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When it comes to working, women don’t seem to have any problem with that. A ThinkProgress blog notes that 60 percent of women are the primary or co-breadwinner in the household and that women make up 50 percent of the college-educated. These days women statistics show that women are certainly making progress in the workplace. But is this enough?

An article in a certain magazine notes that these hard-working, educated women have jobs, but they don’t seem to want to take on the top executive level positions. Entry-level and low level jobs are filled with women employees. The article points to 53 percent. But higher up the ladder, women fall to 35 percent at the director level, 24 percent at senior vice presidents and a mere 19 percent at CEO. Among the Fortune 500 companies, there are only 12 women CEOs.

Research shows that at 59 percent, a majority of successful women leaders say they don’t even want to be at the top levels of their organizations. Even the all-mighty Google Inc. has problems promoting women engineers. Its senior vice president of people operations, Laszlo Block, notes that men generally jump at the chance for advancement while women must be coaxed. So what’s the problem? Why aren’t women jumping at the chance to be exec level leaders?

Perhaps it’s the second-shift role women take on as mothers and caregivers. It may also be a lack of mentors. It may be possible that more women are realizing that it’s nearly impossible to manage that special work/life balance and are choosing more flexible, low-level positions or creating work from home positions for themselves. What do you think? What are the reasons more women don’t want to be on top in business?

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Feeling down about your career progress? Perhaps you need a renewed mindset. Who better to take advice from than Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women. Inc.com reports that the women participants in this group have all already achieved $1 million in revenue and know that their potential will take them even higher. Independent research on the group proves that companies who participate in this group grow about 50 percent on average each year, and have a job growth rate of over 25 percent. Hear four of the participating women CEOs and company founders give their tips for making it big in the business world.

The first tip is all mental—it is imperative that you change your mindset. You’ve got to be confident and to think big and bold. Always, aim high and think big. You can do it!

Next, it’s important that you forget the word “job.” You aren’t doing a job, you’re running a business, so act like it.

“I don’t have a job. I’m not a recruiter or a sales person. I manage policy,” Gayle Brandel, CEO of Professionals for Nonprofits said to Inc.com. She discloses that before you realize that you don’t have a job, you simply have a job you own. You are not yet an entrepreneur. Starting a business so that you can be your own boss is great, but it is not the mindset of a high powered CEO.

“Those entrepreneurs who want to grow large have to step back, and they have to bring on employees,” she said.

Always continue to push beyond your comfort zone. If you stay satisfied with your current growth level, you’ll never know how high you could have gone. As Deborah Sweeney, the CEO of MyCorporation, a document filing service company said, “Engaged leaders who think big and are passionate about business growth are far more likely to see growth and success than those who are merely content.”

As with the previous tip, continue to aspire for higher and bigger dreams. That’s what Dareth Colburn, the founder of online wedding accessories store USABride did. At first, she never thought she’d make it to the $1 million mark. But she did, and she then changed her goal to $3 million and next to $5. When you realize you can achieve big goals, dream even bigger and you’ll find your success will be that much greater.

The last piece of advice the ladies offer is to leave the fear behind you. Without risk it’s not possible to have gain.

“Entrepreneurs who made it really big also lost really big,” Gloria Larkin, president of TargetGov, said to Inc.com. Her company assists in government agency sales. Larkin quotes Woody Allen to explain why risks and loss is necessary. “If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”

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by Kweli Wright

African American working mothers are making their mark on this generation, especially in the high-powered, demanding business field. Meet some of the best and brightest. Each of these moms has at least one child–some are young children and others are young adults. But what all have in common is that they all have powerful moms who bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan…and help make the world a better place.

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