National Women's History Month's roots go back to March 8, 1857, when women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. International Women's Day was first observed in 1909, but it wasn't until 1981 that Congress established National Women's History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month. Every year since, Congress has passed a resolution for Women's History Month, and the president has issued a proclamation.

Among the employed population 25 and older, 37 percent of women had attained a bachelor's degree or more as of 2010, compared with 35 percent of men, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In contrast, among all adults 25 and older, 29.6 percent of women and 30.3 percent of men had at least a bachelor's degree.

Other highlights:

In the mid-1980’s, while conducting senior management retreats, it quickly became apparent that women were not in attendance.  When senior decision makers were queried as to why there were no female managers, they had no response.   They told me that they did not have any women interested in becoming managers or that the women in their organization did not have the background and training to handle management responsibilities.  

I found it hard to believe since the organizations with which I worked were large government agencies or major corporations.  This set me in the direction of surveying and interviewing women across the United States from women truck drivers to a Presidential appointee to find out what they thought made the difference in the lives of successful women.  Interestingly, almost every survey or interview pointed to factors that fell naturally in to seven categories, i.e. PROSPERITY THINKING, PATTERNS FOR POWER, POSITIONING, PRESCRIPTIONS FOR COMFORT MANAGEMENT, PROGRAMMING FOR PLAY, PRINCIPAL AND INTERESTS and PURPOSING.  For the last 15 years I have conducted training programs based on this research.  While the focus may have shifted in importance from time to time, the same factors are still reported as being vital for success in the new millennium.

An interesting aside is that I became curious as to how men would have responded.  This led to an independent survey of approximately 40 senior managers. 

The following is a synopsis of the seven factors that make the difference in the lives of successful women:

PROSPERITY THINKING is knowing that there is an abundance in all aspects of our lives, and being able to visualize and experience that abundance rather than focusing on scarcity . . .remembering Robert Louis Stevenson’s quote:  “The world is so full of a number of things, I am sure we should all be happy as kings.”  Abundance is the natural state.

PATTERNS FOR POWER, is gaining a better understanding of your personal pattern or style of working with others.  It is the interactive communication skills necessary to be in control of your life.

POSITIONING, demonstrates how to surround ourselves with an environment for success.  Positioning is allying our efforts with people who bring out the best in us, and who multiply our efforts for mutual benefit.

PRESCRIPTIONS FOR COMFORT MANAGEMENT explores strategies that transform stress management into comfort management.  It is up to each of us to choose the technique most compatible with our lifestyles and personal patterns.

PROGRAMMING FOR PLAY talks about health conditions pertinent to women and how they make a difference in our lives and overall performance.  As adults we have forgotten the therapeutic value of play and need to select a physical activity that is fun and compatible with your individual style or pattern.

PRINCIPAL AND INTERESTS is about money and achieving financial abundance.  Money is important in providing the resources for your lifetime development, to help you become what you want to be personally and professionally. 

PURPOSING is purpose plus action.  It is simply making a wish with a due date otherwise known as goal setting.  It is the opportunity to set your personal and professional goals which act as a catalyst for living up to your fullest potential.

There is no doubt that we see diversity everywhere.  We see it in the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the music we play, where we live, and how we spend our leisure time.  Diversity is a driver of our economy.  At work we see diversity in jobs, skills and experience, age, exempt and on-exempt employees, and cultural backgrounds = in other words, the PEOPLE. 

Organizational leadership is faced with challenges that diversity brings, but it also has opportunities when diversity is recognized and used as a resource.  Many organizations have well defined diversity programs designed to identify its own diversity and then provide learning opportunities that support that diversity.  If an organization does not have a diversity program, they may want to research diversity programs that others have implemented successfully.  The following are some general points to consider for an existing or potential diversity program. 

Step 1:  Determine why you are implementing the diversity program (plan) and the outcome/s you desire = Mission Statement.  An example of a mission statement might be:  To achieve a status of employer of choice while providing opportunities that encourage employees to be productive and successful.

Step 2:  Develop clear objectives for the program plan, such as:

• Define diversity and identify the dimensions of diversity

• Recognize how your culture drives attitudes and behaviors toward diverse populations

• Develop an action plan for increasing awareness of diversity and the role it plays in your organization’s success

• Develop strategies for increasing an understanding of the harmful effects of stereotypes and inappropriate behaviors and humor directed to an individual or group

• Establishing guidelines for interaction that fosters respect for diversity

• Understand and comply with federal employment guidelines

• Recruit, train/develop, and retain talented people

Step 3:  Form a Diversity Advisory Committee or Council which will develop and implement programs, policies, and procedures that will address personnel interactions and issues.  The committee should include a cross-section of employees including race, gender, age, functional teams or divisions, management and non-management, full-time and part-time, and work shifts.

Step 4:  Develop evaluation tools and establish progress indicators or benchmarks that will provide feedback on what is going well and what future initiatives might be needed to achieve the diversity program goals.

Diversity is here to stay.  Capitalizing on diversity and fostering an environment for its  inclusion is just good business sense!