Inside the Mind of Professional Women

Since happiness is contagious (and misery loves company), what better way to enhance a “beautiful career and a beautiful life” than to hear what works (and what doesn’t) for other successful women?

By Taylor Mallory

At our PINK Conference events each year, we meet some of the savviest professional women across the country — women like you — and find out what they’re thinking. Last fall, through our collaboration with KPMG, we polled more than 2,400 women at PINK luncheon conferences in six cities across the U.S.: New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco and Charlotte.

What did we learn?

Nearly half of the women polled didn’t ask for a raise or promotion in the last year. They lost out, too, because 72 percent of those who asked for a raise got one!Most of the women reported being at least “satisfied” with — if not fulfilled by — their jobs. And 95 percent described themselves as “ambitious.”

Surprisingly, though, few aspire to beCEO, but since nearly a third want to own their own businesses, many could end up in the C-suite anyway.While half feel they can be their authentic selves in the workplace, another 22 percent are only comfortable being themselves around other women. The bad news: The endless struggle for Life/Work balance still stresses out most women. The good news: A little exercise, family time and retail therapy get them back on track. Here’s more of what they told us. How would you answer?

This article originally appeared in the April.May 2007 issue of PINK Magazine.