SHIFT: A New Paradigm for Women in the Workplace – Stories and Strategies.
What does the culture of work look like for women and how can we change it for the better? Let’s explore this together.
This book began as a personal chronicle of my experiences while attempting a career change in my late 40s. The book has since evolved into an examination of the job seeking and overall workplace experience for women and the many obstacles to success placed in our paths.
While much of the content is based on personal stories, at turns humorous, surprising and hopeful, it reveals the fractured nature of the American – and global – workplace culture. One-part memoir, one-part socio-cultural analysis and one-part motivational guide, the book shines a light on the many obstacles for women in the workplace, as well as the successes we have begun to see take shape since the advent of recent movements aimed at equity, inclusion and safety.
SHIFT is intended for women of all ages navigating a career path and anyone interested in proactively shifting the current workplace model. The book is written in an accessible and personal form while providing factual material gathered from diverse sources to support my questions, theories, suppositions, and hypotheses, weaving a narrative around these elements. Apart from my own narrative, I have included insightful profiles of thirty women who have overcome challenges while seeking career changes or improvements, providing the reader with a broader view of the spectrum of experience.
At once earnest and poignant, this book seeks to engage and enlighten readers of any gender, age or career status to reflect on why things are the way they are, what’s happening now to improve conditions, and what more is needed to provide a better experience for both female job seekers and anyone in a hiring position.
Why is this book relevant now and why would anyone want to read it? With recent, historical and ongoing events regarding harassment and misconduct, sexism and ageism, and a myriad of barriers and obstructions for women, readers will instantly relate to the material and ponder these questions: What can I do to shift the needle in the right direction? What questions have we left unasked?
In an era when things often seem to be moving backwards or at a standstill in culture and values, with disincentives, outdated and unsubstantiated biases and other stumbling blocks in the workplace, SHIFT seeks to illuminate these issues and open a dialogue, promote understanding and encourage change. The book begins with a telling of my background, job history and perspectives on life and career to set the stage for the following themes:
- Advice on how to write a winning résumé
- The shape and necessary reshaping of the interview process
- Tales of bizarre, humorous and uncomfortable interview experiences
- Deeply embedded prejudices and politics that hinder women’s success
- Gender equality issues
- Success stories from women who changed careers after age forty
- A coda / jeremiad to hiring managers and interview panelists addressing the Do’s and Don’ts of conducting emotionally intelligent interviews. Specifically targets improvements towards a more respectful and effective hiring process
- Inspiring women in history – movers, shakers, reformers
The topic lines bring readers along on my journey and invite them to reflect on their own as well as consider personal accountability and participation in a problematic paradigm.
To read brief excerpts from the book, click on the links below or from the drop-down main menu. Excerpts also on my Medium.com page. Available for purchase now in paperback or e-book on Amazon.com.
© 2019, Mary Corbin. No reprints without permission.
mary corbin writes 