Launching a new initiative is hard work. We’re compulsive leaders here at Working Mother Media, so we frequently find ourselves out on a limb, railing for or against a reality that others don’t see—yet.
 
• We were crying about profit-and-loss positions when few women understood why we should care that only
9 percent (now 11 percent) of these jobs are held by women.

• We launched our women of color initiative knowing our methodology would uncover uncomfortable truths that many people—including our own team—weren’t prepared to address.

• We turned to the needs of hourly workers even as we celebrated great strides made by female professionals.

• We refuse to be quiet about our nation’s caveman policies on maternity
leave even when we know the odds are hugely against mandates (Google “War on Women” for details).

And now we’re doing it again. Social media is assumed to be a female-friendly planet in cyberspace. We tweet, pin, post, blog and even use it in our work. Still, women are in danger of losing out. Of missing the huge shift as social media moves from communication to business process, from the personal to the professional, from fun with family and friends to business imperative.

In the last decade of the last century, women were left behind in the most formidable business revolution since industrialization: the Internet boom and bust. While it’s nice to be left out of a bust, it’s dangerous to be outside of seismic business shifts, good or bad. If you were there, you know what I mean. A room full of Web gurus, CEOs, leaders, speakers or entrepreneurs was a roomful of men. We called it Testosterone City, and as publisher of Dot CEO magazine, I saw it clearly.

I recently attended a conference with panel after panel of new-media gurus, none of whom were women. I don’t want to see Testosterone City again! So ladies, charge up your smartphones, tablets and computers, and let’s get front and center as social media turns to social business.

Join us at our Women’s Leadership Summit on the Business of Social Media in New York City in October—our founding sponsor is the visionary IBM (find more information at working mother.com/social). We’re laden with estrogen (well, mine is depleting, but nonetheless …) and ready to rumble!

Carol Evans, President
Working Mother Media
carolevans@workingmother.com
Follow me on Twitter: @CarolEvansWM