Tonight, about 70 million Americans are expected to celebrate Valentine’s at a restaurant. And that’s why one group supporting restaurant workers chose today to release a disturbing study that may make you feel uneasy about the filet mignon and crème brûlée you order.

Romance among the under-paid dishwashers, cooks, and bus boys and girls isn’t so sweet; and it’s even worse when you think about how many of these workers have no paid sick days and will end up clocking in today when they’re sick. Yes, they may be sneezing on your romance-laden entrees.

You may get sick as a result, but the sickness that’s endemic in the restaurant industry has a much more serious impact, socially and economically, than an amorous couple getting the flu. (more…)

We have yet more research showing how much less women make than men, but this time we’re talking doctors.

A study released this morning in the February issue of Health Affairs, a health care policy publication, found the gender gap in physician salaries is actually growing, not getting better. For newly trained doctors women were paid $16,819 less than their male counterparts in 2008, up from $3,600 nearly a decade ago.

The research was based on nearly 10,000 men and women who finished up their training in New York State, which has more residency programs and resident doctors than any other state

“What is surprising is that even when we account for specialty and hours and other factors, we see this growing unexplained gap in starting salary,” said Anthony Lo Sasso, a professor and senior research scientist at the School of Public Health of the University of Illinois at Chicago. “The same gap exists for women in primary care as it does in specialty fields.”

This is a slap in the face of many who get on their soap boxes and claim women are to blame for being short-changed in their paychecks. Just yesterday, @yalechk on Twitter sent me yet another lamebrained blog post on how women don’t work as hard or as long as men, and have the nerve to become mothers, and that’s why we still have the wage gap. We were both steaming about it. I usually link to such posts, but you know, I don’t want to give this person any more traffic than she’s gotten.

Yes, she. I blogged yesterday about how we have to stop expecting less from the workplace just because we’re women and surprisingly it’s sometimes our gal pals that espouse this male-generated propaganda.

This report proves we have a fight on our hands gals. We can’t just roll over and find solace in the bull that we’re to blame for being treated like second-class workplace citizens. (more…)

I have so many New Year’s resolutions regarding my career that it would take several blog posts to share them all with you. Most involve me becoming a better person and better at what I suck at. I, like many workers out there, make a list each year and cross my fingers that I’m able to accomplish them all.

I do this even though I know the whole resolution exercise can be futile.

A while back I interviewed Stephen Kraus, author of “Psychological Foundations of Success: A Harvard-Trained Scientist Separates the Science of Success from Self-Help Snake Oil,” and he told me only 15 percent of resolutions have any long-term success. “People don’t really come up with a plan for executing their New Years resolutions. They just think, ‘I’m going to make big changes this year,” he said.

So why do we make these resolutions anyway? And should we at all? Are such emotion-fueled proclamations just derailing us from real career progress? (more…)

It’s déjà screw you working women all over again.

Yet another year and yet more crummy statistics on women and the corner office.

You probably can write this post yourselves given how many times you’ve heard this.

The number of women in corporate boardroom, in the big executive offices, and among the top earners at corporations is little changed from last year and is still pathetic, according to data out today from Catalyst. (more…)

It’s no surprise a pay equity bill got voted down today. Women wanting equal pay is now seen as just an obsession, like needing a new pair of stilettos.

A Wall Street Journal op-ed yesterday bashed the Paycheck Fairness Act that could not overcome a Republic filibuster today, calling the drive to ensure equal pay for equal work an “obsession” and not grounded in reality. Women don’t make less because of discrimination, the author contends. It’s all about the choices we gals make – you know, asking for flexible hours or taking time off to birth babies. The author didn’t mention the fact that more than 60 percent of women in the workplace are not even parents.

Clearly, quite a few senators, including two prominent female politicians, Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME), also thought the movement for pay equity is just the latest female fetish and shouldn’t be taken seriously, voting against the bill 58-41. The bill had already passed in the House.

The Act, which was introduced in January 2009 by then Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) to amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963, would have given enforcement teeth to existing laws that have done little to shrink the pay gap between men and women, which the Department of Labor says is 23 cents on the dollar. (more…)

There’s been a bit of a brouhaha over a Summer’s Eve douche ad that suggests women would be more confident when it comes to asking for a raise if they had a fresh and clean vagina.

One writer at the DailyKos.com didn’t like the ad that appeared in Women’s Day magazine and even included a phone number so people could call Women’s Day and Summer’s Eve to complain.

The ad includes eight tips for women who want to ask for a raise and here’s number 1:

It should start with your usual routine and all the things you do to feel you best, including showering with Summer’s Eve Feminine Wash or throwing a packet of Summer’s Eve Feminine Cleansing Cloths into your bag for a quick freshness pick-me-up during the day.

Summer’s Eve has been suggesting women freshen up their private parts for years.

So why so much outrage over the ad in Women’s Day? Why? Because society is ok with ads talking about the V-word when it comes to womanly matters, but discuss it in the framework of a man’s world, aka the workplace, then you’re in trouble buddy. (more…)

It’s the same old tired anti-work-flexibility excuse I hear over and over again:

Most jobs need to take up most of your non-sleeping life; and you need to put aside your family and your personal life if you’re going to climb the ladder of success.

Well, I think that’s just bull.

I wrote a story for MSNBC.com that ran this morning on how women are redefining the meaning of success, and I know a lot of women and men will take me to task because not everyone has the opportunities to have a more flexible schedule. And yes, there is still bias against women, especially working moms, in the workplace. And yes, it’s still a man’s world and men still hold the majority of top seats at most every company.

But hey gals, how’s anything going to change if we just sit on our butts and complain? (more…)

The job market is still struggling, but many economists believe employers are just reluctant to hire new workers even though many firms are doing better and could probably put out the help wanted sign.

But why should they hire any more workers? You guys are doing the work of two or three employees these days, and you’re not asking for more money.

Glassdoor.com, a job site, recently conducted a survey on employee confidence and the data was quite depressing:

* 29% are making less money than they have historically.
* Almost one in three (31%) have taken on more work without more compensation or advancement.
* And in the past 12 months, salaries reported by employees on Glassdoor.com have fallen an average of 8 percent since the prior year.

I know, workers are running scared thanks to employers who want you all running scared because if you are, you won’t ask for more money and you won’t complain that you’re doing too much work.

Well, many corporations are doing just fine my friends and it’s time workers realized that. (more…)

Today, the unemployment checks for about 1.3 million Americans will be cut off. Why? Because the Senate allowed an extension of jobless benefits to die yesterday.

The nation’s ever-growing deficit has everyone spooked, according to a Wall Street Journal article today, so the politicians cut off “the federal cash spigot.”

No matter which side you’re on when it comes to the deficit, the reasons for cutting off out-of-work individuals given by politicians and conservative economists were pretty pathetic. (more…)

When this recession is behind us I’m going to blow the lid off my dismal daily grind.

I’ve been hearing a lot of this lately. Many of you are frustrated with your bosses, your lack of raises, your extra work loads for no glory or extra cash, your lack of training or development opportunities, your shrinking retirement savings, and your fatter healthcare co pays and deductibles.

So what’s your plan of action? I know, things are still not great in the job market, but waiting until the economy turns around may be too late if you want to ride the wave to a great new job. (more…)