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V O L . X X I I I N O. X X I X D E C E M B E R 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 18 L et's say a woman takes a break from her career to take on a diff er- ent job — having and caring for children. at often means she missed out on advancement opportunities, and progressively higher remuneration, when she returns to the workplace. Experts say scenarios like this con- tinue to impact women most in this day and age. But increasingly, employers and employees alike are looking at strategies to maximize women's chances of main- taining her professional status during her years away from the workplace. "When people take a break from work — and I think, increasingly, men do that as well — if they're intending to go back into the workforce, they could continue to stay active educationally or certifi cation-wise, or maybe volunteer," says Debby Olken, business development director for KMA Human Resources Consulting in Falmouth. "So they have a gap in staff work but they've augmented their experience during their hiatus in paid work, and they've done it in a way that adds value to their career track." Women disproportionately affected Workplace issues can aff ect women and men diff erently, causing advancement and remuneration disparities. e gender wage disparity is well-known. e latest studies show women working the same jobs as men are paid on average 80% what men are paid, aff ecting both imme- diate income and retirement savings. But other circumstances also aff ect women's ability to get ahead, things like career breaks for child and elder care, and a lack of career reinforcement programs like mentoring. Even helpful strategies can have unintended conse- quences: Work-at-home fl exibility, for example, can mean missing out on face time with colleagues and clients. ese are issues that aff ect men, too — fathers increasingly handle child care as moth- ers continues their career tracks — and mitigating strategies are equally appli- cable. But women remain dispropor- tionately impacted. As in the example above, HR professionals and recruiters are on the lookout for those mitigating strategies to ensure female employees are where they want to be on the career track. And, they agree, it's important to keep the discussion going. Gap years Baker Newman Noyes, the Portland- based accounting fi rm, is doing just that, with its women's initiative pro- gram, says Jennifer Harnish, the fi rm's director of human resources. While historically male-dom- inated, the accounting profession is seeing a greater balance between women and men — and Baker Newman is an example of that. But that creates other challenges. "Several years ago, one of our prin- cipals had the idea to create a space for the women of the fi rm to support each other and discuss the challenges they face in the accounting profes- sion," says Harnish. "Our fi rm is about 50% women. By forming the women's initiative, we've created an organized voice for women within the fi rm." Now in its second year, the group meets three to four times per year and is seeking to partner with other women's groups. "Our group creates a space to sup- port women and is tailored to what they identify as their top needs. We also off er some of the program top- ics to men because it's important to create the awareness about how the genders can work diff erently and what that means when it comes to things like business development, mentoring or stress," Harnish says. " at's changing the landscape," she adds. "Women tend to feel more respon- sible for maintaining a balance between work and family — a stress under which men may present diff erently." F O C U S Fixing workplace gender disparity Employers aim for equality, but differences persist L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r Jennifer Harnish, director of HR at Baker Newman Noyes, says while women are a greater presence in accounting fi rms, Baker Newman tries to create awareness about differences in the way men and women work. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY

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