Women are not represented in large numbers in leadership roles in the corporate world.

Diversity Inc. published an article informing the nation that women are not represented in large numbers in leadership roles in the corporate world. They ascribe this disparity to the fact that women tend to be tracked over the course of their career into positions in departments that are largely administrative and human resource-oriented as opposed to sales, which has more of an impact on the bottom.

I almost filed this under the "bleedin' obvious." On second reflection, while this should come to no surprise to anyone who has paid attention to workplace trends, it still seems to be something that continues to happen. I recognized this when I worked in retail and noticed that those that were in charge were men and those who did the grunt work were women. While more women are taking on leadership roles in the corporate world, there are so many that get tracked into positions where they have very little influence and are usually the casualties of any cutbacks that happen. At one company that I worked at, which was women owned by the way, I was surprised at how when a male was hired in a leadership role, it was perceived as a move that will correct the company's plummeting fortunes-even though that male may have come from the outside whereas the women who were equally qualified were congratulated on maintaining morale than for their ability to generate revenue.

I am glad that Diversity Inc. is keeping an eye on this issue. I will be even more glad when they report that they do not need to mention this anymore because it is a non-issue.

Elfquest

I make no secret of the fact that I am a big fan of Elfquest. Ever since I picked up the hardcover graphic novel collection of the stories from the Forbidden Forest and the Blue Mountain period, I had been a fan. I was even coverted to the cause of wolves. When I recall the comics I collected over the years, after GI Joe, Elfquest was the only non-manga title I had.

The elves and I enjoyed a good 20 years together. I was with them when they found the Palace, lost some good people like Skot and One-Eye and even saw the littlest ones (Ember and Suntop-excuse me, Sunstream) grow up and come into their own (Ember becomes a chieftess of a band of elves in her own right and gets a soulmate while Sunstream not only becomes an avatar for the Palace, but gets his own soulmate and becomes a father).

Elfquest has really been going places lately. For a few years, DC comics have published new and older tales, which has gotten them exposure to more audiences. In addition to having a website, they have online forums and have set about digitizing their back issues of the 'Quest.' They also have moved on the whole 'Elfquest movie' thing, which I may or may not ever see. There are very few film/animated adaptations I will ever see, much less highly recommend. 'The Last Unicorn' is an example of the few that live in this category. I trust the Pinis and their decision making skills, even when I was not thrilled about DC comics partnership though I saw the big picture.

Besides cool, quality storytelling, Elfquest is notable because it is drawn by a woman, Wendy Pini, which in the US was something of a rarity when this title debuted. She also contributed to the story. Lest anyone think that this story much be so sugary that it is diabetic because it is drawn by a woman, I direct them to some of the scenes in the war for the Palace against the Trolls. Some of that stuff is still disturbing, though it was necessary to the plot.

Warp (Wendy and Richard Pini) Graphics also is working on other titles such as Wendy's cool futuristic, cyberpunkish take on Edgar Allan Poe's Masque of Red Death.

2008 marks thirty years of Elfquest. I can't wait to see where the next thrity years will bring us.

Real Random

I have the theme song to the "Greatest American Hero" running through my head for no reason at all...