by KarenEssex | May 27, 2012 | power, women
The glass escalator is a new phenomenon similar to the glass ceiling, except that instead of hitting their heads as they try to rise to the top, men entering largely female dominated professions are carried past their women co-workers in winged chariots known as glass escalators.
Not surprisingly, as the job market shrinks, men are entering traditionally female-dominated professions—nursing, teaching, etc. This is great news for the professions, as far as I am concerned, and also great news for men who are willing to enter or retrain for these positions. The bad news for women is that they have to watch the men swiftly move past them for promotions and pay raises. ... Read more.
by KarenEssex | May 16, 2012 | power, women
Women are expert strategists when it comes to running relationships or running a household, both of which are complex tasks. So why are we lacking the strategic skills to climb the corporate ladder? According to the WSJ, “Women held just 14.1% of executive officer positions in 2011 at Fortune 500 companies, down from 14.4% in 2010, according to recent research conducted by Catalyst, a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance women in business. When it comes to boards, women held 16.1% of seats in 2011, compared to 15.7% in 2010. ... Read more.
by KarenEssex | Mar 31, 2012 | books, dracula in love, women
Few people know that my first career was as a costume designer in theater, film, and television. I studied theatrical design at university, and, thanks to a very lucky break, slid into the business and worked in that position for a few intense, fun years.
For my taste, Eiko Ishioka was the greatest costume designer in the world. She certainly changed my world with her exquisite costumes for Francis Coppola’s’ Dracula. I was always a “Francis Freak,” but it was Ishioka’s shockingly vibrant, wildly dramatic, luscious wardrobe that jettisoned me into Coppola’s Gothic fantasy and made me want to stay there. Forever. The reds were not incarnadine but blood itself. The juxtaposition of bridal white against the ruthless horror of an undead bride seared my imagination. The bizarre confluence of Japanese discipline, Victorian excess, unbridled sexuality, and sheer theatricality stunned me. I couldn’t get the images out of my mind. For decades. ... Read more.
by KarenEssex | Mar 10, 2012 | history, power, sex, women
Diahnn Carroll as Julia
Friends, can it really be true that we’ve had no tv series with a single African-American female lead since 1974??? The article below mentions Teresa Graves’s as an undercover detective in the 1974 made-for-TV flick Get Christie Love!, which I do not remember, but I DO remember watching the beautiful Diahnn Carroll as Julia when I was a kid back in the late ’60s.
So, um, let’s see. Diahnn Carroll broke that glass ceiling, Teresa Graves followed her, and um, we’ve had a mere 40 year absence of series led by a single black woman?? ... Read more.
by KarenEssex | Jan 18, 2012 | history, power, sex, women
After many years of functioning as one of the most egalitarian nations on the planet, suddenly, religious extremists are pushing Jewish women into the shadows. This new development flies in the face of the stance of the government, which adamantly supports equality between the sexes. However, concessions are now being made to right-wingers and fanatics for the sake of getting their votes.
Who will be sacrificed in this scenario? WOMEN. The women of Israel. All these years, I thought that the Israelis were better, smarter, and more enlightened than to pander to the fanatical sects who want to control and oppress women’s minds and bodies. Gentlemen, is that not the job of your enemies? ... Read more.
