First and most basic, freedom from being tethered to an office allows women the flexibility to make their lives work better.Networks are formed more on the basis of skills and needs than power and who is more in one's own likeness;finding the next golfing partner or bar buddy is not part of the agenda. And women are far better at networking and communicating, both of which come to the fore in the virtual workplace.

A new wave is washing over cyberspace; it's the virtual workplace revolution and it bodes well for women.

The hot new trend is technology which allows teamwork and collaboration from any points on the globe. From web conferencing with full audio-visual, to work flow processes which allow documents or images to be inputted and managed from different locations to ework exchanges of various kinds which allow a professional to access the net and post his skills, then select the work he wants to perform, all with training, benefits and support; this is the wave of the future. No need to leave home or your virtual office, wherever it may be.

Today, or very soon, sophisticated tools which allow you to improve your company's performance by accessing the Net and selecting a particular skill to enhance an aspect of your business or fill in weak spots in your management will be readily available. A new breed of Net companies are beginning to offer cutting edge technology to support business success: shared business applications and software to help execute against objectives; ebusiness solutions; an online marketplace for employee benefits for small business; teleworking tools and resources; customer experience solutions; strategic pricing intelligence and purchasing; facilities maintenance.

In addition, the very concept of teleworking will become an increasingly accepted and cost effective part of our work culture. A major shift in attitude is taking place, as managers wake up to the realization that the critical element in work is not to be planted in a particular office but the ability to exchange ideas, information and knowledge in a collaborative environment.

How is this good for women?

First and most basic, freedom from being tethered to an office allows women the flexibility to make their lives work better. Teleworking and flextime have long been on the agenda of women who wished to find a way to balance work and family.. Single mothers often wish to work at home to be able to spend more time with their children or to avoid a long commute. Married women who must do 70% of the household work, often need the flexibility to take their children to school and pick them up.

Equally important, the new "virtual workplace" helps "level the playing field for women" in ways which are both obvious and subtle.

The most obvious leveling is that of gender differences; in a "virtual workplace" it's less of an issue who's wearing the Armani and who's wearing the Channel suit.

Networks are formed more on the basis of skills and needs than power, and who is more in one's own likeness;finding the next golfing partner or bar buddy is not part of the agenda.

Women are far better at networking and communicating, both of which come to the fore in the virtual workplace.

Studies show men work through problem solving alone, and women problem solve by communication and talking it out with others, processes which are faciliated in the virtual workplace.

Finally, more women are on the Net and are the driving factor in ecommerce. Women business owners alone have $3 trillion in purchasing power and are the world's fastest growing market. And who understands them better.... how to communicate with and market to them... than other women?

As the workplace becomes more virtual, women's particular skills continue to be leveraged and our power to succeed increases. Virtual work is a boon to women; let's seize our advantage.