Path Forward
Path Forward is an organization that helps employers (large and small) run “returnship” programs in which people who have left the work force to care for a family or a parent have a structured and supported way to return to work.
In this podcast, the Gotham Gal talks about Path Forward with Tami Forman who is the Executive Director of Path Forward.
Comments (Archived):
This is a great thing for marriages and families. Having both spouses have meaningful careers is so important to healthy relationships, starting with self worth.
I’m having trouble finding the pun in here..
Do I need to add a hashtag – #serious – every time I’m not joking around?
I think that would be the right path to take.
The Path Forward?
‘a logical path’?
.Revelation, no? You are capable of serious? Now I will be on the look out for it.I enjoy your wicked sense of humor. Keep it up.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
“You are capable of serious?” Hey now! I’m serious every time no one laughs at my humor.
We’re struggling with this right now. Every time my wife says that we have a son, the recruiter will pause awkwardly. It’s like they forgot about her 10 yr career before she was a mom.
It’s like recruiters have amnesia that they have mothers and, maybe, daughters.How would they feel if their mother or daughter was treated with awkward pauses like that?When men say they have kids, everyone gives them pats on backs. Working mothers should get triple the pats on backs because they’re not only working, they’re also taking the LEAD ROLE IN TRAINING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE, providing care to elderly parents AND running and budgeting households.If those aren’t amazing management skills, the Pope isn’t Catholic.
Amen!I’d like to see any man (yes I said it), juggle like our moms, sisters, daughters do every day. I’m so impressed at what my wife manages to get done in a day. My son and I would be a mess without her.
Well done @gothamgal! Looking forward to listing over the weekend. Also, Vodafone recently launched an initiative to attract 1000 women returning from a career break … http://www.ft.com/content/375e4c4c...
may i ask, do you have experience of investing in companies founded by husband and wife teams?
I have seen some of those and I have had some work at my companies. I can tell you that it is really tough. It has nothing to do with male/female.The issue is that when you come home you talk about work. And not in a professional setting, but rather to let off steam. “Man Bob is really an ahole.”Now this loops back into work. And other employees realize that they are not privy to those conversations, and realize look you aren’t going to disagree with the one you sleep with.
.I have seen several going through AustinTechStars — killers. I think the women are often the driving force.Results I have personally witnessed tell me it’s a better than average probability of success.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
I wish that instead of seeing male:female ratios of 40:1 in tech workshops at the weekend, more of those men stayed at home to take care of their kids and let their partners attend in their place.
It all boils down to the lack of time that our current capitalistic system allows for..
A sign of leadership is MAKING TIME.
,I don’t get how it is capitalism’s fault. Capitalism is providing the opportunity, is it not? Absent a dash of capitalism, what would be preferable?JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Capitalism is simply the name for a structure of organizing how money moves. Capitalism itself is inherently neutral, however when people have or are allowed/given control of something that is only available in a limited amount, and if they are given control over the pricing, then they can constantly increase the price.The things that the price gets increased for are everything relating to survival – primarily, and then secondarily pleasure items, and then addictive things; e.g. food, shelter, health. So what happens is every cost is constantly slowly going up because someone else is constantly putting the price up, putting a negative pressure on the quality of life of everyone – also is in part what causes inflation.It’s not capitalism’s fault – inherently it is a some combination of greed of individuals, lack of cooperation (pricing), lack of connection to the people around us – so we don’t see what our actions cause or lead to, we don’t have to share in that suffering when we have our own bubble with lots of money and abundance in it.What’s preferable is what Albert talks about, having a floor with a basic guaranteed income – which also solves more problems like actually creating a free work market, so people don’t have to get stuck working in a shitty environment/being treated less well than a being should be treated, etc.
.Capitalism is an economic system which respects the rights of private individuals to own property and the means of production while reserving to themselves the right to independently determine the allocation of resources, the levels of production, and the accumulation of wealth with an eye toward setting prices, distributing goods based on free market competitive forces.Government, with the agreement of the governed, rightly intrudes upon this free market activity by injecting minimal levels of regulation and inserting tiny burdens necessary to operate the state and to fund social welfare.No other form of economic/government practice has delivered a standard of living commensurate with capitalism.Other forms of economy/government have stolen the wealth of the governed while bankrupting the state and inflicting crushing hardship, economic slavery, and poverty upon their people.Capitalism is the answer.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Respects the rights of private individuals to own properties, the issue is that should not be at the expense of allowing others to suffer.Capitalism with a floor to protect people, all beings, is the answer. That’s the next step – and the path forward. 😉
.You are confusing the system with the practitioners.As a CEO, I operated within the mores of capitalism.As a capitalist, I gave my employees company paid health, vision, dental, life insurance and a wellness program which paid their gym dues and to exercise regularly.Why?Because I made a decision that I owned their problems. Good capitalist decisions are good for everyone.I gave them free flu shots. Why? Same reason. I owned the outcome if they got sick and infected the entire company.Start with capitalism and then be an informed and thoughtful capitalist.Make sense?JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Swear to god, I come here for Fred, but I stay for the JLM commentary.I’m reasonably left leaning, but Capitalism is absolutely the way to go, and your definition, including the definition of Government to avoid Tragedy of the Commons arrangements, and to keep the whole machine running is great. I think *completely unregulated* Capitalism is a nightmare, but I get the impression that those who rile against Capitalism, don’t really understand what it is.
I wish it were that easy, but I don’t think it is. I stay home on the weekend and take care of the kids while my wife goes to a nurse practitioner workshop. In this case the male female ratio is reversed.I think there are several problems. One is role models. And by that I mean it starts at home. This is just a cold hard fact we have to overcome. Not nearly as many girls can look up to their Mom and see a technologist as boys to their Fathers.I also think that there is (much less than it used to be) a bias at schools to not push girls into STEM programs.I don’t think the answer is quotas, etc. But I do think programs like this and others help tremendously.Anecdotally, I see it getting directionally better. 40% of my Lego robotic team were girls, 60% didn’t speak English at home (which is a plug for immigration).For now you have to fight the good fight because it is not going to change overnight. Hopefully and with sustained effort, when you get to my age you can look back and say “I remember the days when I was the only female”
.Going actual experience on you.My lawyer wife and mom wanted to raise the children. She loved it. She’s 100 X the nurturer I am (Hey, I recognize how hard this is for this audience to believe that. I get it.).I used to take the bambinos to work with me, when they were housebroken, but before kindergarten. We had an all day blast. Of course, I was the CEO and nobody objected. (Not that I recall.)The most important thing for a family is those kids. Everything else is second place.When your kids are productive members of society, you get a thrill watching that child do great things.Like my wife says, “In spite of you.” That’s the lawyer coming out in her.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
My future husband better look after the kids on days I want and need to be at tech workshops or he’ll find himself sleeping on the lawn! Lol.No, the best thing is to be married to someone who cares about the welfare of the family and both careers.
.There is the slightest chance the guy may like his own kids. It happens. I used to love taking the bambinos to work. Never let them sit in on big meetings, but there was cocoa (mean time between spills approximately 7 minutes) and lunch and coloring on the white boards and calling Mom.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
more of those men stayed at home to take care of their kids and let their partners attend in their place.If someone needs a man that is interested in staying at home with the kids, then they should marry someone that will agree and is happy to stay at home with the kids. And obviously vice versa. There is no one set pattern that we all need to subscribe to. Staying home with the kids doesn’t make you a good person and likewise working and not helping out doesn’t make you a bad husband or father. Ability to earn a living ranks high. Survival. Ask anyone who doesn’t have money if they are happy that their spouse attends little league games. Or helps out with domestic duties.
Yup, pick the RIGHT SPOUSE FOR WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU BOTH WANT TO DO.
.OK, reality injection — fall in love, marry that person. You can work it out. You can work out anything if you’re in love.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Italian ex (maths degree like me, hedge funder) asked me to move in with him (in Rome), get married, have bambini etc.Now, IF I’d done that, I’d now be a Roman housewife who spends her days having lunch, getting manicures and dropping+picking up the kids from school.Instead, I’m in SF winning IBM Cognitive Builder Faire, getting my Alexa Skill certified and released on Amazon app store, changing the whole of data-AI-economics with my systems invention and looking damn glam and LOL’ing whilst doing it.
.Fair play. All the right moves, I trust.How’s the Italian chow in SF? Of course, there is the Tadich, no?I have never had a bad meal in Rome.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
You haven’t been to the Chinese restaurants around Argentaria in Rome then, lol.They serve spaghetti instead of broad flat rice noodles in their chicken noodle soups and that should be against the law!I’m catching up with a Korean friend over an Italian meal tomorrow night.YUMMY!
Now that’s awesome. +1
.Tapping in to women returning to the work force is good business.Not only are there a ton of accomplished women ready to suit up, but as moms they know stuff guys will never know. Drive a car pool and tell me you can’t run HR or a team.The wisdom of the traditional gold watch retirement in the current environment is questionable.People no longer have “20 years of experience.” They have six months of relevant experience x six.The ability to work from home has long since gone mainstream. Homes are now talent pools and smart people will mine them.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Re “as moms they know stuff guys will never know,” you should all sit in on AI conferences and workshops where non-sensical Professors of AI and male PhDs make unscientific and non-factual statements like:1.) “AI emulates the human brain.”2.) “Babies don’t need any guidance and they can do unsupervised learning.”Hmmn, well that’s an example of guys pretending they’re “crushing” AI and NatLang when they’re really far from it and THEY HAVE NO IDEA HOW HUMAN INTELLIGENCE is acquired or trained. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…Moreover, the echo chambers of such male engineers is why we don’t have machines that understand our language, culture or values.@disqus_SFEtiE7wHj:disqus — Path Forward should target all the AI startups in the Valley and give the Professors and PhDs a good dose of “Working Wonder Women” common sense.
What a noble initiative. I will personally mention/discuss this with everyone that I’m fortunate enough to cross paths with. Companies that advocate this mission should be valued higher.
.Slow day, postage limit reached. Adios, MFers.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
You already know by experience that we will never beg you to come back, but anyway…https://www.youtube.com/wat…
.Just trying to keep the peace, Brasso. Don’t want any thin skins going ugly on an ape. Worried about their cardiac health. Do not start trouble.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Peace. Left you a link on your snow flight post, hope you like it.
These are paid internships. Interestingly more and more college internships are paid nowadays, too. While you can still run unpaid college programs the DOL regulations are pretty strict and many companies (outside of glam industries like entertainment) find its easier to just pay a reasonable amount. In any event, because our program is for post-grad professionals they must be paid in order to be DOL compliant.
A Chinese model for working mothers that empowers ambitiousness. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…