Sunday, January 30, 2011

Supersizing Our Mentoring Efforts

Supersizing Our Mentoring Efforts


By Natasha L. Foreman, MBA

According to the Harvard Business Review a Catalyst survey shows that more women have mentors than men but they are paid $4,600 less in their first post-MBA jobs than their male counterparts; they hold lower positions, and feel less satisfied in their career than men. After an interview of 40 women who participated in a mentoring program through a large multinational corporation, the researchers discovered that women in general are over-mentored, under-sponsored, and advance slower within their organizations than men.



Women have mentors galore but these mentorships are not translating and evolving into sponsorships where advancement and advocacy is directly linked. According to the article, without proper sponsorship women will be less likely to be appointed to top roles or even consider striving for them. Sponsorship is about game-shifting, meeting the right people, making the right connections, finding out the right solutions, and forging relationships with sponsors who will help you through the tangled corporate web and see you to the top.



There is a big difference between a mentor giving you a pep talk, sharing enlightening and uplifting stories, and a sponsor helping to guide and open doors for you. You must transition your mentorships into sponsorships if you want to play on the same field with the 'guys'. You must expand your horizons and your concept of mentoring if you seek higher pay, advancements, and a more rewarding and fulfilling career.





Natasha L. Foreman, MBA is a Business and Entertainment Consultant, Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, and Blogger.  She has been a YWTF-ATL advocate at large since 2010 and she recently joined the YWTF-ATL Board of Directors as the Communications and Marketing Director. Natasha can be reached via email at natasha.ywtf@gmail.com.

From divinecaroline.com

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Younger Women: Take a little time to nurture yourself physically, mentally and spiritually.

By Claudia Owens

Today's younger women have to find greater life balance than our mothers and grandmothers had to do because we are in the work force and we are responsible for making a living for ourselves and our families.  We wear many hats and play multiple roles-- and we are also have a greater tendency to be nurturers to others than men ( often time not nurturing ourselves in the process of helping others or putting others first).

Women bring compassion, love, and gentleness to any situation and life itself.  Although these statements may not not apply to all women, I think that most of society would agree most women do have the above characteristics.

Due to the complexity of the human body, especially the female body, women’s health issues cover a wide range of issues and topics.

From our diets, heart health, breast and cervical cancers  to the female reproductive health ( including menstruation and menopause), younger women in particular should  stay abreast of all the health complications they may  face if we do not take the time to nurture themselves.


Did you know that your simple annual physical may not examine all of the important health areas and risk factors? Subsequently, you should be sure to ask your doctor the appropriate questions to get the best care possible.

Furthermore, we need to take action ourselves and do the research ourselves to stay educated on the latest health technology, medicines/medical tests and even statistics regarding diseases primarily affected by women, ie., a self-breast exam should not be the only self-checkup we do as women.

Learn to monitor and track your weight. Weight loss and gain is a very sensitive issue however we must get past that sensitivity and have open honest discussions on weight gain.


Though incessant weight loss such as anorexia, is still a problem in America, our society’s biggest and most precedent problem is obesity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  approximately 72.5 million U.S. adults are overweight or obese which includes an estimate of 23.4 % of women ages 20 and older with college degrees and around 40% of women ages 20 and older with less than high school education (www.cdc.gov)
.
 <SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994 and 2005-2008>

Some known factors of weight loss and weight gain are diet, heredity and genetic makeup and the most underrated factor, stress. Stress can deteriorate your appearance, physical and mental health if you let it.

Aim to eat healthy foods and snacks every day.   Learn to count calories and pay closer attention to what you put into your body. 

Get moving!  This year, identify creative ways to work out and stay health while having fun and giving back to yourself !   

Join that Yoga or Zumba class you have been putting off (even if none of your friends want to join).
Host spa days with your friends to promote wellness holistically. 

Make 2011 the year that you get it right and take better care of yourself
Focus on the possibilities instead of the current situation and know that you can control your well-being

Eliminate unnecessary stress in your life. As nurturers of life itself,  we must learn to love yourselves back and  take a little time to nurture OUR bodies by living healthy lifestyles physically, mentally and spiritually.

Here are a few web links to get you started on your quest for a healthier stress free lifestyle!

Claudia Owens in a member of YWTF-ATL chapter and lives and works in Atlanta.





Wednesday, January 19, 2011

No Hope For Education?

By Sarah R. Bailey



If you are currently in college, or have recently graduated then chances are you have heard all the ruckus about the Hope scholarship. Well, consider yourself lucky if you got a free ride all four years, because policy-makers in Georgia want to rid the state (and its students) of the Hope scholarship.



With the election of Nathan Deal as the new governor of Georgia, one of the top things to cut in his budget is the Hope program, according to an article in the New York Times. When the Hope scholarship was started in 1993, it was covered fully by the Georgia lottery, but since the recession the lottery isn’t quite enough to cover all the expenses. All the praises of the scholarship have faded, and its popularity has caused more and more students to want to go to school. However, once students are enrolled in school, often their grades slip and they lose Hope due to grades not meeting the 3.0 G.P.A requirement.



So who is to blame, the politicians who want to cut the program, or the Hope program itself? Politicians combat locals who say that they can’t go to school without Hope by stating that its over exploited funds have drained the system for providing Hope to the next generation. However, it was the politicians who highly promoted Hope, and made it into what it is today. The solution is not to cut Hope, but to figure out a better way to pay for extraordinary students college tuition in another way. Maybe through volunteer work, or maybe adjusting the requirements for Hope. A higher G.P.A?



You may find yourself in this same predicament wondering what will happen to you and your hopes of that B.A. in Finance if you lose Hope. There are other programs out there that can help you if the government does do away with Hope. Here is a link to help your with your financial aid.



Don’t forget to keep the hope. No pun intended.



Sarah R. Bailey is a graduate of Georgia State University where she earned a B.A. in Journalism, and minor in Political Science. She is an editorial assistant for skirt.com, a leading women’s publication that promotes women and what they do.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Great List of Activism Resources for Women

Here is great list of activism resources for women to share with our blog readers at

 YWTF-ATL encourages younger women of Atlanta to speak out and get involved in issues that matter most to us! 

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Thank you Lauren Zink

YWTF-ATL would like to thank Lauren Zink for her hard work to support the chapter over the past several months.  I also would like to wish her well as she embarks on beginning a new chapter of Holla Back in Atlanta!  Go forth and continue to Rock!!!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Be the Voice of the Voiceless: Fight Violence Against Women


By Natasha L. Foreman, MBA


According to an article written by Joy Wanja, a reporter for the newspaper the East African, in ten short years there have been tens of thousands of women and children abducted and raped in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In the province of Goma, sexual violence is being used as a weapon of warfare to intimidate, instill fear, recruit children into the military, and clear out villages (leaving them exposed for looting and mining). The militia is raping women and children in front of their relatives, forcing the males in their family to watch or take part in the rapes. Since rape victims are seen as unclean in this culture, they are shunned by their families and seen as outcasts. Rape has become such the norm that it has grown into the cultural fabric of the DRC. 

These families will never be the same, and the militia members responsible may never be punished for this crime. Victims of rape in countries like DRC live in constant fear because either the attackers are never caught, or the ones who are arrested are never punished- only released a few days later and free to rape again. To read more about these horrendous stories and to find links about organizations that are joining forces to take a stand against this criminal behavior visit The East African website.
 
Natasha L. Foreman, MBA is a Business and Entertainment Consultant, Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, and Blogger. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Organization and Management with a specialization in Management Education, and a certificate in College Teaching. Natasha has been involved in various philanthropic and grassroots movements for over 20 years. She is actively involved in her community, visiting and speaking with students at local K-12 schools throughout Metro Atlanta, Georgia and Orange County, California. Natasha can be reached via email at natasha@natashaforeman.info, through her Paradigm Life blog atparadigmlife.blogspot.com, or you can follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/natashaforeman

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Mass Animal Deaths and A River of Green

Victoria River Mysteriously Turns Bright Green.
That's not for St. Patrick's Day, folks. A study confirms it's fluoroescein and that it's not toxic and probably hasn't harmed any fish or wildlife; however, "Fluorescein is also used in medical diagnosis and guidelines warn it can cause reactions ranging from nausea and hives to death from anaphylactic shock."

Map of Mass Animal Deaths Worldwide in the Last Month
America isn't the only place experiencing large-scale deaths of animals recently.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Tender, Loving Care For Your Cervix


By Sarah R. Bailey



It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day. It’s a new life, but are you feeling good? With the New Year, everyone has hopes of happiness, success, and love for the upcoming year. Resolutions are made (and usually broken by mid-February) to lose weight, get fit, and to make more money. That sounds great and all, but there is a certain part of the body that women need to concentrate on in the New Year.

That body part would be the cervix. It’s getting all the attention lately, making other parts of the body feel inferior. Okay, not really, but it should be! January is Cervical Health Awareness Month, and YWTF is encouraging all of you to get screened.

The idea of facing cancer is scary, but early detection is key when it comes to managing your overall health. It can also be quite expensive. However, there are programs out there to help women get the screenings they need, and for little to no cost. The Breast and Cervical Cancer Program provides funding for women in need to have free pap smears every second Friday in the month of January. For more information on visit the Georgia Department of Community Health.

As you ring in the New Year, make it a priority to take all preventative measures when it comes to your health. Get screened and make sure you are here to ring in many more fabulous years to come. Happy New Year Ladies! Be strong! Be courageous! And be healthy!

Sarah R. Bailey is a graduate of Georgia State University where she earned a B.A. in Journalism, and minor in Political Science. She is currently interning for skirt.com, a leading women’s publication that promotes women and what they do. She is an animal lover, coffeeaholic, and has a small obsession with Vince Vaughn. Visit her at http://skirt.com/sarah-r-bailey or send her an email at srbailey87@gmail.com