I have to confess that I am an idea, opinion, and information junkie. I love hearing what intelligent others are saying and discovering about the issues that I am dedicated to. Here are just a few of the many articles, posts, websites, reports, surveys, and other resources I’ve been looking at lately.

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, CEO of 20-first

“The subject of women and gender has long been framed as an interesting but somewhat minor issue in the business world. It has been variously seen as a diversity issue, a Human Resource issue or an ethical debate about equality and equity. The growing economic, political and social consequences of women’s changing roles have not always been very clear to the people currently in power. Yet I would suggest that the issue of gender in the 21st century represents a major political, economic and social discontinuity.” Thus writes Avivah Wittenberg-Cox in a lively look at what it really will take to achieve gender balance in business.  Her manifesto Forget Cinderella, Find Fred Astaire  is a fascinating – and powerful – must read.

“Not a single ‘glass ceiling,’ but a leaky pipeline, stage by stage,” is one of the conclusions that McKinsey & Co. drew in its most recent annual Women Matter survey. Gender Diversity: Moving corporate culture, moving boundaries reviews the case for change, reports on what women want, assesses corporate culture today, and suggests what companies can do to achieve gender diversity in the executive suite.  An excellent and easy-to-skim report.

Want to work at the kind of company where women hold, on average, 27 percent of board seats and comprise 28 percent of executive officers? Check out the NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women.  (NAFE stands for the National Associate of Female Executives.) See who made the list and what they have in common.  And take a look at what NAFE can do for you. This report courtesy Working Mother Research Institute.

Let me introduce you to a fast-growing resource for women leaders in the retail and consumer products industry, the Network of Executive Women (NEW). Their mission is to attract, retain and advance women in this industry through education, leadership and business development. This organization is clearly needed. Although women make up 48 percent of the retail workforce and make a whopping 80 percent of consumer purchasing decisions, only 1.8 percent of CEOs in that industry are female. One of their key contributions is a report entitled “Women 2020: The Future of Women’s Leadership in Consumer Products and Retail.” To learn what the organization offers its members, take a look at their recently released 2013 annual report.

Do you know about  Salary.com,  GlassDoor and the Gender Gap App? Info on using these, along with other solid advice on asking for a raise, is offered by human resources consultant Kim Keating on the Huffington Post. She’ll help you find out if you are being paid unfairly and suggest what steps to take if you discover you are.