Forbes Women Need a Summer Glow and Shoes
June 19, 2009
by Judy Silver
|Forbes magazine, “The Capitalist Tool,” is looking a little desperate in their attempt to lure new women readers. The New York Times reports that Forbes “is struggling in an age of financial misery” with ad pages down 15% in the first quarter and the price per issue dropping steadily, prompting layoffs and benefit cuts.
Often thought of as a wealthy family that happens to own a magazine, the family is actually wealthy precisely because it owns a magazine, and the business decline of the magazine comes right out of the family’s pockets. And there is another generation that expects to inherit more than a once-gilded family name.
So what is Forbes doing to try to hang on through the recession? One tack is to add a “Forbes Woman” section to their website, presumably to attract business women. I surfed over, hoping to find maybe a profile of FDIC chair Sheila Bair, or maybe coverage of the losses in the ranks of female Wall Street execs. What I found instead, was this:
Followed quickly by this:
‘Cause yea, that’s what female business executives are all about — that golden glow and skin-flashing shoes. Head on back to the drawing board, Forbes.
You must be kidding. They can’t possibly think this is going to attract the women on Wall Street. I mean c’mon!
Thank you for making note of this. I am growing tired of companies who claim to help women in the workforce, but only provide advice about fashion, yoga, etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with fashion, yoga, etc. (I happen to be a big fan myself), but these “skills” will not ultimately help me get ahead in my male-dominated workplace.
Unfortunately, women (at least women in my little town of 6,000) are not any better at teaching/providing ourselves with resources to get ahead. Recently, there was a women-only event for local entrepreneurs. I was thrilled, until I saw the line-up of events. It was billed as a “girl’s night out” complete with–you guessed it– a fashion show!
I like to think I have a lot more to offer my mostly-male colleagues than my sharp suits, such as my brilliant ideas and stunning intellect. I want to learn about effective communication, life/work balance, educational opportunities for career advancement (and if there are any scholarships, fellowships, etc. available for women to finance said education), and any other issues working women tend to encounter.
Does anybody know about any conferences or workshops of this nature in the Northeast, esp. New England?
What I don’t get is why, when this crap fails time and again, do they keep trying it? I think they interview a bunch of old men to find out what women want and need, then they take that info and run it by a bunch of gay guys for that fabulously fake feminine perspective, then they run it by a bunch of women who benefit economically from kissing media mens a$$e$ and “women’s content” is born. The only relevant definition of “women’s content” is content women will pay to consume. With the internet we now have options.
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