Women WorkBusiness

Key Ingredients of a Successful Adwords Campaign

Successful Adwords Campaign

According to Slinky Internet Marketing Google Adwords are a well-known way for entrepreneurs to make money for their business. The best part is that you can set a daily budget so you don’t lose more than you make.  To ensure your adwords campaign are as successful as you dream they’ll be, there are a few things you need to have in place

  • Customer demand for your keyword. If there is no demand your ad will not be successful. You can use the Google Adwords Keyword Suggestion Tool to find out – and to discover other keywords you might want to use.
  • A budget. Each click has a cost, but what you can afford to pay is determined by your website conversion rate and estimated profit per customer.
  • Find out what you need to know about your profitable keywords by seeing what your competitors have found out before you. Using the ‘Keyword Spy’ tool’s free trial will save you doing anything illegal.
  • Utilise your USP. Your Unique Selling Proposition can be reduced to a few words and used in those adwords to get more qualified clicks and much fewer unwanted clicks. So you’ll have more traffic that becomes paying customers.

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Women WorkTravel

How to Adopt a Turtle

Adopt-a-Turtle

Bali is a unique and exotic place for a holiday, with many things to be found there that are different from other places in Indonesia or Asia. Once you’ve found your villa accommodation and settled in you won’t be able to wait to get out and about to see the temples, monkeys, theme parks and beaches in the area. But not many people realise they can adopt a turtle in Bali. How?

It is a relatively new idea, since turtles have been harvested as a food for centuries on this island. The trouble is that, as in many other cases, turtles have many other predators, both in the sea and on the beach, just after they hatch. So even though many eggs may be laid, not nearly as many turtles live to grow up and lay more. Thus, the turtle population began to dwindle until there were not that many left.

When turtles and their eggs are also harvested as food for humans the odds against them increase. In fact, they have been used in temple sacrifices and their eggs have been collected to eat and sell. The shell is used to make trinkets and jewellery. All this, in addition to the declining space for eggs on the beaches due to tourist activities has all contributed to the decrease in the turtle population.

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Women WorkProperty

Two Ways of Flipping Real Estate For a Profit

Flipping Real Estate

Most people interested in real estate have heard of flipping property for a profit. This is where you purchase a property and then sell it again quickly – often within 12 months – at a higher price. Experts agree that the real estate market has to be booming for this to be successful – and that you can easily just spend your life calling house movers like Brilliance Removalists in and out making a loss rather than a profit, if you don’t know what you are doing.

Both of these judgements are true. However, that need not put off the eager entrepreneur. Some of us may not be cut out to be www.brilliancecarpetcleaningperth.com.au or spend our lives working for someone else. It is possible to learn how to flip homes for a profit and just because you are eager to do so, it doesn’t mean you are going to be impulsive, right? Find out who is doing it and learn from them, or pay for good information if necessary, then carefully research all the necessary details before going ahead.

In fact, there are two good ways to flip property for a profit.

  • Make money when you buy the property. In this kind of flipping you purchase the property for much less than the market price. To do this you need to find a property with few competitors for the sale. It may be that it has structural damage that puts people off, or some other problem that makes people avoid it. The price you purchase at will need to be far below what the repairs and your other costs would amount to, so that when you resell there will be money left over that is all profit.
  • Do renovations that will pay for themselves. Most experts in real estate will tell you that renovations to a home will not return a 100% profit when selling. Homeowners don’t usually care about that because they are looking for lifestyle enhancement more than sale value. And they mostly intend to stay in their home for several or more years. But when you buy to flip this is not the case. The kind of renovations you do are important. Some types of renovations will lift the home into another class altogether, making it much more attractive to the buyer – even changing the demographic.

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Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

Are S4 Drug Alternatives any Better than Botox?

S4 Drug

Dysport and Xeomin are the only S4 drug alternatives to Botox Perth at the moment. Both use the same product as a Botox procedure, botulinum type A; are considered safe by experts and work in the same way. However, there is one difference that stands out in Xeomin and that is you don’t have to keep it refrigerated. This has to be a good thing, especially if your area suffers a lot of blackouts.

If your clinic refrigerator breaks down or the power goes off and you’ve just received a big order of Botox or Dysport it will all go bad and have to be thrown out. This will be a very costly problem. But if you had gone over to the competition and ordered Xeomin, it wouldn’t worry you to lose power – at least, not for that reason.

In fact, the fact that Xeomin does not need refrigeration is good news for the general public as well. It would save them from the less reputable clinics that might be likely to still use the Botox on hand even though it has been out of refrigeration for some hours – or days. The thought of being injected with a poisonous substance that has gone bad is enough to make anyone shudder.

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Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

7 Health Benefits of an Alfresco Haven

Benefits of an Alfresco

Being outdoors more often is healthier than staying indoors all the time, but when you have an inside job it is difficult to spend enough time outside to reap the benefits of sun on your skin. In addition, it is the trend these days to slather on sunscreen to prevent skin cancer, but as with many trends, this can be overdone and then all the bad effects of not enough sun can be felt – but not always recognised for what they are.

To get outside more often, why not create a special place outdoors in the garden complete with comfortable outdoor lounge furniture? This will give everyone in the family a place to relax, play, eat and generally get more fresh air and sunshine. There are many health benefits of an alfresco haven.

  • The action of sun on the skin creates Vitamin D in the body. Having plenty of this vitamin means that your body can absorb calcium better, so you’ll have stronger bones and teeth. This is important for everyone, but particularly for children whose bodies are still growing and need the maximum amount of these two important building blocks.
  • Being outside more helps you to sleep better. Sleep is the time when the body is resting, recovering and for children, growing. Good quality sleep enables you to cope with many things – including stress – that would tend to drive you crazy if you were tired all the time.

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Women WorkLegal

What are Consent Order Applications

custody of the children

When you and your spouse split up there are many decisions to be made and one of the most important ones is who gets custody of the children, and what will be the visiting rights of the one who doesn’t. Child maintenance must be worked out, along with the care and welfare of the children both in the present and the future.

It is important to do this in a way that is not stressful to the children. Often, children feel guilty when their parents split up, thinking that something they did or said caused it. They feel torn between the two and are devastated that they have to choose between the two people they love most in the world. That is usually the situation, but in the case of violence things will necessarily be different.

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Women WorkEducation & Employment, Legal

Dispute Resolution in the Workplace

Dispute Resolution in the Workplace

Resolving disputes that arise in the workplace is essential if work is to get done and employees are to be treated fairly.  There can be many kinds of disputes, from safety issues through to unfair work practices, harassment and more. Such disputes can escalate from being between two people to dividing the whole staff into different camps and totally interfering with work, so the need for quick resolution is paramount.

However, reaching a resolution may not be that easy. There are several ways it can be done:

  1. Through negotiation between affected parties.
  2. Through mediation with a neutral third party, usually an independent mediator who helps to clarify issues so that the parties can reach an agreement both are happy with.
  3. Through arbitration where an independent arbiter such as a court or judge settles the matter the way they think fit and makes a binding legal decision to see it is carried out.

These days every award includes a clause which sets out how dispute resolution should be carried out. In most cases certain steps must be followed:

  1. Employees must meet with their supervisor to discuss the grievance.
  2. If that doesn’t resolve the matter, senior management must be called in.
  3. Failing resolution, the employer refers the problem to management at a higher or national level.
  4. If no resolution is forthcoming any or all of the parties may take the grievance to the Fair Work Commission.
  5. The employee or employer may appoint another person to be their representative at this point.

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Women WorkLegal

Can You get Out of Your Contract to Purchase a Used Car?

Used Car

Contracts form part of our everyday life and we may not even be aware of it. For instance, when you buy a car you have to sign on the dotted line – and what you sign is actually a contract. It is a legally binding agreement that you bought a specific car in a certain condition of which you were aware, for a certain sum of money. It details how much the repayments will be, when they will be due and how long it will take to pay off.

What contracts contain

Basically, most contracts contain similar information, although it does depend on what they are about. For instance, a work contract will be different from a contract to purchase a car. The work contract details how many hours you will work, for whom and how much you will be paid. It will usually give details about holidays, when they are due and how long they are for.

Many contracts have certain agreements in them due to the requirements of the law. For instance, work contracts should include a clause on how dispute resolution should be carried out.

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Women WorkBusiness

What You Need to Know Before Buying a Business

The days have long gone when it was only men who bought businesses; these days there are many women who own and run their businesses very successfully. But to do so, you cannot expect to buy into any business without knowing anything about it. You need to have training in small business management and experience in the industry, otherwise your efforts are likely to be in vain. Here are some pointers to help ensure success if you want to buy your own business.

  • Get work in the same industry that you are interested in before you attempt to buy a business. If you want to run a restaurant, become a waitress. If a resort in some exotic location sounds good, work in one first. Learning the ropes from the ground up will give you a good idea of how everything works and whether you have the staying power and interest to make it through all the hardships of owning your own business.
  • When you are ready to go ahead, befriend a reputable lawyer and accountant and take their advice in all things to do with your business, from whether you should buy it at all to whether you really need to upgrade. It is easy to get carried away with your plans and waste money you may need for more serious purposes, such as paying off the loan.

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Women WorkBusiness

Reminder: Make Your Advocacy Day Appointments!

Reminder: Make Your Advocacy Day Appointments!

Advocacy Day, March 31st, is approaching fast! This integral part of the NAPE & Women Work! 2009 Professional Development Institute is an opportunity for advocates from all over the country to learn about current policy issues and educate their representatives in Congress about their work and the challenges they face.

Attendees should be setting up meetings with their Senators and Representative for between 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on March 31st. Use the Advocacy Day Prep Kit for help in identifying your legislators and contacting their offices. Once you have set up your meeting or meetings, don’t forget to add them to the Master Schedule, so we can track out joint impact.

If you haven’t registered for the 2009 Professional Development Institute, Partners on the Path to Equity (March 29th – April 1st in Washington, D.C.), you can do so here.

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Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

Exercise Can Be Fun – And Here’s How

Exercise Can Be Fun

Most people will raise an eyebrow when you use the words ‘exercise’ and ‘fun’ in the same sentence. Exercise can be fun; you just need to be smart with your choices, opting for group fitness sessions as opposed to going the process alone. What’s more, the type of group fitness you choose makes a difference. What if you could dance, get fit, and have fun? It’s entirely possible with Sh’Bam. Here’s what you’re missing out on with this revolutionary exercise class.

A Social Environment

A Sh’Bam group fitness class is a fun and social environment. You get to meet new people, join a high-energy environment, and even make new friends. Once you select a timetable session that works for you, you can then join like-minded people in a medium intensity exercise session that requires no equipment.

The Music Is Uplifting

As most people will know, it can be a challenge to not only exercise on your own, but do so with either no music or slow tempo music. When you join a Sh’Bam class, the music is uplifting, fun, and refreshing. You can then get into the mood, work out, dance, and get fit without ever thinking it’s a boring or hard form of exercise. All music consists of popular dance hits, Latin beats, remixed classics, and more. You are bound to find yourself humming away as you get in the best shape of your life.

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Women WorkProperty

How to Get Finance to Buy Real Estate

How to Get Finance to Buy Real Estate

Unfortunately, it is more difficult even in this day and age, for a woman to purchase real estate than it is for a man.  To qualify that statement, it is actually more difficult for women to get the finance to purchase property. Do banks think that a man is more trustworthy than a woman when it comes to repayments? Or could it be more to do with the fact that a woman who has children is more likely to have a lower paid job because she cannot put all her effort and attention into her career when she has children to look after? This may not be true for all women, but it is for some, at least.

In any case, if you want to buy real estate, the best way to get finance is to first save up at least 20% of the deposit. This will not only ensure you pay less interest overall, but it will show the lender that you are a responsible person who is capable of saving. This may require you to seek help from a financial planner to help set you on the right path.

It is also a good idea to have a good plan to back up your request, including any likelihood of you getting a raise in the future. Some careers come with opportunities for advancement, so it doesn’t hurt to mention these. You need to be able to show the lender that you have paid your bills on a regular basis for at least 6 months, more if possible. And if you have had other loans that you paid off successfully, bring proof along with you.

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Women WorkBusiness

Important Tips for Getting a Domain Name

Getting a Domain Name

Once you decide to start your own business, whether that is a work from home business or the coffee den down the street, you need to get a website to advertise it.  A website is essential, especially if you are selling goods or a service that can be offered online. Depending on what kind of business you have, it allows your customers to buy or place an order at any time of the day or night.

Make sure your domain name is unique

So the first step to a website is getting a domain name. But before this is possible, you have to choose the name and make sure no one else owns it. You cannot register a domain name that belongs to someone else. How do you find out?  When you go online to purchase a name, the website will offer a way to find out with just a few clicks. It is all done automatically. If the name you choose is not an original, you will know immediately.

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Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

14 Ways to Keep Fit Mentally

Keep Fit Mentally

Much is said about the benefits to our health of keeping fit physically, but less information is found about keeping our brains active and healthy. It is really just as important to give our brains some exercise as it is to keep on exercising our body. Exercising the brain prevents it from deteriorating as we age, although some people get dementia or Alzheimer’s well before they can be considered old.

Experts tell us that any activity around thinking and learning are good for the brain and help to protect against dementia. And the more complex that activity is and the more it challenges us, the better it is. Frequency is also important. Doing one exercise a month is useless, but doing them every day or two will stimulate the brain well. So how do you exercise your brain?

Choose a variety of activities, but if you have never done any before and they seem hard, choose easy ones and work your way up. You could –

  • Start a new hobby.
  • Take a course to learn a new skill such as a language or how to play an instrument.
  • Get someone to show you something such as how to work a computer or cook a new recipe.
  • Read different types of literature.
  • Do different kinds of puzzles such as crosswords, Sudoku and even jigsaw puzzles.
  • Play cards or board games.
  • Go to the theatre or a museum regularly.

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Women WorkLegal

Steps From Separation To Trial

Separation To Trial

When there is trouble in a relationship a separation may help both people to sort out their problems and decide whether to get a divorce or to try again. Some people may consider that a separation is simply an essential step to go through so you can apply for a divorce. A family lawyer can help you get through this time with advice on what to do. Others feel that by separating for a few months, their differences could be worked out.

If this is so for you and your spouse, it is wise to put a time limit on the separation, otherwise it is likely to drag on and your lives will become separated to the extent they cannot be put back together. There are several other things to work out for this kind of separation.

  • Who will leave the family home
  • With whom will the children stay
  • Who will pay major bills such as the mortgage
  • Whether you will see each other during the separation and if so, for how long
  • Whether the children will see their other parent during the separation
  • If you will both attend counselling.

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Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

Chemical Free Beauty Tips

Chemical Free Beauty Tips

Almost anyone can look more beautiful with the addition of make-up. The only trouble is that by applying cosmetics, you are putting many different types of chemicals into your body and some of them are carcinogenic – linked to causing cancer.  It is far safer and healthier to choose ways to improve your looks that don’t include the use of such substances, but rather, use natural products Here are some tips to do just that and some of them are laughably easy.

  • Soak your nails in olive oil for 5 minutes to add shine. Nail polish and remover are two products that are heavily laden with chemicals that are bad for you.
  • For an easy face mask that is free of chemicals and also antibacterial, warm some raw honey between your fingers and spread it over your face. Leave for 10 minutes before rinsing off with warm water. Tip: Raw honey is not the same as honey you eat.

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Women WorkBusiness

Careers and Internships with Women Work!

Women Work! The National Network for Women’s Employment is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advances economic justice and equality for women through education, advocacy and organizing. Since 1978, the Network has assisted more than 10 million women to successfully enter, re-enter and advance in the workforce. Through supporting, advocating and advancing women’s economic self-sufficiency, Women Work! members strengthen families and communities.

Women Work! is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds. Women Work! is committed to upholding a work environment free from discrimination and inequality. It is our policy to actively encourage a diverse pool of candidates who believe in the organization’s mission and vision.

There are no job vacancies at this time.

Women WorkBusiness

Call for Best Practices – Serving Women in Economic Transition

Women Work!’s call for Best Practices has officially closed. Thank you to all of those who submitted applications. Women Work! will be conducting interviews and further research into the topic Workforce Development that Works for Women throughout the winter and spring of 2008.

Our Project

Women Work! knows there are effective models for helping women achieve economic security through work, and we want to encourage their replication throughout the country.

Selected best practices will be featured in a publication to be issued by Women Work! in September 2008 and widely disseminated to policymakers and the workforce development community.

If you know of a best practice in women’s workforce development that you think Women Work! should know about, please contact Tiffany Boiman at [email protected] , or 202-467-6346.

Women WorkBusiness

Labor Day Pay Equity Campaign

This Labor Day, Women Work! The National Network for Women’s Employment and our coalition partners are teaming up to tell Congress that women demand protection against gender-based wage discrimination.

When Congress returns from summer recess in September, they’ll have the opportunity to pass two important pay equity bills. The goal for our Labor Day Pay Equity Campaign is to let Congress know that pay equity is important to voters and makes a huge difference for women and their families, especially those on the lower end of the earnings spectrum.

We’ve provided you all the information you need to build your own Op-Ed or Letter to the Editor in support of wage equity. With one simple action you can gain publicity for the important work you do and help us raise the profile of the equal pay issue in communities across the country.

To have an Op-Ed placed for Labor Day make sure to submit it to your paper’s editorial board at least a week before the holiday.

Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

Why Eating Disorders Are a Mental Health Issue

Eating Disorders

There are several types of eating disorders; anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. You might think that they are a physical problem, since they cause a sufferer to look so thin, but in reality they are a mental health issue. This is because it is the sufferer’s mind or mental state that causes the perception that their body image is ugly and they are too fat, when they are not.

They then obey the mental urge to get rid of the food they just ate, or to exercise to the point of exhaustion so the calories burn off. Or in the case of binge eating without vomiting, they go on a session of binge eating and gain even more weight. Then the vicious cycle of guilt and eating goes on and on.

They cannot stop it or control it because of the changes to their brain that occur due to the mental aspect of the disease. They become totally preoccupied with thinking about their weight and shape of their body. One of the problems with eating disorders is that they don’t have a single cause that can be identified and removed. There are many varying causes, but just because a person experiences them doesn’t mean to say they will get the disease. So it also depends on a person’s personality as to whether they get the disorder.

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Women WorkBusiness

Pay Equity Legislation in the 111th Congress

Paycheck Fairness Act

The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12/S.182) would deter wage discrimination by closing loopholes and barring employer retaliation against workers who share salary information with their coworkers. The bill would update the landmark 1963 Equal Pay Act by strengthening protections against gender-based wage discrimination and by holding gender discrimination to the same standard as discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity.

Sponsors

House: Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Senate: Hillary Clinton (formerly D-NY)

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Women WorkBusiness

Higher Education Act Reauthorization

Higher education consistently leads to increased earnings and employment stability, but for many women this road to economic self-sufficiency is out of reach because of high tuition and attendance costs.

On July 31, 2008 Congress passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which reauthorized the Higher Education Act. The bill was signed by President Bush soon after. The HEOA contains several provisions that expanded supports available to women and parents to help them succeed in higher education. However, funding for most of the new policies and programs is unlikely to begin before Fiscal Year 2010.

Policy Resources

College Cost Reduction Act: An Overview

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Women WorkBusiness

How to Market Your Business

Market Your Business

There are many ways in which to market your business. Much depends on what kind of business it is. For instance, if you have an online business you run from home, you will need a website to showcase all your goods, or to describe your services if that’s what you offer.

A bricks and mortar business may also have a website in order to help with branding, to showcase goods or services and to get the word out about its existence. However, the fact that it can be seen from the street as people walk past is also a good advertisement. It is essential that your store or business facade is attractive and eye-catching and tells people exactly what you offer.

You can also have brochures to drop in letterboxes and ads in the local paper or one that goes further afield, such as a national paper or magazine. For instance, if you offered accommodation such as B&B, you could advertise in a magazine that was available nationally.

Word of mouth is one of the best ways to advertise, so giving quality service and interacting with customers in a friendly and helpful way is a wonderful way to advertise that will cost you nothing.

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Women WorkFamily

Different Types of Abuse in Relationships

Emotional abuse

When we think of abuse, many people only think of physical violence. Every time we watch the news there seems to be threats to kill and physical abuse being perpetrated against women, often by someone they thought they could trust. While it is horrifying to hear the story and see the kinds of injuries and even death that has been suffered, there are other types of abuse that never make the headlines.

Verbal abuse

We have all had a good row with our partners or other loved ones that has served to clear the air about whatever was bothering us. That’s not to say there isn’t a better way to deal with it, but this is not what verbal abuse is. Verbal abuse is the constant putting down of someone by telling them how stupid or ugly they are. This can be done without even raising the voice but it is no less devastating for that.

Verbal abuse includes calling someone names because of who they are, or the beliefs they hold.

While it may not harm the body, it certainly causes damage to a person’s self esteem, to the point where she may not even be able to function normally. Losing your self confidence means that you will never try to do any of the things that make life normal and even happy. Losing your self esteem is even worse, because you think everything is all your fault.

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Women WorkBusiness

How to Get Finance for Your Business Start-Up

Business Start-Up

Once you decide to make the break and start up your own business, you are likely to need finance.  This can be for buying stock or equipment, for insurance and for fitting out your premises. Or if you set up at home, for building outside access to the designated room. This will save your customers having to access your business through your home, something that is not very professional.

So where can you get this finance? Much depends on how much you need. Here are several options.

  • Get a loan from the bank. Make sure you negotiate terms you can afford.
  • Apply for an angel investor. These are people who risk their own money for a good cause. They may also want to have some say in how you run the business.
  • Get a loan from family. This should be set up legally and you should pay interest on the loan, even if it is very low interest.
  • If you don’t need much, you may be happy to put it on your credit card. Not a good idea due to the high interest rates.

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Women WorkFamily

How to Enjoy Your Wedding Day More

Wedding-Day

Being in love and getting engaged is an amazing time of life that should be enjoyed to the full. The culmination is the wedding day, but unfortunately many brides are so tired and stressed on the day they can’t really enjoy it. To avoid this, wedding DJ’s advise to make sure you put someone you can trust in charge of the wedding event hire details and DJ so you don’t feel as if everything is your responsibility.

Here are some more ways to ensure you actually enjoy your wedding day to the max.

  • If you’ve been dieting to fit into that wedding dress, forget about it on the day of the wedding. Not having enough calories can make you feel tired irritable and even dizzy. You don’t have to eat gobs of food, but do eat throughout the day. Little and often is good. Designate someone to remind you to eat.
  • Have a lot of photos taken before the wedding. Doing it all after you are married often takes hours and can eat into those reception hours.
  • Get enough sleep on the night before, even if you feel strung up with nerves. Staying out late partying will ensure you feel wilted by the time the reception is on.
  • Don’t try to DIY. If you want handmade paper flower, let someone else do it. You’ll have enough to do.

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Women WorkLegal

How Estate Planning can Help Your Family

Estate Planning

Estate planning is more than just making a Will; it is making decisions about the distribution of your assets, including superannuation, after you have died, so that your family will be cared for and so that the amount of tax and other costs is minimised. While no one wants to think about dying, it is an unavoidable part of life and if you prepare for it ahead of time your family will have much less stress to contend with.

In addition, your wishes about the distribution of your assets will be carried out, with your beneficiaries getting what you determine they should have. If you die intestate – without a will – this is unlikely to happen. In fact, with the complexities of families these days there could be a great deal of argument between all the family members, each wanting to get a share, or perhaps more than their fair share.

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Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

How Keeping Fit Makes You Healthier

Keeping Fit

Keeping fit is an important part of your overall health and the only way to do this is to have a reasonable amount of exercise.  When you move around it not only tones your muscles and ligaments to prevent them from becoming weak and unable to support your body properly, it also removes toxins and waste through perspiration. Plus, it increases the amount of ‘feel good’ endorphin’s in your brain so it is good for your mental/emotional health as well.

While it is difficult to fit in an exercise regime when you lead a busy life, in many cases very little exercise is needed, depending on the lifestyle you lead. If you play a sport, go hiking or dancing or even take your toddlers to the park on a regular basis, that all counts as exercise. If you have a job such as house or window cleaning that has you moving around, that too, is exercise.

According to many experts, walking is the best exercise because it makes every part of your body move and it does not jar your joints and wear them out. Brisk walking elevates your heart rate and so is  a gentle cardio workout. It is easy to do and you don’t need to pay a fortune for a gym membership or a professional trainer.

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Women WorkFamily

Importance of Respect in a Relationship

Respect in a Relationship

Very often women consider love to be the most important part of relationships. While love is certainly important, respect is even more so. In fact, without respect from your partner there can be no real love. Respect is what will cause him to give you the space to make important decisions and support you in them, instead of putting you down or ignoring your wishes in areas that are important to you, but may not be as important to him.

Some people consider love to be respect but the two are not the same. You can have respect for someone you don’t even like all that much if they do something that you can see is difficult for them. That said, you can love someone but not respect them. You may love your father who is a drunkard, but you cannot respect him because of his behaviour.

Some people – especially men – consider love to be what happens in the bedroom. That is only a small part of real love. Real love will care for a person even if they cannot have sex with them. Real love will remain steadfast through difficult times – and old age. But if there is no respect, the road will be a rocky one. The relationship may not even survive.

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Women WorkProperty

Real Estate Advice for the Buyer

Real Estate Advice

Buying a home is never more fraught with the possibility of emotional entanglement than when the buyer is a woman. Studies have shown that 70% more women than men tend to get caught up and ‘fall in love’ with a home whether it is within their budget or not. And sometime even when it is not suitable for that they want. Sometimes, a piece of real estate just speaks to you – rather like those big eyes of an adorable pound puppy.

The trouble is, that can cause trouble. A home costs a great deal more than a puppy. Having to sell it again will cost you in terms of time and finances – and probably a great deal of stress. And when you buy through impulse, you risk getting a home that in a few months you realise is driving you mad in one way or another. Maybe you hate traipsing up and down the stairs when you come home tired from work. Or perhaps that separate garage is just downright inconvenient, especially on a rainy night.

So if you are looking for a home, it is a good idea to make a list of all the things you absolutely need in your home – and another one that details only what you would like, but can do without. For instance, a Jacuzzi is not a necessity like having enough bedrooms to house the family is.

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Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

Are You Eating Well?

Eating Well

Most people would consider the benefit of eating well easy to point out; that of better health. Yet it is not that simple. You can eat healthy food but still be obese and that is certainly not healthy. So eating well is not only about what you eat but how much. Even then it can be about what suits your digestive system and even your lifestyle.

For instance, people who lead a very busy life may eat too quickly in an attempt to get more done. This can prevent good digestion so that all those healthy vitamins consumed are not being properly used. So to eat well, you must –

  • Choose a diet that is both nutritious and suitable for you. This should include plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit, some meat and a small amount of other things that we love but are not really ‘good’ for us. This may surprise you, but the social/emotional benefits are important too. If you deny yourself something you really love you won’t be a happy person. Having that coffee and snack with friends can more than make up for the sugar/caffeine intake if it provides you with a healthy social life. That said, a fruit snack that you truly enjoy would be even better. Think moderation in all things.

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Women of Triumph

At the heart of Women Work! are the women whose lives are transformed every day through hard work, perseverance and the support of member programs. During our 25th Anniversary Gala in 2005, we celebrated the achievements of 25 outstanding women who have participated in Women Work! member programs and successfully overcome challenges in their lives.

Women Work!

Denise Abbey
At the age of 16, Denise dropped out of school, married and then endured 19 years of emotional and mental abuse for the sake of her three sons. In 1991, she realized she needed to go.

With limited education, little work experience and being on disability, Denise was unable to work at the time. However, support from the Re-Entry Center at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, NV, helped Denise unleash her passion for education. Since then, it has continued to flow. At Truckee Meadows, she earned an associate’s degree, and was named valedictorian, Outstanding Student of the Year and Board of Regents’ Scholar. She went on to the University of Nevada and founded the Non-Traditional Student Union and Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society. She also co-founded HEROES, an organization that provides support to single parents pursuing degrees. While earning her master’s degree, she helped create Project Wings! to find sponsors for single parents and displaced homemakers pursuing higher education.

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The Economic Value of Homemaking

The History of Homemaking
A homemaker is a person whose main activity is to care for a family and home. This is traditionally an unpaid occupation.

In an effort to understand the value of a private homemaker’s unpaid labor, experts have attempted to quantify the dollar value of the job. No one has come up with a perfectly accurate way to do so.

Four different methods of assessing the economic value of homemaking are listed below. Each method has serious drawbacks and disadvantages.

NOTE: Women Work! does not promote one method over another; we have simply gathered the following data for your information.

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Handling Conflict at Work

Conflict is defined as the negative feelings experienced between people and groups in problematic relationships. Conflict at work can hurt the quality of your work and the work of those around you. Conflicts arise in a number of ways: disagreements between co-workers, jealousy of positions or salaries, gossip, or office politics can all create uncomfortable situations. When conflict rears its ugly head, it’s good to remember that most conflicts can be solved by listening, talking through your problems and even sometimes realizing that your conflict has fizzled out. Here are some tips on how to handle and help avoid conflicts at work.

Things to Remember

  • If a conflict is between you and just one other person, try to work it out between the two of you, rather than bringing others into the conflict.
  • In a workplace, everyone deserves to be treated with respect. Treat others the way you want to be treated, and don’t put people down.
  • Give credit where credit is due; if someone has helped you on a project or proposal, make sure others are aware that the person deserves credit for helping.

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Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

Tips to Get Strong Healthy Hair

Strong Healthy Hair

Every women – and these days, many men – pursue healthy hair in a way that was once thought to be only for film stars. Healthy hair looks good and that is why we like it, but many people don’t realise that hair remains healthy not so much because of what we put on it but what we feed it from the inside.

If you deny your body the right nutrients, such as through poor eating habits or months of dieting, your hair will suffer because your body will use all the nutrients available to nourish your vital organs rather than your hair. The trouble is that fixing the problem of unhealthy hair often takes a lot longer than it does for healthy hair to become unhealthy. But some TLC can always improve the look and feel of your hair until it becomes healthy from the inside out.

Other conditions that affect the health of your hair are: –

  • Chronic illness
  • Severe emotional shock – this can actually make your hair fall out months after the event.
  • Undiagnosed food intolerances or allergies
  • Hormone imbalance
  • Decrease in gut function where the body cannot absorb the nutrition it gets
  • Stress
  • Poor hair care such as swimming a lot and not replacing lost oils and moisture

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Cover Letters: What is it and how to write one?

What is a cover letter and why is it important?
A cover letter is a one-page business letter that you send to a potential employer when you submit your résumé. The letter introduces you, explains which job you are applying for and why you think you would be a good candidate for the position. A cover letter is important because it gives you the opportunity to talk more in depth about the skills and experiences on your résumé that are applicable to the job for which you are applying. You can use a cover letter to discuss some important experiences that may not have a place in your résumé. It reflects your personality, your attention to detail, your communication skills, your enthusiasm, your intellect and your specific interest in the company to which you are sending the letter.

The Four Parts of a Cover Letter
Writing a cover letter can seem a little overwhelming at first, but it is helpful to think of it as four separate sections:

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Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

Why Health Checks are Essential for Every Woman

Health Checks are Essential for Every Woman

Even though many men are so laid back when it comes to seeing the doctor, so that they often die of some disease they didn’t know was raging through their body, it is actually women who can be at risk of getting more health problems. This is because since they are the ones to bear children, women have more organs that can become diseased.

No man can get cancer of the uterus or have an ectopic pregnancy, after all. But whether this is true or not, all women should have regular health checks for one other important reason. They do tend to keep ignoring signs and symptoms because they are so busy with their families and think it is just tiredness.

Women work longer hours

How many women come home from work, throw the shopping on the table and start to prepare tea, do the laundry and clean the house, all while overseeing the children’s homework and refereeing their quarrels? And how many men come home from work, sit on the lounge and doze off while watching television and waiting for dinner? Or maybe they play computer games instead. So women actually work much longer hours than most men, even if their work is not always as physically demanding.

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Women WorkEducation & Employment

What To Do About Discrimination in the Workplace

Discrimination in the Workplace

Have you been discriminated against in your work place? First, let’s see what discrimination looks like.

  • Interference in doing your job
  • Making changes to your job in a way that is disadvantageous to you
  • Treatment that is different from everyone else
  • Refusal to employ you
  • Unfair dismissal
  • Being given different pay or conditions to others who are doing the same job.

So you can see that discrimination is not the same as harassment. It is basically when you are treated unfairly because of what you stand for or who you are. It could simply be because you are a female that you are subjected to different treatment, refused work that you are well qualified for, or paid less than your male counterparts.

The reality is that the two often go together because when you are treated differently the form it can take may be verbal or emotional abuse and sometimes even sexual harassment.

Any kind of discrimination in the workplace is illegal and there are laws to protect everyone from it, not just women. So whether it is your gender, race, physical attributes, religious or political belief or activity, sexual orientation, age, parental status or several other reasons that has caused it, there is no need to suffer in silence.

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When is Family Counselling Necessary?

Family Counselling

These days there are many issues that can affect the family detrimentally, issues that our grandparents most likely never thought of, let alone had to cope with. Situations can get out of control and cause a wide and permanent rift in the family if not dealt with in a way that teaches each family member not only how to cope, but where other members may be coming from.

What are some of these issues?

  • Blended families trying to get used to each other’s personalities, or where one or more children resent the new ‘parent’. Counselling can help both children and parents to make the transition into new living arrangements easier to adjust to.
  • Drug addiction or other behaviours that are dangerous to family members. Counselling can help parents learn how to identify the problem and deal with it in the most appropriate way.
  • Divorce or separation can be totally stressful to the children, who grieve at the loss of a parent and the lifestyle they had. The parent who has custody may want to take the children for counselling if they show behavioural problems or seem depressed.
  • In cases of certain mental health problems, parent and children need to learn ways to control behaviour. This can stem from the child being mentally disabled or having a disease that affects them mentally, such as autism.
  • Poor parenting skills that makes children angry or feel neglected. Counselling can help parents improve their skills and help children control their anger or show it in less destructive ways.

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Women WorkHealth & Nutrition

Why Cooking Workshops are Brilliant

Cooking Workshops

Many years ago almost every girl took basic cooking lessons in high school, then the curriculum changed and other subjects were available. Cooking was no longer the basic stuff of everyday nutrition with meat-and-potatoes meals. If you took the course you would learn to cook exotic meals from overseas. Many girls chose other courses, which meant that more than one generation of women didn’t really learn how to cook.

Meanwhile, lifestyles and tastes changed and nowadays a ‘meal’ is often something bought in from a fast food place and eaten in front of the television. In fact, some homes don’t even have a dining table. All they have is a row of barstools in the kitchen from which to eat a hasty breakfast and other meals are eaten at work or a restaurant. So anyone who wants to learn to cook, whether at home or for a Perth Restaurant, is hard put to find out how.

Of course, there are numerous cooking shows on TV, but they don’t really show all the hard work and time that goes into making the marvellous dish that looks so enticing. They don’t mention it may not look so perfect when attempted by a beginner. Besides, it is difficult to remember every step when you start to follow what was shown – and the show is now over, so you have to guess. Guessing is not so good for the taste of the dish.

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Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provides assistance and work opportunities to needy families by granting states federal funds and wide flexibility to develop and implement their own welfare programs.

While the intent of the TANF program is to move welfare recipients, most of whom are women with dependent children, into the workforce, the effect has often been to force them into low-wage, dead-end jobs.

Changes to TANF law could transform the program into a federal funding source that truly helps needy families become self-sufficient. An increase in the education and training opportunities available within the TANF system would go a long way toward giving low-income women the skills they need to succeed in jobs with career potential and upward mobility.

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Chutes & Ladders State Status Reports

Census Data pulled from Chutes & Ladders: The Search for Solid Ground for Women in the Workforce.

Click on one of the links below to download a PDF of that state’s Status Report with key data on the status of displaced homemakers and single mothers.

Download this guide for 10 great ways to use the state status reports to advocate for women’s economic security.
Alabama (pdf, 24.2 KB) Alaska (pdf, 24.2 KB) Arizona (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Arkansas (pdf, 24.2 KB) California (pdf, 24.2 KB) Colorado (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Connecticut (pdf, 24.2 KB) Delaware (pdf, 24.2 KB) District of Columbia (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Florida (pdf, 24.2 KB) Georgia (pdf, 24.2 KB) Hawaii (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Idaho (pdf, 24.2 KB) Illinois (pdf, 24.2 KB) Indiana (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Iowa (pdf, 24.2 KB) Kansas (pdf, 24.2 KB) Kentucky (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Louisiana (pdf, 24.2 KB) Maine (pdf, 24.2 KB) Maryland (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Massachusetts (pdf, 24.2 KB) Michigan (pdf, 24.2 KB) Minnesota (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Mississippi (pdf, 24.2 KB) Missouri (pdf, 24.2 KB) Montana (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Nebraska (pdf, 24.2 KB) Nevada (pdf, 24.2 KB) New Hampshire (pdf, 24.2 KB)
New Jersey (pdf, 24.2 KB) New Mexico (pdf, 24.2 KB) New York (pdf, 24.2 KB)
North Carolina (pdf, 24.2 KB) North Dakota (pdf, 24.2 KB) Ohio (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Oklahoma (pdf, 24.2 KB) Oregon (pdf, 24.2 KB) Pennsylvania (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Rhode Island (pdf, 24.2 KB) South Carolina (pdf, 24.2 KB) South Dakota (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Tennessee (pdf, 24.2 KB) Texas (pdf, 24.2 KB) Utah (pdf, 24.2 KB)
Vermont (pdf, 24.2 KB) Virginia (pdf, 24.2 KB) Washington (pdf, 24.2 KB)
West Virginia (pdf, 24.2 KB) Wisconsin (pdf, 24.2 KB) Wyoming (pdf, 24.2 KB)
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Life After Prison: Overcoming Barriers to Employment

There are currently over one million women in the U.S. criminal justice system. Two hundred thousand of them are confined in state and federal prisons or local jails. Women are the fastest growing group of people in prison. However, the consequences of their convictions far outlast time spent in confinement or on parole. Since the 1990s, various levels of government have created more post-conviction penalties, making it harder for women leaving prison to find employment, education and housing. There are, however, groups who can help.

Challenges
A year after prison, only four in ten women are able to find jobs in the regular labor market.

Employment
In most states, employers can deny jobs to anyone with a criminal record, regardless of work history or how long ago they were
convicted. State laws can also keep past
prisoners from getting licences in different types of professions.

Further Education
All forms of federal tuition assistance are unavailable to a person with a drug conviction,
making further education difficult.
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Individual Development Accounts Education Campaign

At the end of December, 2007, Women Work’s one-year IDA project came to a close. Initial results from the project indicate that hundreds of women were positively impacted through financial literacy classes, information about IDAs, and referral to local IDA programs. Data compilation and a full evaluation of the project are currently underway; check back soon for complete results of this initiative!

The Project 
Throughout 2007 Women Work! partnered with our state affiliates in New York, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina and Maryland to implement state-wide education campaigns on financial literacy and individual development accounts (IDAs). With the support and technical assistance of Women Work!, these state affiliate collectively did the following:

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Networking and Mentoring Not just “girl talk”

Mentoring has always been a part of the workplace atmosphere for men. As more women enter the workforce, they too are becoming a vital part of the networking and mentoring process. Today, women are seeing more of the positive impacts created by mentoring and networking as they advance in their careers.

Differences Between Networking and Mentoring
Networking is important when you are trying to find a job/career. Everyone has heard: “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Networking allows women the opportunity to meet other people (especially women) who have similar professional interests.

Mentors are people with experience who can give advice and help you move up in your field. Mentors are important for women entering the workforce as they can help guide decisions made early on and throughout a woman’s career. While a mentor can be helpful when looking for a job, it also important to find a mentor once you have a job. A mentor can help you to begin looking at career options.

Similarities Between Networking and Mentoring
Relationships are a part of everyone’s life, whether between friends, family members or significant others. (more…)

Women WorkEducation & Employment

Mature Age Education Options for Women

Mature Age Education Options for Women

Most women agree that education opens more doors to a career that is satisfying and well-paid than anything else. To train for any career you need to go through high school and then do further training. But these days not everyone has to complete their year 12 certificate. If they have aptitude for certain other skills such as mechanics, they can go to TAFE and do an apprenticeship while they are still as school. This gives them a good In while they are still young enough to get by on an apprentice’s wages – for instance, they usually still live at home and they are not married.

However, many young people so hate school that they don’t do as well as they could and so their score is not high enough for university entrance. But once they get past all the hassle of being a teenager, they often settle down in a job they don’t like and start to wish they had done more while they were at school.

Some teenagers take a long time to come to this stage of their life. In fact, there are many middle age women that have raised their families and now desire to get back into the workplace, but don’t have the experience or the qualifications. What can these people do to get a better life?

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Our Issues

Women have made great strides toward economic equity over the last several decades. For many women and their families, however, the challenge of achieving economic self-sufficiency remains an uphill battle. Although the majority of families rely on women’s wages to make ends meet, women continue to earn less than men and are nearly twice as likely to be poor as men.

To advance economic opportunities for women and their families, Women Work! strives to promote women’s entry into higher-paying work and help workers balance work and family.

Click here for basic information about women in the workforce.

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Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) was designed to increase the employment, retention, earnings and occupational skills of the American workforce by creating a simple yet comprehensive system to meet the needs of all job seekers. But for many unemployed and underemployed women, WIA has not met this commitment. Significant reforms are needed to ensure that the workforce investment system can meet the needs of women who face barriers on the road to economic security.

Women Work! advocates for reforms in WIA to increase women’s access to training for high-skill, high-wage, and nontraditional careers.

Policy Resources

Women WorkBusiness

Too Many Women Live Paycheck to Paycheck

Too many women and their families are living paycheck to paycheck, working in low-paying jobs without benefits and with few prospects for advancement. Over 14 million adult women in the United States live in poverty, while millions more struggle at incomes just above the poverty line.

Women are more likely to be poor than men.

  • There are over 14 million adult women in the United States living under the federal poverty line, compared to 9.5 million adult men. Almost 6 million women live in extreme poverty, defined by having an income of less than half of the federal poverty level.1
  • Women are 40 percent more likely to be poor than men. One in eight women is poor, compared to about one in eleven men.2
  • Women represent 60 percent of the total number of adults in poverty,3 but only 51 percent of the total adult population.4

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