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Brenda Peyser

Experienced executive, professor, and consultant. Co-Author of "The No Club - Putting a Stop to Women's Dead-End Work"

Brenda Peyser is one of the co-authors of "The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women's Dead-End Work".35 She is an experienced executive, professor, and consultant with a distinguished career spanning nearly 35 years in both academic and corporate worlds.34

Peyser's academic career includes:

  • Former Distinguished Service Professor of Professional Communications at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College3
  • Associate Dean of the Heinz College's School of Public Policy and Management from 1998 to 20163
  • Founding Executive Director of Carnegie Mellon, Australia3
  • One of the founders of the Heinz College's Institute for Social Innovation3

In addition to her academic roles, Peyser has:

  • Taught in the Carnegie Mellon Leadership and Negotiation Academy for Women3
  • Consulted with organizations to improve women's communication skills3
  • Worked as a senior manager in the New York office of Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) for 10 years3

Before her career in business and academia, Peyser was a professional actress in New York and regional theatres.3 She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Temple University.3

Peyser's work on "The No Club" stems from her collaboration with Linda Babcock, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart, addressing the issue of women being disproportionately burdened with non-promotable tasks in the workplace.12

Highlights

Mar 19 · linkedin

Over a week ago, companies across the US celebrated International Women’s Day and paid homage to the women in their workforces—rightly so. But splashing our pictures across websites and buying lunches isn’t really changing much for us on a day-to-day basis. We have some ideas that companies can use to make life better for women every day and here’s how.

Stop burdening women with unrewarded tasks! Taking meeting minutes, editing other people’s work, solving workplace conflict, and yes, doing office housework--women do this far more than men do. Our research showed that in one company the median woman spent 200 more hours per year than men on “non-promotable tasks,” work that was necessary but went unrecognized and unrewarded. The women were spending a month’s more time than men on work that had no impact on their careers!

How can we change this? What can companies do? To start, we need to stop asking for volunteers. Women are FAR more likely than men to raise their hands when someone asks for a volunteer, in fact, they are 48% more likely. And they are 44% more likely to be asked to do these tasks than men are. (And women, ahem, we also are doing the asking!) Instead, take turns or pull names out of a hat. Check how many non-promotable tasks each of your employees is doing and redistribute them to create a more equitable balance.

When women have the same opportunities as men to showcase their talents and do the work that is rewarded, their situations improve and so does the productivity and bottom line of their organizations because everyone’s talents are put to the best use.

Our book, The No Club – Putting a Stop to Women’s Dead-End Work will help every woman and every organization change our current practices. We outline what individual women can do (set boundaries, don’t volunteer, say no!) and what organizations can do. (redistribute work, assign work based on skills).

Work with Linda Babcock, Lise Vesterlund, Laurie Weingart and me to lift these burdens from the women in your organization!

https://lnkd.in/epDxHUt3

Jul 17 · linkedin

Just say no if working while female. “If you don’t believe me, I suggest you read an excellent book…called The No Club.” Linda Babcock Lise Vesterlund Laurie Weingart

Related Questions

What inspired Brenda Peyser to join forces with Linda Babcock, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart?
How did Brenda Peyser's background influence her contributions to "The No Club"?
What specific challenges did Brenda Peyser face in her career that led to her involvement in "The No Club"?
How has Brenda Peyser's work impacted gender equality in the workplace?
What are some practical tips from Brenda Peyser in "The No Club" for managing workload effectively?
Brenda Peyser
Brenda Peyser, photo 1
Brenda Peyser, photo 2
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Location

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States