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A survey released today shows that women are still being paid less than men, indeed in some places in the UK their salaries are only half as much. This has led to calls by the Fawcett Society and by Unison for employers to be compelled to disclose pay levels and to rectify unfair treatment. It sounds sensible., But will it be enough? (more…)

What would you do if you worked in a physically challenging environment and discovered that your employer was coming under continuous criticism over its safety record? It would be understandable if you thought about leaving. But what if you believed passionately in the work you did, had a strong sense of duty, were locked in by a contract that was difficult to break and your  employer was the only one of its kind? There would be nowhere else you could go. That sadly is the dilemma facing servicemen today. (more…)

Redundancy is difficult for everyone, but one of the worst affected groups are those who have been in their job for a long time and have not been in the labour market for maybe ten years or more. I meet people on a daily basis who feel unfamiliar with the job market and say that this is hindering their prospects of conducting a successful job search. (more…)

The announcement by the government that children as young as seven are to receive careers education will have sent shudders down the back of all responsible careers professionals. We are already plagued by an educational system that encourages them, often via their parents, to make long term career decisions years before they are ready. We now seem destined to raise children who are expected to know what they want to do forty years hence even though they have not even lived a quarter of that time! (more…)

In the film The Wrestler Mickey Rourke plays an ageing fighter who is forced by ill health to give up his career. However fighting is more than his career, it is his life and in the end, despite the obvious dangers he feels he has no choice other than to return to it. For Mickey Rourke his career is far more than just a job. It defines him. It is his identity. He is what he does. (more…)

Planning a career change is a very methodical and structured process, based on a thorough, objective understanding of one’s personal qualities, skills and need which are then matched against a range of potential career paths. (more…)

I recently heard the chief executive of a large company speaking about his experiences when recruiting new graduates. He said that the difference between this group and previous cohorts is that these days they all want to know what the company is going to do for their own personal development. They are not so much selling themselves as making sure that they are going somewhere which is good for them. He thought this was good, and so do I. (more…)

Later this week the UK may formally come out of recession. Gross Domestic Product is expected to stop contracting, meaning that the economy is starting to grow again, which is the technical end of a recession. (more…)

A senior woman in the City caused a stir last week in a Parliamentary committee by saying that a years’ maternity leave for new mothers was too long. It seems that the debates over flexible working and parental rights have a long way to run. (more…)

Taking part in the Guardian forum yesterday on women breadwinners I was struck by a contrast between today’s working women and the aspirations of the 1970s womens’ rights movements. (more…)