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February 28, 2000

Women At Work:
Flexibility On The Job Can Come At A Price

ary Ellen Cutshall left Northwest Airlines' IS department to become an independent contractor in the Minneapolis area because she had three children under 5 years old and wanted a more flexible work schedule.

"It turned out to be just the opposite. I became so busy that my husband stepped away from his job to help out," Cutshall says. Today, Cutshall works both worlds: She is E-commerce strategic manager at Fingerhut Cos., and she owns Cutshall Partners, an employment agency for independent IT consultants.

Women must weigh a number of factors when choosing between working for a business or working as an independent contractor. Cutshall addressed some of these concerns, helped by her fellow Twin Cities labor expert, Techies.com chief techie Doug Berg:

Flexible schedules: Cutshall warns that consulting deadlines tend to be short and unrealistic, and there is much more chance to job-share inside a company. On large implementation projects, the work is full time--and then some. "It does affect the family. There is no question about it," Cutshall says.

Sexual harassment: Berg says contract employees run the risk of being "singled out as someone to be rude and crude to." Companies may also be less willing to mediate personality conflicts. Berg says he knows of one woman who quit an assignment because a cubicle mate would brush his teeth and spit in her trash can. "She said, 'I knew if I was an employee, I wouldn't have to deal with this,'" he says.

Career climbing: Cutshall says women can worry less about hitting a glass ceiling by building an independent consulting career, since such practices tend to be results-oriented. "If you complete a project successfully," she says, "your next project is probably waiting for you."

Returning to work: Berg says many women find consulting a good way to return to work after taking time off to raise children, enabling them to test what kind of company they want to join, what the hot skill areas are, and whether they want or need new training. "Independent consulting can be a great way to recapture those skills," he says.

Claiming credit: Berg warns that while consultants need to work cooperatively, women must be prepared to assert themselves to get their accomplishments noticed--and get references for new business. "As an independent consultant, you have to stand up and take credit for things," he says. Don't, and you might never climb the IT ladder.

Return to main story, "Women At Work."

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