Tricky Issue.

In today’s WSJ’s The Juggle, Sara points to a column that her collegue Carolyn Hymowitz wrote on women and ambition in the workplace.  What an age old issue.  I guess being in PR, I always try to think of how things are perceived on the other end.  We all know that the message doesn’t count if the receiver does not get it as clear as it was intended.  So, in being ambitious at work, a lot of it has to do with how the ambition is perceived.  It’s not always easy.  As recent studies have shown, men are STILL making more money than women, on average.  So in reality, just to make an equal pay, women need to be more “ambitious” just to get what is rightfully deserved.  I think there ways you can be ambitious and work your way up the chain without being overly agressive and I think that is the heart of this issue.  On the flip side, it seems like men don’t have to show any ambition at all, they just move on up because they are men.  Doesn’t always happen, but probably a lot more than you or I think.