Part-time works for women

A study of 87 women professionals and managers who were working part-time showed that 35 per cent had won promotions with their reduced workload.

The study's findings, suggest talent may be more important than ``face time'' in getting ahead, said Mary Dean Lee, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Management at Montreal's McGill University. It suggests that putting in long hours at the office isn't the only road to success. The study�s findings may even apply to men, she said. ``Men who want to work part-time should be able to, whether it's to look after an ageing parent, or take their master's degree or volunteer in the community,'' Spinks said.

For ambitious, working women who also want to spend time with their families, the research is good news, said Phoebe Wright, a vice-president at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. She is the organization's highest-ranking part-time executive at Canada's second-largest bank. "Before I read the study, I thought I was the only one,'' she said.

Wright was working at a less senior position when she first asked for a reduced workload three years ago. At that time, no one else at her level was working part-time. But the 41-year-old mother of three said she was so exhausted working 60-hour weeks that ``I was willing to walk if I didn't get it.''

Instead, the bank not only agreed to cut her hours but three years later acknowledged her skills and potential by promoting her to her present position. She now works a four-day week, which means she can spend her Fridays doing things like hosting a ``Titanic'' birthday party for her 5-year-old and seven of his friends.