A Labor Department report reveals "occupational segregation" fuels the gender pay gap, with Hispanic and Black women who are in low-wage jobs particularly affected. The study, released for Equal Pay Day on Tuesday, shows an average full-time female worker in 2020 earned 82% of the average male's salary.

Ghosting is becoming an increasingly common practice by both employers and job candidates amid the rise of digital recruiting in a tight job market. Experts say both sides lose when they suddenly cut off communications and offer ways to maintain professionalism while staying in touch.

Handling unsecured debt such as credit card balances, personal loans and health care costs is important for employees' financial wellness, but many employers don't have programs to help them manage it, so it's important to redesign benefits to assist in this area. Almost half of respondents to a survey said they had not been able to make timely payments on their bills in the previous year.

Cristian Olivas dropped out of high school at 17 and switched to Northern New Mexico College in Espanola's adult education program, where she earned a high-school equivalency certificate and continued with career-ready courses. Adult literacy programs funded by the state at colleges and nonprofit locations focus on core literacy skills, especially for those who want to join the workforce and the 232,000 New Mexico adults without a high-school diploma or certification.

The responsibility for creating good conversations around difficult conversations rests with leaders, writes Liz Kislik. "I think it's specifically the responsibility of the person with the most power, usually the leader, to create and sustain psychological safety within the team," Kislik writes.

I am heading to Hawaii in two weeks. The whole family -- my children, their spouses and my grandchildren, plus my siblings and their families -- will be coming together to celebrate my parents’ wedding anniversary and my dad’s 75th birthday. It will be just our ohana, my mom said.

“Daddy and I just want something simple,” Mom told my siblings and I. “Just our family, spending time together. Relaxing.” Perfect!

I should have known better. Since that initial discussion, I’ve had to participate in an all-family Zoom call (we lost eight minutes when Mom couldn’t get her video to work), the family group text, the family email chain and finally -- as of last Monday -- a shared Google spreadsheet (which includes a cost analysis. I had to disclose what I’m paying for my rental car). The spreadsheet gives a detailed agenda for every day that we are there, from Kona to Volcano (where I got bumped from a bed to a couch). Literally, every hour has a purpose.

This Sunday, I will attend the second (and hopefully final) all-family Zoom call. It is scheduled for 3 p.m. HST. It will be 8 p.m. in Chicago, which is where I’ll be, covering a show. I let Mom know I’d be traveling and asked if she could help ensure that the meeting be expedient.

“Well, we’ll go as quickly as we can but we have a lot to cover,” she responded, noncommittal. “Did you add your groceries to the spreadsheet? What are you putting on your charcuterie?”

I thought of this exchange while I read today’s Leadership & Development story about meetings. David Lancefield is spot on when he says that meetings can be “emotional rollercoasters” and that a comment or implication from a participant can “provoke a strong reaction.” That is true in business and in families.

But meetings are designed to achieve a goal and ours is no different. And it’s a good goal. So I will heed Lancefield's advice and plan to participate as needed and communicate effectively -- and send my grocery list to Mom right after.

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