Dr. Warren Farrell is the only man in the US ever elected three times to the Board of Directors of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in New York City.
Dr. Warren Farrell has been chosen by the Financial Times as one of the world’s top 100 thought leaders. His most recent book, Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap–and What Women Can Do About It, has been the subject of widespread praise, from features on ABC’s 20/20 to The New York Times and U.S. News and World Report.
Dr. Farrell’s books are published in over 50 countries, and in 13 languages. They include two award-winning international best-sellers, Why Men Are The Way They Are plus The Myth of Male Power.
Warren has run his own business for more than 35 years. He has done keynotes, expert witness testimony or corporate training for Toyota, IBM, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Revlon, Ogilvy-Mather, Texaco, NASA and the U.S. Air Force. He has spoken worldwide to associations of corporate executives (YPO, TEC, the Australian Institute of Management); associations of professionals (e.g., the American Management Association, and the Financial Planning Association), and think tanks (CATO, the Renaissance Weekends).
Warren has appeared more than 20 times on CNN (e.g., Larry King Live), and repeatedly on Oprah, the Today Show and Good Morning America.
He has also been interviewed by Barbara Walters, Peter Jennings and John Stossel, and been the subject of two special features on ABC’s 20/20. In 2003 his campaign for Governor of California was a special feature of CNN.
Warren has been featured repeatedly in The New York Times, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as in Business Week and Boardroom publications. He is often quoted or featured in Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report, and been the subject of features in both People and Parade. He has written for publications ranging from the World Book Encyclopedia to Ms and journals of sociology and psychology.
Warren is in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World, but is most comfortable at home. He lives with his wife and two daughters (teenagers!) in Mill Valley, California. You may visit him virtually at https://www.warrenfarrell.com.
Keynoting Women in Business Conferences
My keynotes to women-in-business conferences involve full audience participation. Since leadership is developed less by being talked at and more by having our own strengths discovered, I wrap up with a unique question-and-answer period that includes helping the audience discover their own answers.
My presentations begin with the most important research from Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap — and What Women Can Do About It. My research uncovered twenty-five differences between what men and women do in the workplace.
Here’s the rub. Everything men do leads to more money; everything women do leads to more balanced lives—and usually, to better lives. So you don’t just want to imitate men.
When this research is combined with thirty years of work with men, women, businesses and families, I am able to explain how each work decision translates into a work-life decision. The road to high pay is a toll road. The trick is discerning which tolls are worth it. (For example, traveling may be a plus for a single person, but under what conditions is it worth it for a parent?)
The good news is that any woman who wishes to earn as much or more than a man can do it now. We now know twenty-five specific ways women can out-earn men, and more than 80 fields in which women out-earn men. We know that women have special skills and talents that are valued as much or more in male-dominated professions.
Here are some examples of the findings. Most research in the area of pay is slanted in favor of executive women. But executive women and men have children who sometimes do not wish to be executives. So I offer a broad range of ideas that help the executive both as executive and as parent and partner.
Put in the hours. People who work 44 hours per week make twice as much as those working 34 hours. That’s 33% work for 100% more pay. Which makes it cost-efficient to hire out cleaning, errands, etc; or for a woman to raise money while her husband raises the children; or…
Five fields that pay women more than men and also provide excellent opportunities are:
· Speech language pathologists ($45,000 women; $35,000 men; women make 29% more than men)
· Statisticians (35% more than men)
· Advertising and Promotions Managers
· Motion Picture projectionists
· Dental hygienist
Get a technical expertise, and then sell. Example: Female sales engineers (who sell their company’s product) make 143% of male sales engineers.
Know the 25 fields of the future and how to spot fields that are making transitions. Examples: Pharmacists now earn more than medical doctors. Many medical fields, such as dental hygienists, as well as assistants to physicians, or to occupational therapists or to physical therapists, will in high demand and paying highly. Ditto for many computer fields, such as network systems and data communications analysts; computer software engineers and database administrators. Technology is taking many muscle industries, like steel, and making them into mental industries. Great for women.
Within your field, discover the sub-fields that pay the most. Examples: Nurse anesthetists and traveling nurses each make twice the pay of regular nurses–and traveling nurses set themselves up to be consultants.
For women with fewer skills and less education, join the Marines, Navy or Air Force, but not the Army. Only three women in the War in Iraq have been killed in those three services—all the other female deaths are in the Army. The safer opportunities are also the ones that translate best into civilian life, such as training in administrative work, weather, computer fields and health services.
Investment banking and financial analyst are two excellent choices for women who want to earn a lot, earn more than their male counterparts, but do not like taking major risks with money. Female financial analysts average $69,000 per year, 118% of their male counterparts. CEOs are selected from among those assuming bottom line, financial responsibilities for a company, not human resources or public relations, so these fields also pave the way for women who want to break alleged “glass ceilings”.
Be more willing to take financial risks, whether by selling and working on commission (commercial real estate; insurance), or working toward being a venture capitalist. Venture capitalists typically earn between $100,000 and $300,000 per year.
Start a construction company. You don’t need to lift a hammer or nail. You do need to be able to organize those who do. All government agencies and universities and many companies are required to hire a certain percentage of female-owned construction companies.
In medicine, take your eyes off doctors and consider nursing, or being a medical assistant or physician assistant. All are projected to be among the fastest growing fields in the next decade. Nursing can pay more than $100,000 per year as a traveling (“gypsy”) nurse or as a nurse anesthetist. Only female nurses are allowed to see and touch the bodies of both sexes, giving hospitals an incentive to hire women. Medical Assistant requires nothing more than on-the-job training. Physician assistant, requiring only a Bachelor’s, pays very well.
The most important career decision you will ever make is the choice of your spouse. If you’re a woman who wants to “have it all” – a very successful career, a happy marriage and well-raised children — there’s a way. Marry a man who is happy to raise the children while you raise the money. I’ll explain how to find such a man. Children raised by dads in intact families do extremely well socially, psychologically and academically. What about if you’re a single mom? There’s a way. Ask me when I speak…
When you follow your bliss, it’s often money you’ll miss (thus “starving artist” and the actor you call “waiter”). If you want to pursue your dream without being poor, there are some practical ways to do it…
Some speaking topics are:
“How to Become Successful at Work without Failing at Home”
“Gender Pay Discrimination and Sexual Harassment: How Your Company Can Prevent Law Suits Without Being Paralyzed by the Fear of Law Suits”
(Dr. Farrell’s Ph.D. is in Political Science, with an emphasis in Constitutional Law)
“Women Can’t Hear What Men Don’t Say: Making Human Resources User-Friendly to Men”
Get him to your company on time
Communication prevents litigation. People rarely sue people for whom they feel compassion. Train your human resource team to help women understand the twenty-five different workplace trade-offs men are more likely to make that often leads to men earning more. The result? When a woman sees a man promoted before her, she’ll know what to do–rather than feel undervalued and sue. She’ll have both a roadmap of 25 ways to higher pay—all of which are explained in Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap–and What Women Can Do About It, and she’ll have compassion for the people willing to make the trade-offs.
Of course, doing this before you’re sued is preferable (hence “Get Him to Your Company on Time”). And don’t discount getting a bulk order of Why Men Earn More at a discount. (They can be cheaper than Farrell in the flesh, and you can skip what you don’t want to hear…!)