. In our case, we have members who are divorced women (some of them mothers), single mothers by choice, never-married single women, widows, and every variation possible--some in business for themselves and many working for others. Women in each segment may have different specific issues at different times, while members of all these groups must deal with the realities of being single in a society that's profoundly focused on couples.

SWWAN is a member of the Affiliates Coalition. We hope to be able to share ideas and learn from other nonprofits as we move forward in creating The SWWAN Foundation, dedicated to empowering and encouraging single working women.

What do you think might encourage women to share and be vulnerable in a business setting?

Movie review: Miss Potter - A remarkable single woman in early 1900s

Renee Zellweger is adorable, and I've seen her play many types of roles very well. In this Golden-Globe-nominated movie, Miss Potter, she plays the irrepressible Beatrix Potter, author of the Tale of Peter Rabbit, living in just-past-Victorian-age England. She plays a single woman who is inspired by her characters, who paints them in beautiful detail, and then writes them into stories. She's a single woman who determinedly seeks a voice among the 1902 all-male-women-are-not-welcome world of publishing. The story of her adventures in love and business and of how she finally gets published is utterly charming, and so the characters--including her adoring father and her obnoxious mother who keeps trying to marry her off.

Her publisher's single sister is overjoyed to meet another single woman with a mind of her own; they become best friends. Beatrix is 32 years old and she and her new friend swear they will remain single forever. Her father gently derides her about not marrying the men her mother parades through the living room, and she says: :I won't be pushed into this. Because I turned down men who were thought suitable because they were just barely acceptable and they could support me, does that mean I'm never to be loved?"

Then when her publisher at last asks her to marry him, she goes to her best friend, her loved one's brother, and asks, "I know we said we'd never marry, but what do you think?" Her friend says, "Oh rubbish. What else would a single woman say? You have a chance to be loved. Take it."

I won't give away the next part, but I think you'll enjoy this movie a lot.

How's the economy affecting you?

Talking with a Wall Street Journal reporter last week about how the current economic madness is affecting single women head-of-households. Here are some thoughts.

• living on credit cards
• increasing debt
• cutting even non-frivolous expenses - e.g., not doing home repairs as soon as discovered b/c of expense
• searching for bargains in food prices--single women don't normally have time for that but need now to consider everything
• eating out less often or not at all
• going out less often or not at all - single moms especially--going out is doubly expensive b/c of babysitting
• considering bankruptcy
• hanging onto less than desirable jobs b/c no others available

What else are you doing that's different?

Targeting women with sex

Was watching the NBC Today show on the overhead TV while exercising on Monday morning. They got my attention when they said Internet pornography was a huge business--and for some reason pointed out that 8 out of 10 of the top Internet-porn-buying states gave their electoral votes to McCain. Then I was appalled to see they reported on a recent study that finds women respond well to sexy ads if the product is depicted as a gift from a man--"in a committed relationship."

Men, it said, prefer sexy ads without the gift idea. So, they concluded, "if you want women to open up their purses, throw in a little commitment."

Hey, I'm in marketing and I understand wanting to understand the psychology of the customer. But as a woman, the idea of faking commitment--which is a ploy that's been around since human beings got out of the Garden of Eden and is still in use today--pisses me off. And the idea of formalizing it as a strategy for tricking people into buying things really pisses me off.

Comments welcome.