Carrie Wilkerson, The Barefoot Executive

* RANDOM THOUGHTS AND FACTS *

We girls are doing well for ourselves in the work force. There are lots of options available, as we are filling positions from the top to the bottom of any company imaginable. The sky is the limit, as the work force continues to change and we take charge.

* According to the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor in the United States, sixty percent of the women in the United States over the age of sixteen are "labor force participants." That means that sixty percent of us are looking for work or working already.

* The Department of Labor tells us that a record 67 million women were employed in the United States in 2006. Out of that number, 75% had full-time jobs. We aren't just dipping out of the house to work part-time somewhere, but are a major portion of the full-time work force.

* So what jobs are we working? Well, women account for over half (51%) of all workers in high-paying management positions. We outnumber men in positions such as financial managers, human resources, education administrators, medical and health services managers, and almost all other administrative jobs in the U.S.

I DON'T MIND WORKING --- BUT I WANT TO BE AT HOME…

* Of course, not all of us want to leave the home and conform to someone else's schedule. Many of us want to work from home and have the best of both worlds. Being in the home and being there for family is important to us, so self-employment and starting a home-based business becomes an intriguing option.

* Now, when it comes to self-employment, it is estimated about one in ten people in the work force are self-employed. It is estimated, as of 2003, that there are about twice as many self-employed males as there are females. (Let's get ready to change that statistic, shall we?)

* Many women represent a corporate partner, such as Mary Kay Cosmetics or Southern Living at Home, to do direct sales through a party plan. Some women set up their own businesses and use their skills, such as sewing, crafts or administrative abilities, to add extra income to a general home income. This usually happens as an add-on to a regular occupational income, meaning that a large percentage of the self-employed women in the US are working a full-time job and adding extra income out of the home. (ouch, as if we weren't busy ENOUGH!)

* The average age that women decide to become self-employed in some capacity is around 35-54 years old, as of 2003. Women who are self-employed tend to work, on average, about 33.8 hours a week, according to 2003 statistics from the Department of Labor.

* This allows for much more family time than with a conventional work week. There are also savings of fuel, childcare and various other financial matters to consider, making working from home or setting up a home-based business a very attractive option for today's modern woman!

 WHAT ABOUT YOU?

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