6 Job Trends to Watch Out for in 2020 CareerMetis.com

6 Job Trends to Watch Out for in 2020 Top industries and jobs in 2020 and the next few years We are nearing the dawn of another decade. The advent of 2020 spells out a rapid change in various job markets in terms of demographics, technological advancements, and emerging innovations.Innovative technologies and automation functionalities are being used on a massive scale, making many jobs in various industries obsolete. Virtually any job that can easily be automated makes human labor unnecessary, which will probably lead to increased use of technology in general very soon.evalAreportpublished by the World Economic Forum estimates a loss of over 7.1 million job functions due to automation, which will mostly be clerical, administrative, and white-collar office work. It’s easy to notice that there is less demand for toll booth operators.Even cashiers are slowly being replaced in more advanced countries like Japan, where various types of vending machines line random stretches and touchscreen self-service kiosks that speed up processing in major fast-food chains like McDonald’s in London. Postal worker jobs are also at a steady decline thanks to the immediacy provided by different social media and messaging platforms.Media literacy will become more and more essential in the coming years as progressive communication tools like online news outlets and productivity tools like Slack continue to dominate the workplace.Those armed with extensive knowledge of how the digital landscape works are at a great advantage. Virtually all job fields in the near future will depend heavily on technology, which is slowly taking over the way organizations communicate with their target audience.Some jobs will never go obsoleteIt is important to note that there will always be a need for select roles, including teachers in various levels, lawyers, engineers to continue technological discoveries, health care workers and physicians for different specialties, law enforcers, and food and beverage specialists like chefs and servers, among others.Those who are in the skilled trade wi ll also find job security in the field, as there will always be practical, tangible problems that can only be solved by certified skilled workers like carpenters, electricians, welders, and other kinds of trade employees.What the new wave of companies and employers are looking forThe high demand for skilled workers is also due to the fact that many from the younger generations have not been considering careers in skilled trades. Students today opt to take up courses that involve business administration, corporate marketing, and those fashion in technologies since many employers are looking for talents that possess cross-disciplinary expertise.evalFor example, a great architect with established technical strengths who has a high level of communication skills is seen as a great asset. Workers who possess powerful critical thinking and above-average problem-solving capabilities will also find rewarding careers in analytics and digital interactivity.Hiring trends at the dawn of the new decadeOnline job market boards will continue to be used by Human Resources specialists, according toresearchby 4imprint. HR professionals will continue using staff recruitment “social media” platforms such as LinkedIn and Recruiter.Job hunterswill also benefit from browsing through social media websites like Facebook and Twitter for job post announcements.One-on-one interviews are still conducted by approximately 80% of companies surveyed according to the same 4imprint study, compared to a lower rate of those who finish interviews over the phone, which is at 60%. Since telecommuting is a rising trend even among more traditional companies, video interviews or calls using platforms like Skype, Google Hangouts/Chat, or Zoom will increase in frequency.Of all the attributes being evaluated by HR department teams, the cultural fit of a potential hire is considered to have the highest value. Other factors like qualifications, prior job experience, willingness to take on the role, and e ducation are also on the list.evalIn fact, it has been found that over 60% of hiring companies do evaluate a potential candidate’s educational background, but just over 10% of those participants put a high premium on it. The financial challenges involved with college expenses contribute to more recent employers’ flexibility in terms of educational requirements.Top industries and jobs in 2020 and the next few yearsMaybe you are a young professional wanting to explore career options in the hopes of gaining personal and professional advancement. There will still mostly be an expansion of existing job functions, but newer opportunities can arise with the emergence of new fields, mostly hitched on technological advancements across different industries. Check out some of the biggest job trends in 2020.1) Jobs in the Tech WorldRobotics and Artificial Intelligence Some of the most sought-after roles in this realm include computer programmers, software engineers, and software developers who possess in-depth knowledge and skills in the field of data structuring, AI, and automation. Service integration will continue across many industries, increasing the need for high-level tech expertise and advanced coding skills.ii) Information Security ProfessionalsThere will be a great need for more complex data protection as hackers continue to find new ways to mine and exploit user data. The Information Technology teams of various organizations will continue to expand to be able to provide the level of data protection and overall cybersecurity required due to the rise of new digital threats in the connected world.2) Healthcare JobsHumans are continuing to thrive in the modern world with better healthcare, extending life expectancies. Workers in the healthcare industry will always be on high demand as populations all over the world surge in numbers.i) Geriatric Healthcare WorkersSince humans have longer life spans thanks to progress in the medical field, it only makes sense tha t taking care of senior citizens will become one of the future’s most prominent businesses. Senior citizen facilities will be in high demand as the geriatric population soars.ii) Physical Therapists and Occupational TherapistsThe US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statisticspredictedthat the physical therapy industry would grow by 39% this coming next year.Hands-on patient care provided by a generation of educated and professionally-trained licensed physical therapists and occupational therapists will be essential with the projected upward growth of the elderly population, which is expected to reach 2.1 billion by 2050.iii) Healthcare Facility AdministratorsevalevalHealthcare facilities such as hospitals, satellite clinics, nursing homes, geriatric facilities, and others will all require competent management staff that can handle multiple administrative tasks. Managers, staff assistants, and others who have expertise in insurance policies, logistics, and departmental plann ing will have steady careers in the field.Having a career in healthcare facility administration is another way to get into the medical industryâ€"a field that will never be out of fashion.3) Data Science RolesWith the influx of newer technologies, threats, and trends come an abundance of data that needs to continuously be analyzed for concrete study or reports that can help make people informed decisions.i) Mathematicians, Statisticians, and Data AnalystsFacts and figures from different sectors and fields like science, art, advertising, marketing, administrative, transportation data, and many more will forever be relevant. The need to collect information, analyze the figures, and interpret them in the form of useful studies will help drive progress in multiple disciplines forward.4) Careers in the Alternative Energy SectorThe growth of the alternative energy sector could be credited to the fact that people want to gain awareness of ecological threats and help do their part in saving the planet. The adverse effects of using fossil fuels have been long known but are now being exposed to a great deal, driving the trend towards finding alternative energy solutions.evali) TechniciansSkilled workers with knowledge on installing alternative energy systems such as solar panels or those that have the necessary qualifications and capabilities to help in manufacturing industry-relevant technologies will have steady, long-term careers in the field of alternative energy.5) Industrial Design RolesRoles that require artful and creative expression can never be automated. This is why creativity is still among the priced skills in 2020 and beyond.i) Commercial and Industrial Product DesignersThe need for knowledgeable and creative designers of different consumer products like appliances, automobiles, gadgets, and many other manufactured goods will continue to rise as humans continue to develop new concepts.6) Sales and Management Careersi) Specialized Sales AgentsThe importance of consistently bringing in new business for brands cannot be emphasized enough. Thecompetitionwill be fiercer among companies as their numbers increase, which means brands will never stop trying to develop new products and services that they will have to push through various marketing efforts.This means adding more sales workers equipped with extensive knowledge of their several product lines and offerings.b) Senior Managers for Various OrganizationsDisruptive businesses that are in the media, information, and entertainment industries will require senior managers that possess the right mix of qualifications and skills to help steer the organization towards progressive paths.Jobs of the futureDuring theapplication process, remember that qualifications, work experience, and education matter to employers, just as much a potential hire’s cultural fit within the organization.While traditional careers in skilled work or medicine such as physicians, or professionals like engineers and architects, will forever be in high demand, building a steady, lucrative career in various other fields like Information Technology, Creatives, and others will involve a particular aptitudeâ€"including a mastery of multiple digital tools and media literacy, among others.

Personal Marketing Plan Samples (And how to use one)

Personal Marketing Plan Samples (And how to use one) Your personal marketing plan communicates your future goals and helps guide conversations, generate ideas and learn more about companies and industries. These personal marketing plan samples provide ideas on how to present your unique situation, personal style and preferences during job search. Your personal marketing plan is future-oriented, unlike your resume, which only focuses on your past. It also keeps your job search focused. It reminds you to invest your time in the harder to do but more productive activities speaking with people who can provide you with information or insight on your target companies. And it enables you to pro-actively pursue companies who will one day (maybe even today) have a job for you. You know you should be meeting with people, but you often wonder who are the right people to meet with. Your marketing plan is the answer. Meet with people who can answer questions to help confirm you are on the right path. In other words, do you have the right skillsets? Are you pursuing the right roles or the full-spectrum of job titles? Are you targeting the right companies? Do you want to learn how to create your personal marketing plan? Read this Creating Your Personal Marketing Plan When To Share Your Personal Marketing Plan Your marketing plan is best shared in person. People may not know what it is or how to use it. Its up to you to direct their attention to the section/s of the plan that you think theyll be able to help you with. More on that in the next section. It may help if you introduce your marketing plan by saying something like, This is the document I use to help guide my search and keep me on track. It lays out the criteria thats important to me in my next role and company. I really do not recommend emailing this to someone without having a conversation around it. Most people expect to see a resume and this is clearly NOT a resume so they may become confused. Oh, by the way, if someone does ask you for a resume before you talk with them, send them your personal marketing plan instead. Tell them that this document will be much more helpful to the conversation. (Read more about Networking Without A Resume) Ways To Use Your Personal Marketing Plan If you know what you want to do next and have developed a list of target companies, you can share your personal marketing plan with people you know and ask if they know anyone at the companies on your target list. If you do not know what companies you want to work for, but you do know what you want to do, you can share your personal marketing plan with people who can help you identify employers that might match what you are looking for. Lets say you dont know what you want to do for sure. You can share your personal marketing plan and focus the conversation around your top competencies, skills and industry knowledge to brainstorm ideas with people. (The resume makes it much more difficult to do this. It locks you into the previous roles.) Personal Marketing Plan Samples Each of these personal marketing plan samples has a slightly different feel. They each contain information the job seeker wanted to share and highlight. You can adapt any one of these to match your own job search goals. Sample 1 In the example below, Waldo has not included a list of target companies. It is his goal during his networking meetings to ask people for companies they think would be a match for his criteria. (He may also not want people to know exactly what companies he is targeting.) He has also included a high-level overview of his work history by year, industry and role to highlight his span of experience. Sample Marketing Plan 2 Sample 2 Timothy has a pretty solid idea of what hes looking for. His marketing plan also includes a mini resume since he is looking for something similar to what hes done. Sample Marketing Plan 3 Sample 3 This example is a bit more visual. Franco included some infographics to help highlight his achievements and areas of knowledge. The slight touch of color and graphic elements makes this less like a resume. Sample Marketing Plan visual Sample 4 This sample is really more to help you know what to put in the different sections and how to create your personal marketing plan. You may want to simplify this before sharing it with people. Sample Personal Marketing Plan Test It For Yourself Experiment with your personal marketing plan. Try one of the formats above or create your own.   There is no right or wrong way to layout your information. It just needs to work for you. Read more about informational meetings: How to Ask for an Informational Meeting Stop Calling It An Informational Interview Networking Equals Relationships

LAST DAY to Ditch Your Day Job - live for free! - When I Grow Up

LAST DAY to Ditch Your Day Job - live for free! - When I Grow Up Today on  Ditch Your Day Job, were wrapping up by creating your personalized, deadline-and-reward-driven guide to ditching your day job (cause Im obvious like that).   Well be mashing up the Breathe Easy Number (aka your financial cushion), your Phase One (explained below!), and Plan B (what will you do if you fail?) into a tangible, bite-size timeline so that you know the exact month and year you can quit your job. I call it your Safety Net Action Plan, or SNAP for short! Our second (and last!)  dayll cover: Phase One, which consists of  the simplest and cheapest â€"yet most impactful! â€"  way to get your business going how to answer The Dreaded Question (So, what do you do?) with confidence and clarity who and what makes up your Support Squad your personalized Safety Net Action Plan (SNAP), complete with deadlines and rewards to hit along the way an interview with the founder of Old Town Suds,  Steffanie Housman, who worked for years on her SNAP before being let go in 2014 (which was immediately followed by breaking her soap-selling weekend record!) Ive essentially spent eight years prepping for this class and I hope it allows you to ditch your day job in a way thats more comfortable and confident than you could set yourself up on your own. I’m so proudcited to think of you putting your SNAP into action and getting off those golden handcuffs sooner rather than later! Above allknow that when you’re on the other side of this, you’ll hug yourself knowing that you made it happen. Like that old proverb says: “The best time to do something was yesterday the second best time is now.” If you follow your SNAP, you will make it happen. No file-in-a-cake or get-out- of-day-job-jail card necessary. If its  anytime between 9am -2:30pm Pacific today, come join me live for free  right here! Missed it, or any of the lessons? Buy it on sale today AND get all the videos, an exclusive 70 page workbook, and over $450 in free stuff from Bidsketch  (free 1 year membership), Breather  (2 free hours) and Batchbook  (4 months free trial)!

What It Wants When You Are Asked For a Resume and a Writing Sample

What It Wants When You Are Asked For a Resume and a Writing SampleThere is a lot of controversy over what it wants when you are asked for a resume and a writing sample. Is it important? How do you go about getting your career done in the quickest way possible? These are very good questions that need to be answered by all people involved in job search.The answer is this: When you are asked for a resume and a writing sample, you get what you get. This is because if you have been invited to a company for an interview and then the company asks you to submit samples, you get what you get. It doesn't matter how great or wonderful or amazing the job opportunity sounds - if you don't give them what they want in order to have you appear credible, you will get no points at all. This is why it is important to keep your profile open, if you are going to get a job. The only thing that matters at the end of the day is whether you have what the employer needs in order to hire you.When you are asked for a resume and a writing sample, you get what you get. Whether you like it or not, your profile is going to be up on the Internet and that means you will be be searched from all over the world by all types of people who are trying to do business with you.A nice twist is that once your resume and a writing sample gets posted on the Internet, it's there forever. As a result, it might seem to some people that the information is floating around for everyone to see. This is something you should never let happen. If the company asks you to post a resume and a writing sample, you want to be sure that this is exactly what they want. It is as simple as that.There is one more point to make, however. You can get your resume and a writing sample any time you need it. If you are invited to a job interview and you do not have a resume and a writing sample, you do not have to worry. You can get them on your own. What you can do is apply for a job before you actually submit your resume and a wri ting sample.What it wants when you are asked for a resume and a writing sample is what it wants. This is the exact same thing that any employer wants. All they want is to make sure that you have all the skills that they are looking for. They are looking for someone who has shown up on their doorstep, proven themselves to be reliable and trustworthy and who has also demonstrated an ability to work in a team environment. You need to show them these things. Remember, that is what they want and they will hire you no matter what you have to say.So, as long as you do not provide the employer with something that you did not put in a resume and a writing sample, you should be okay. In fact, this is just one more weapon in your arsenal. It is up to you to use it well. If you get yourself some good friends to help you, you may even have something left over that you could get for yourself. That is how job searching should be done, so there is really no reason not to take advantage of the oppor tunities that are there.

Muhammad Ali How to Stage a Career Comeback Like the Champ

Muhammad Ali How to Stage a Career Comeback Like the Champ Former boxer Muhammad Ali has died at the age of 74. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. and named the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, he was the first three-time heavyweight champion, with 37 knockouts to his credit. But Ali was a lot more than just a guy who could punchâ€"among other things, he was also master of re-invention. Ali’s celebrity and persona were so imposing that it’s easy to forget his professional struggles, many of which were daunting. But it’s important to give as much attention to his losses as his victories, because the way he got back up after every knockout sets a good example for those of us who have found ourselves at a mid-career impasse, with few options. His professional boxing career began in 1960, and in 1964 he made international headlines by beating the unbeatable Sonny Liston in a major upset. While the heavyweight champion of the world, he converted to Islam and took the name Muhammad Ali, embarking on a career in which he successfully defended his title over and over again. But it all came to a screeching halt in 1967, when he was drafted into the armed forces. Unlike Elvis Presley, he refused to go. “I ain’t got nothing against no Viet Cong,” he said at the time. “No Viet Cong never called me ni**er.” It was a brave, principled stand, and it resulted in him being stripped of his title in every state in America. He also had his passport revoked, effectively ending his career at its peak. He was 25. Ali appealed his draft evasion conviction, taking it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. It was finally overturned in 1971, but by then Ali was 29 years old and had missed what should have been his peak years as an athlete. Could he still deliver the way he had in his prime? Could he deliver at all? Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. At first, the answer was no. In March 1971, he challenged then-heavyweight champion Joe Frazier in what was dubbed “The Fight of the Century.” Ali lost the bout, his first professional defeat. But he had gone all 15 rounds, and his comments to reporters after the fight that Frazier “would have licked me quicker because I wasn’t as strong as I am now” showed a man who had decided that losing had not ended his career. It just meant his resurgence would take a little longer. Over the next two years, Ali fought again several times, finally facing Frazier again in a 1974 rematch. Frazier had lost his heavyweight title to George Foreman, and this time, Ali won the bout by unanimous decision. He was now poised to face Foreman and reclaim the title that was taken away from him seven years earlier. Foreman and Ali faced off in Zaire in a fight nicknamed “The Rumble in the Jungle.” Foreman was heavily favored to win â€" he had one of the hardest punches in heavyweight history, and that punch had taken away Frazier’s title. Furthermore, Ali was now 32 years old, and simply didn’t float like a butterfly or sting like a bee any more. The younger, scrappier fighter was long gone. For much of the fight, Ali leaned against the boxing ring’s ropes and let his opponent thrash him mercilessly. Ali, who had been conserving his strength until Foreman depleted his, eventually began punching back, and hard. By the eighth round, an utterly spent Foreman was on his back, knocked out by a man who had been thought too old to win. Ali had regained his title by knockout, and had done it by relying on strategy, as only an older, more experienced fighter could. “I’ll admit it,” Foreman would later say. “Muhammad outthought me and outfought me.” READ NEXT: The 21 Most Valuable Career Skills Now Ali retired from boxing in 1981 and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1984. Even so, he refused to fade away into a life of falling asleep in his recliner in front of the Golf Channel. Instead, he re-invented himself as an elder statesman, doing everything from acting as a guest official for WrestleMania to visiting Iraq in 1990 to meet with Saddam Hussein and successfully negotiate the release of 15 American hostages. He may not have been able to box any more, but he could still find an opening, still outthink his opponent, and still wouldn’t stay down. To anyone who saw him fight or verbally spar with reporters, Ali was a larger-than-life figure. Even after years of illness and physical decline, he somehow seemed impervious to death. Nevertheless, this overlooks an important point. Muhammad Ali’s strength wasn’t invincibility. It was his refusal to stay down. Few athletes have had their careers pronounced dead the way his was, only to see the doubters silenced and proven wrong. There’s an important lesson in that for the rest of us: We’re only down when we tell ourselves to stay down. Even if we find ourselves running into professional brick walls due to age, changing technology, or a changing workplace culture, there’s always an opportunity for someone who refuses to be defined by defeat. Daniel Bukszpan is a New York-based freelance writer.

Why Changing Your Career Path Might Be Worth It - Work It Daily

Why Changing Your Career Path Might Be Worth It - Work It Daily This is a true story as told to LatPro.com where you can find helpful career interviews and job search advice in your desired industry. Visit to find a career interview in your field today. Is changing your career path worth it? When I was mid-way through high school I decided my career path was going to be in medicine. I was going to be a doctor and medical school was the natural destination. In my mind at the time it made perfect sense; I was great at science, I loved performing the dissections and biology lab experiments, and it was professional career path. By the time I got to college, however, my track got waylaid. My attention and interest in science didn’t extend over to the first level college classes for the science track, and I was soon fuddled up with calculus and inorganic chemistry. I barely passed the chemistry tests, and I ended up having to drop out of the calculus class. This was the first time in my life I had to re-assess my personal direction. I ended my first semester with a 1.9 GPA, so I had to fix my path quickly if I wanted to succeed. Fortunately, I was able to switch to my other skillset which was writing. I opted for the most likely professional career that used writing, in my eyes: a lawyer. So I spent my college career in government and English/composition, figuring that was the best preparation I could give myself for the legal field. Once I found my groove, my success became predictable. A typical day involved going to my requirement classes in the morning or those for my minor, government, and then I would take on my major classes in the afternoon. By 4pm the class day was over. I would spend the next few hours having dinner and relaxing. The evening was either working on a paper or hanging out in the library working on research. Unfortunately, after graduation the job market was far from expected. Unlike generations before who would come out of school with a degree and could expect a good job to be waiting, our generation had to deal with the 1990’s Recession. After the great ceremony, most of us would cross paths repeatedly at interviews and walking the street filling out job applications. Our competition was also thousands of mid-career folks who had just been laid off. More than once I would find one of my classmates being the office assistant managing the entrance door to a firm. Those were the lucky ones among us; they had a paycheck. Finding no results quickly in the office world, I had to fall back on my old skill and work talent in high school, being a cook. I spent two years in a kitchen after college until I was accepted into law school. This was a hard transition because, as I mentioned earlier, every generation before had their career handed to them after earning a degree. My graduating class was among the first to come out of school in the “new economy” that essentially said it was every man for himself. Having no preparation for this kind of competition for a basic starting job, it was hard. Many of my peers scrounged around in part-time jobs. Fast forward another five years I went through law school and then switched to a business master’s degree program. I started out with the goal to be a marketing analyst, and I finished the program with a job as a government financial analyst. I never saw myself in high school ending up as a number-cruncher, but it did happen. I even managed to pass calculus with an A grade when finishing my business master’s degree! Today my career is an extension of that initial financial analyst job. I’m a chief financial officer of an agency that manages 7,000 employees with a statewide presence. I manage a budget that is close to $1 billion, and I have 100 staff that report to my area directly. I’m halfway through my career course, and I expect to be an agency director by the time I’m ready to retire. Looking back at what I needed when I came out of school, I would definitely recommend for today’s graduates to be ready to work for themselves. This may mean freelancing, working two or three jobs at a time, or leaving the country to find better job markets overseas. If I could do it again, I definitely would have come out with a business degree as well as a writing degree from college. This combination provides the best flexible package to fit multiple career paths. The toughest part of starting out, more so today in 2012 than it was in the 1990s, is managing the frustration and depression while looking for a job. The job world is harder than ever. Folks need to rely on their wits, be willing to work independently, and be flexible enough to move where the work is at a moment’s notice. The “new economy” wants commandos that hit the ground running; the days’ of respectable, stable careers are long gone and it’s up to you to make it in today’s economy. Changing career path image from Bigstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!

To Help Shrink Gender Wage Gap, Add Female Managers

To Help Shrink Gender Wage gemeinsame agrarpolitik, Add Female Managers Report Finds U.S. Mothers Continue to Sacrifice Wages, Career Advancement When they Start a FamilyThe fact that a gender wage eu-agrarpolitik persists in the workplace is no secret by now but the explanation and remedies for the inequity have remained elusive. A recent report titled Visier Insights Gender Equity clarifies some of the phenomena underlying this issue. It turns out that the situation is more complex than the equal pay for equal work solution might suggest. In fact, there is evidence of a growing gender eu-agrarpolitik in management positions beginning at age 32 a manager divide that correlates with a widening of the gender pay gap across various occupations and levels of education.Released last month by Visier, a company that evaluates workforce data to advise businesses, thereportanalyzedinformation on 165,000 employees from dozens of Blue Chip U.S. companies. The results offer a look at how mens and womens careers evolve over time and investigate how these patterns correlate withinequality in both managerial positions and pay.The Gender Wage Gap s findings are bleak, showing that the gender wage gap is a systemic issue. While the subject has garnered significant attention in recent years, leading many employers to adopt equal pay for equal work policies, Visiers report demonstrates that men and women still do not have equal access to the highest-paying work. With men still dominating the highest-paying jobs, the wage gap remains wide open. Visiers report shows that at age 32, women begin to be underrepresented in management positions, which tend to pay twice that of non-management positions.It is no surprise, therefore, that the gender wage gap intensifies at precisely that age. At age 32, women in the U.S. earn about 90% of what their male counterparts make. This gap intensifies as women get older by age 40, they typically earn just 82% of what men earn.John Schwarz, foun der and CEO of Visier, points out that the gender inequity is not just a compensation issue it is a problem of unequal participation of women in the higher paying managerial jobs.This trend can exist even in fields dominated by women. I spoke to one woman who is employed at New York City middle school where the leadership team last year welches 71% male, even though the staff was just over 50% female. She noted that at her school, three of the four grade team chairs were men, and one of them was selected over a woman who had more years of teaching experience both at that school and overall.It seems that men may be given the benefit of the doubt more frequently than women when it comes to promotions. Moreover, since women have commonly had to sacrifice their careers when starting a family, men who may be less concerned about how raising children will impact their professional life may be more inclined to apply for higher-level positions, even as their families are growing.Family Ma ttersIt appears that one decision in particular the choice to start a family can force women to sacrifice career advancement and its corresponding wage increases. According to Visiers study, women between the ages of 25 and 40 the age range when the majority of mothers are having and raising their children constitute a lower percentage of the total workforce than women who are outside that age range. How Can We Shrink The Gender Wage Gap?According to Visiers report, if women and men were equally represented in management positions, the gender wage gap would decrease to 10% across all age groups. While still a disturbing divide, it would represent a significant improvement for women ages 32 and older. Visiers report suggests concrete alternatives to help employers address the management divide, such as considering at least one female candidate each time a position needs to be filled, implementing blind screening by removing names from resumes, and adjusting HR and compensation po licies with an awareness of gender equity. The report also emphasizes the importance of advocating for equal parental leave policies. Swedens Daddy leave policy, instituted in 1995, created a monetized incentive for fathers to take parental leave and, according to Visier, resulted in a 7% increase in a mothers future earnings for each additional month of parental leave taken by her spouse. In order to address the manager divide, it appears that we need a cultural shift that makes it socially acceptable for both men and women to take time off from work to care for their children. The Visier report suggests instilling such values early on in classrooms and other communal environments. If children are exposed at home or at school to books and games that feature stay-at-home dads, it stands to reason that they might be less inclined to subscribe to the deeply flawed stereotype that mothers are homemakers while fathers go to work.Do you have more ideas about how to shrink the gender wage gap and eliminate the manager divide? Visit the Fairygodboss Discussion Boards, where you can post a question, share your two cents, or just start a dialogue.