The Editor's Blog

I just had lunch with PINK's finance editor, Mary Claire Allvine, who, as a certified financial planner at Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth Inc., is working nonstop to help shore up individuals' crumbling financial situations. While it's a time of anxiety, she's excited about the good things women are learning: such as taking stock of what we're spending, for example, and addressing the "creep" (all those extra little things we've started buying just because we can).

The stock market's nosedive and the economy in shambles is affecting every business. I know this on a very personal level as a business owner myself. It isn't easy. You have a dream of building a company, and you have employees whose livelihoods depend on you. The other day, during a challenging moment – as I sat outside reflecting on the obstacles – my mind wandered to all the many women who every day lend PINK so much support.

There's a lot going on right now at PINK! With the wild economy and the upcoming election, our office is buzzing. Through recent appearances on shows like CNBC's On the Money (we talked about the recession – check out the article in our current issue titled "Recession Lessons") and last week's story in Time (yes, it's those pesky "Men Working" signs that just don't seem to go away), we've had the chance to share our perspective with a broader audience. Our message? The economy may be in a super slump, but there are opportunities!

For women in America, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin hits a nerve! True, many conservative women are fans. But for professional women in PINK's demographic, not so much. In fact, a recent PINK poll shows that 66 percent of respondents do want a woman in the White House, but they do not want that woman to be Palin. Thirty percent "love her." Only 4 percent think she'd be "good for women's advancement" if elected.

They're everywhere: subtle things that, in a quiet, seemingly innocuous way, undermine women. There are even signs of subtle discrimination on the streets – bright orange signs that blare "Men… Men… Men… Working." Diane Badger of the City of Atlanta's Department of Watershed Management tells me I'm the only one who has complained about these signs locally. "But I think about it," Badger admits.

During a family dinner this past weekend at a favorite local steakhouse, I asked why I had never seen a woman server. "Because we want to be like an exclusive club," I was told. Apparently the establishment does not hire women! The reasoning is that "men like to come to dinner together without the wife's worrying" they'll be cozying up to women who work there.

I had the chance to meet some smart students during a talk this week at Duke University, and I can report that our future is in the hands of very capable young women. A couple of them, Dana Rosenberg and Daniela Rausnitz, started the Duke Association for Business-Oriented Women, the group that invited me to speak.

I'm on the airplane reviewing a proposal from a PR group to promote PINK. It's stapled to another page that I must have printed at the same time – my mom's zucchini recipe. And I realize how much I love my fully integrated life. I glance at my 11-year-old son, Julien, sitting in the window seat beside me. He got up with me at dawn to watch me tape a segment on FOX & Friends. "He can come in," the guy at the door had said. "He's her bodyguard." I know how lucky I am to have been able to create this kind of life.

There were endless management strategies I hoped to implement once I finally got the chance to have a business of my own. I would do all those things former bosses didn't do. And avoid the mistakes they made. I would do it differently. I would give opportunities to those who wanted them. I would let each employee shine in her or his own most radiant way. I would lavish my employees with praise. I would create flexible schedules for those with kids. I would really listen. And I would never let my own fears distort the way I dealt with others.