Women In Business 2020

Kittitas County 2020

Women in Business

Jenci Randall

Megan Meeks

A special publication of the Daily Record

Lindsey DeJong Boisso

KITTITAS COUNTY 2020

WOMEN IN BUSINESS Page 3

Megan Meeks - General Manager, Ellensburg Rodeo

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Not planning on kids? Why employer family leave still matters

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Lindsey DeJong Boisso - Maker, owner of Blonde Dog 509

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Jenci Randall - Audiologist, Northwest Audiology

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First female recession threatens to wipe out decades of progress for US women

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Name: Megan Meeks Profession: General Manager, Ellensburg Rodeo

everyone will, but mistakes are what help you learn. I am constantly learning and growing.

How did you get started in your business/profession?

Attending the Ellensburg Rodeo has been a family tradition since I was very young. In 2001 I was the King County Princess on the Ellensburg Rodeo Royal Court. The Royal Court spends the whole year traveling and promoting our beloved rodeo and Kittitas valley. I made wonderful memories and even better friends. My love and appreciation for the event continued to grow. In September of 2005 I was asked to be the Ellensburg Rodeo Office Manager.

What steps led you to your current position?

When I started with the Ellensburg Rodeo I was the Office Manager. Year after year the board tasked we with more and allowed me more responsibility. In 2014 the board changed my title to General Manager.

What have you learned from working in your position?

Life is one big group project, something I was not fond of in college. At the Ellensburg Rodeo the Board, Top Hands, volunteers and office staff all work together to put on our beloved family friendly event. Everyone works together as a well-oiled machine. The ability of our group to communicate well and jump in whenever needed makes the team a strong one. Working for the best group in town makes life fun.

What challenges did you have to overcome?

To not be afraid to make mistakes. There may be instances where you make mistakes,

What advice would you give other women interesting in pursuing this career?

With anything my advice would be to work hard and stay focused. Always put your best foot forward and with a smile. A good attitude will take you places. I would also recommend that everyone work or volunteer in the service industry at least once. You’ll learn to always treat those who serve the public the way you would want to be treated.

How do you balance family/personal demands with work responsibilities?

Having a great support system and kids that love the rodeo. My husband and parents are very supportive and are always there to lend me a hand, even volunteering where needed. Our boys love rodeo and the western way of life.

What was your first job?

A couple days before I turned 13 I started working at a pony farm. In the beginning I was caring for the ponies and doing hand-led pony rides at birthday parties and corporate events. Over time I worked my way into more responsibility and as I got into high school I started helping with the organization of the parties and camps as well as collecting registration and funds from the campers.

What did you learn from your first job?

From my job at the pony farm I learned that I enjoyed the organizational side of the businesses. That job helped me pick my BS in Business, with a Management Specialization degree and ultimately my career.

2020 WOMEN IN BUSINESS

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Not planning on kids?

Why employer family leave still matters

By Natasha Frost Rate.com Plenty of employers talk a good game these days about gender-friendly workplace culture, benefits, paths to advancement — and then many fall short

when it comes time to deliver.

So, during a job search — whether you’re currently unemployed or have a job and you’re looking for something better — keep eyes out for two leading indicators of a workplace that’s actually fair to women: n A paid family leave policy. Even

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if you’re not planning to have kids, a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) suggests that family leave is a proxy for a generally women-friendly workplace culture. These companies tend to have more top female executives and attract more female talent. n Women in leadership. Separate research published in the Journal of Financial Economics found having women in leadership positions reduces the compensation gap between men and women within a company, and generally “improves the opportunities of women lower in the corporate hierarchy.”

You can short-cut your search somewhat by looking for jobs in states with mandatory parental leave policies, such as California, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York. Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon and the District of Columbia all intend to follow suit, but have yet to begin their own programs.

2020 WOMEN IN BUSINESS

It bears repeating: The United States is the only developed country in the world where, on a national basis, new parents have no right whatsoever to paid parental leave. The amount of time you get to welcome a new arrival to your family generally depends on your employer, their generosity, and how able you feel to take the leave you’re offered.

That’s despite the fact that 61% of Americans, according to Pew Center data, believe companies have a responsibility to provide paid parental leave to female employees. It’s important for future fathers, too, as I’ve recently reported: https://www.rate.com/research/news/ take-paternity-leave Given the precarious nature of the economy just now, we should also place high value on an employer that’s financially and operationally stable and successful.

Turns out family leave helps there, too.

The NBER paper looked at more than 4 million private and publicly traded firms in states that had introduced mandatory paid family leave. The results were striking: Following the adoption of these policies, the companies saw a more than 5% increase in productivity.

Family leave skeptics might baulk at these figures. True, it’s expensive to pay an absent worker’s salary, and also pay for someone to replace them. But firms with better family leave policies, according to the paper, experience lower employee turnover.

The cost of recruiting, training and bringing up to speed a replacement for an employee who quits typically far exceeds the cost of six to 12 weeks’ parental leave for an existing worker.

Companies with better family leave have more female top executives. Analysis from the Peterson Institute for International Economics found firms with 30% or more of leaders being women are 15% more profitable than an otherwise similar firm with no female leaders.

A resource I like is Fairygodboss’s list of the 180 companies with the best parental leave policies: https://fairygodboss.com/ articles/paid-maternity-leave-companieswho-offer-the-most-paid-leave Of course, none of this will tell you how many people actually take this leave.

For that, look to sites like Glassdoor or Fairygodboss for anonymous accounts of what it’s like to work there as a parent, to get a better sense of how these policies translate to people’s experiences as parents and employees. And given the tenuous nature of job security, as my colleague Wade Tyler Millward advises, it doesn’t hurt to always be looking: https://www.rate.com/research/news/ looking-better-job

Name: Lindsey DeJong Boisso Profession: Maker, owner of Blonde Dog 509 How did you get started in your business/profession?

I have been creating things since a young girl. I started making gifts for friends in high school and it developed from there. After college I started my first business, Fresh cut’n Stitched, selling handmade purses at the Ellensburg Farmers market. After that I started making wooden signs out of old siding my Dad gave me and eventually my husband pushed me to have a booth at Hidden Treasure, that grew to doing shows, my first one being Junk-Tiquen in the ‘Burg. Now I have my Blonde Dog 509 items in several locations here in Kittitas County including Gard Vintners and The Early Bird Eatery in Ellensburg as well as Gypsy and James in Roslyn.

What steps led you to your current position?

The support from my customers and family is what has allowed me to have my own business.

What have you learned from working in your position?

Your business is nothing without your customers.

What challenges did you have to overcome?

2020 has been the most challenging, at the beginning of the year I was ready to do several shows, and to expand where my items could be found, then Covid happened.

All my shows cancelled; shops had to close for some time.

That has been a huge road block, but some good came out of it, I opened an Etsy shop online and have been working more on social media.

What advice would you give other women interesting in pursuing this career?

Do what you love!

How do you balance family/personal demands with work responsibilities?

Honestly, I thrive in chaos, when I have a lot going on, I seem to get things done faster and more efficiently than when I’m not busy.

What was your first job?

Worked at McDonald’s

What did you learn from your first job?

Working in the fast-food industry taught me a lot about customer service and how to multi-task.

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Name: Jenci Randall Profession: Audiologist, Northwest Audiology How did you get started in your business/profession?

I have always wanted to be a ‘doctor’ since I was a kid.

I love helping others, working with people, and studying science. I have been incredibly lucky to find a profession that meshes all of my strengths and interests. In college I got my bachelors degree in Hearing Speech & Language Sciences and then my Doctorate in Clinical Audiology. I never would have discovered this path without taking my first college course: “Communication Disorders”.

What steps led you to your current position?

After working as an audiologist for about six years, I knew that it was important to be a part of a company with values that I believe in. I found an amazing mentor and boss that got me excited about the work I was doing, but I was having to commute all the way from Roslyn to Seattle.

When the opportunity came up to work right here in my own community, I knew that I wanted to create a company with all of those same values.

What have you learned from working in your position?

Being a small business owner is hard work. I am still learning so much. I am learning to be adaptable and not be afraid to ask for help.

What challenges did you have to overcome?

Balancing being a new mom in the same year as being a new business owner in the midst of a pandemic. This has been the most challenging year of my life by far, but also the most rewarding.

What advice would you give other women interesting in pursuing this career?

Go for it! Women are incredibly determined and resilient creatures. Recognize your own value and be authentic.

How do you balance family/personal demands with work responsibilities?

You have to be present in the moment and practice self care. I try to focus all of my energy on the business when I am at the office and all of my focus goes to my 8 month old daughter while I am at home. I am also quickly learning that the best way to take care of other people is to first take care of yourself.

What was your first job?

My first job was working for my mom in her small business, a dance studio.

What did you learn from your first job?

Women are superheroes! My mom started her small business when she was only 18 years old. She also had four children within six years. I am so lucky to have grown up with such an amazing role model and cannot wait to pass down these traits of ambition and strength to my daughter.

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First female recession threatens to wipe out decades of progress for US women

By Olivia Rockeman, Reade Pickert and Catarina Saraiva Bloomberg News Women helped pull the U.S. economy out of the last recession. This time around they are falling behind.

The pandemic is disproportionately affecting women and threatening to wipe out decades of their economic progress.

As the crisis drags on, some of the biggest pain points are among women of color and those with young children.

These setbacks — characterized by some economists as the nation’s first female recession — stand in sharp contrast to the dramatic progress women made in the expansion following the last financial crisis. The jobs, income and promotions that women lose as a result of the coronavirus could hold back economic growth and sideline an entire generation of women.

The official data are stark. The unemployment rate for Black and Hispanic adult women remains above 10%, even though it’s decreased to 7.3% for White women, according to data from the Labor Department — which will report September employment figures Friday.

At the same time, women between the ages of 25 and 54 — also known as prime-age — are increasingly dropping out of the workforce, often to care for children. The participation gap between men and women in this age group is now widening after shrinking to the narrowest ever right before the virus.

Nancy Weindruch, 36, is a case in point. She left her job in communications in July to care for her two-year-old son, while her husband kept his higher-paying work as a political consultant. Earlier in the pandemic, she took advantage of a government program that provided paid leave but that has since expired. She hopes the situation is temporary.

“I’m determined to return to the workforce,” said Weindruch, even if that means “starting a few steps behind.”

Economists say it’s going to be difficult for women like Weindruch to return, and there could be long-lasting consequences not just for women but the entire economy.

“When you hear Fed officials worry about ‘permanent scarring,’ that is permanent scarring,” said Julia Coronado, president of MacroPolicy Perspectives LLC. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has commented repeatedly about how women and minorities have been among the hardest hit economically by the virus.

Wage Gap Millennial women, many of whom have children, were “blazing trails” before the pandemic and are now falling behind, which is a “painful setback,” Coronado said.The female recession could slow the recovery, according to some economists and policy analysts. The wage gap will likely be more than 2 percentage points wider after a pandemic recession, instead of shrinking like it would during a normal downturn, according to Northwestern University economics professor Matthias Doepke, who co-authored a recent study on the topic.

As many as tens of millions of women may never return to the labor force, even after a vaccine is found, said Center for American Progress senior policy analyst Rasheed Malik.

Altogether, McKinsey & Co. expects global gross domestic product could be $1 trillion less in 2030 than it would be without a gender unemployment gap.

Women Voters There are political consequences too, as women represent one of the biggest voting blocs in question this election.

Support for paid leave and similar policies is rising, particularly among Republicans.

Roughly 72% of female voters polled in late March by the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation were in favor of some type of paid leave, up from 64% earlier in the month. The increase in support among men and women for such a policy was driven by a 10-percentagepoint rise among Republicans.

Before the virus, women had been making major strides in the labor market and in closing the wage gap.

Participation among women age 25 to 54 peaked in 2000, then dipped after the financial crisis, only to begin accelerating again in 2015 until right before the pandemic.

Women earned 82.3 cents of every dollar men did last year, up from 77.8 cents in 2007, Census data show.

At the start of the pandemic, women lost more jobs than men, particularly in industries like hospitality and other services with high female employment.

As states reopened, the female unemployment rate has improved, down from a peak of 15.5% in April, the first double-digit reading on record. But at the same time, men’s jobless rate remains lower.

Job losses have been especially dire for women of color, whose unemployment rates had fallen closer to that of White women before the pandemic. Unemployment for

WOMEN IN BUSINESS: Then & Now

Hispanic women surged to 20.2% in April, compared with 4.9% in February. Black women actually saw their worst jobless rate since the 1980s — 16.5% — in May, even though other groups were beginning to see an improvement by that time.

That’s a reverse of what’s happened in prior recessions, according to Northwestern’s Doepke. Since job losses typically fall disproportionately on men in recessions, including the previous downturn, women can act as a “shock absorber” — increasing hours or joining the labor force to offset the household’s income declines, Doepke said.

Women Dropping Out This time around, women are increasingly dropping out of the labor market altogether as more women are losing or quitting their jobs “because they realize that children come first,” San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said in a virtual webinar earlier this month.

Nearly 7 million Americans aren’t employed because they have to take care of children, according to a Census survey earlier this month.

Since women earn less than men on average, it’s often the mother who steps back. Women lose valuable skills during the time they aren’t working, which can make finding a job in the future harder and damage family finances, according to Center for American Progress analyst Malik.

Flexibility at a Cost The rise in remote work during the pandemic could boost women’s participation but at the same time may jeopardize promotion and pay prospects, said Wells Fargo & Co. senior economist Sarah House.

“Flexibility comes at a cost,” House said. “You’re not in the room.”

Finding childcare is poised to continue to be difficult as the industry itself has faced unprecedented challenges including closures and job losses, Malik said. Roughly 94% of child day care industry jobs are held by women, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show.Although policy makers remain at a standstill in talks about more stimulus, House Democrats have proposed legislation that would help fund schools and childcare centers during the pandemic as well as give some parents temporary paid leave.

“We just cannot get out of this — the hole that we’re in — in any reasonable way, without doing huge scarring, without a much stronger care infrastructure,” said Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

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