Articles & Reports

Column by Janine Popick, Inc.com "Female CEOs"
June 19, 2009

It doesn’t matter if you’re in fashion or you’re in law, working in an environment where there are a lot of women can be either really fun, or an incredible challenge.

In the early years at my company VerticalResponse, we used to have a lot of women in the office, though now we’ve evened out for the most part. One thing’s for sure, where there were a lot of women, there are some recurring ‘characters;’ that pop up over and over again. Here are some of the personas we’ve experienced, that you might identify with within your own company:

Column by Janine Popick, Inc.com "Women in Business"
May 29, 2009

I’ve met many women who are truly amazing leaders. I’ve followed many women who are top-notch and have amazing degrees. One of my best friends has a Masters degree in HR, and two others have their PhDs; one in metallurgical sciences and one in statistics. They are truly brilliant women.

Me? No way. In high school I held down 3 jobs, 2 lifeguard gigs in the summer, and I worked as a restaurant prep person all year. In college, I was a Resident Assistant, worked at Public Safety, and at the local tavern slogging drinks. I was the person who was sick of school the day it was over. I started my first "real" job the Monday after I graduated while the other kids were getting ready to backpack through Europe.

Column by Janine Popick, Inc.com "Women in Business"
May 21, 2009

I’ve worked for a bunch of companies spanning from New York to the Bay Area, both large and small. I have noticed in all of these companies that women apologize in our everyday language--me included. I’ve had times where a woman will walk into my office with a pre-scheduled meeting, and sheepishly say, "Sorry, is now still a good time?" I cannot remember a single time when I had a scheduled meeting with a guy who did that.

In certain meetings, I have even found myself starting sentences like, "Sorry if we’ve covered this and I can’t remember…" or "Apologies, if I don’t understand. I’m not a tech head but…" Why do we feel the need to do this? Hell, I even apologized for a typo in one of my blog posts because someone called me out on it.

Column by Janine Popick, Inc.com "Women in Business"
May 8, 2009

Earlier this year, my company VerticalResponse signed on as the lead sponsor for StartupNation’s "Leading Moms in Business" competition, because let’s face it, being a woman in business presents its own hurdles. Hence this column. Add kids, and there’s a whole host of other challenges women face. So, hats off to the 200 women selected – and Happy Mother’s Day!

Column by Janine Popick, Inc.com "Women in Business"
August 2008

There you are, one of two women in a meeting room full of men, or perhaps in a loud bar one woman among four other men -- trying, trying hard to get a word in edgewise.

You try to speak, but Mike won’t stop talking. He’s got to get to the end of his sentence because he started one. He’s got a goal, and it’s to put the period at the end of the entire paragraph. You’ve got no chance.