She Works Hard For The Money

It’s International Women’s Day, and I’ve spent my morning reading the TIME cover story on Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook who has embarked on a recent mission of changing the balance of power in the workplace, which has been dominated by men since, well, forever:

Ten years ago, 14% of board seats were held by women. A decade has passed, and women have gotten a few inches farther into the boardroom. “Women are not making it to the top of any profession in the world,” says Sandberg. “But when I say the blunt truth is that men run the world, people say, ‘Really?’ That, to me, is the problem.”

Also on my radar is this glass-ceiling index from The Economist looking at where the best place in the world is to be a working woman (hint: It’s not the U.S., and certainly not Japan or South Korea).

Lastly, Billfold pal Jon Custer sent us this link to a really great series of vignettes on what it’s like to be a working mom in Central Asia. From a working mom in Tatarstan:

“It’s really hard to balance small kids and work,” she says. “But I don’t know any mom who can’t manage it, one way or another. It’s on women’s shoulders. Everything.”

A salute to hardworking women all over the world (with a special shoutout to my still-working mother: ♥)!

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