The variable that has the greatest impact on a company’s bottom line is its employees. In today’s business, that population is 50% women. One of the most misunderstood and unknown issues in personnel management currently is that women are leaving corporate America.

Women are leaving the "corporate world" in droves. They are exiting in larger numbers than their male counterparts. What's the driving factor behind this trend and why is it important to your management teams?

Women now constitute 53% of the workforce. In many industries the percentage of women hasn't reached that level, but it’s only a matter of time until they catch up everywhere. As companies become strapped for talent it’s important to be aware that the majority of college degrees are going to women (57% vs. 43% for men), that women are entering the workforce at a growth rate that outpaces menus.

Many industries such as the forest products and paper industry have begun to see the pipeline being filled with women. In most cases, the businesswomen’s presence hasn't yet reached the top echelon but progressive companies will make this happen. Surprisingly, the upper stratum women are being recruited from outside the industry. It is almost virtually impossible for a woman to come up thought the ranks into senior management in our industry. So why should companies care about their more junior employees?

There is a large hole that is developing within the age brackets of female employees. The younger generations, those that are starting their careers in entry-level positions, are too busy learning the ropes to care about career advancement. The more seasoned veteran employees, middle to upper management, are career women. Most have already carved their path and learned the necessary measures to get where they ended up going.

It’s the middle group that is the future bottom line employee. This group is the one that is going to make or break a company in the coming years. They are the ones that have lost the drive, vision or need to make their way within the ranks of the corporation. Companies aren't doing any thing to rectify the situation either. They either don't care or don't understand how important cultivating that group will be to the future business health of the company. Here are some points to help them understand the attributes women have that will benefit the companies of the future.

1. Women bring different skill sets to the table than men.
2. Women think different strategically.
3. Women care about social responsibility.
4. Women have intuitive skills.

Need to know more? Why is this so misunderstood? Companies are tuning out to the real issues that drive the contemporary women. With over 50% of the workforce composed of females it’s time to look at the important issues that impact women workers differently than they affect men. It is not just about the salary difference. Are you surprised to know that women still only make $.78 to a man’s dollar?) It’s about the quality of life on the job. Things such as flex-time, telecommuting, autonomy and responsibility have new meaning.

Before you sit down to your next "executive meeting" ask yourself what strategies are you employing to retain the women at the company and how can you continue to secure top female talent!

JoAnn Hines the Packaging Diva has been on TV, traveled to China, worked with the SBA and spoken at the White House (twice). Why do they seek her out? Because she knows how to package products so that people will buy them. When Faith Popcorn made her business trend predictions for 2006, she called JoAnn to find out what was going on in the world of packaging. Businesses large and small call upon her to solve their packaging problems.

She loves to share her proficiency in packaging. JoAnn speaks on the subject around the globe and made the packaging world more understandable when she created several web portals, http://www.packaginguniversity.com, packagingcoach.com, womeninpackaging.org and packagingdiva.com, to answer packaging questions and resolve packaging problems.

Her expertise is important because packaging is the third largest industry. In fact, 10% of every dollar spent at retail goes directly to packaging materials. Most importantly, you cannot have a product without a package. If you need to package products to sell email the #1 packaging expert at [email protected]

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