Featuring speakers from many of the world’s leading independent firms across fifteen jurisdictions, this one-day conference is aimed at the sector’s most senior lawyers, providing them with an opportunity to share ideas, debate the major issues and network.
Janet Lewis, President of Global Accounts Management and Consulting Services at Sungard, answered the question before I had a chance to ask it.
“I’ve punched through the glass ceiling but I do believe there is more for me,” she said. “There is still more opportunity out there.”
She explained that she wanted to coach other women working up the ranks and mentor them. She didn’t have anyone like that in her career and hoped by sharing her experiences; she would be helping others along the way.
“Women’s progress has stalled and we need to get it back on track,” she said. “We need to be more supportive of each other and make sure that there is no gender discrimination in the workforce. We should strive for equal opportunity.”
Today, April 22, 2008, is Equal Pay Day, which is a national movement to draw attention to wage discrimination against women and people of color, in hopes of eradicating the practice. In communities throughout the United States, local Equal Pay Day activists are organizing rallies, speaking out, lobbying their congressmen and women, meeting with employers and policy-makers, and designing other demonstrations and activities to help make people more aware of the wage disparity.
Advice to a new lawyer about golf, shoes and corporate culture. Inspired by the ferocious debate about Hillary Clinton, post-feminism, sexism, and stilettos.
Contributed by Jacqueline Church
“Golf. That’s all they talk about at my firm – Golf!”
She wrinkled her nose as if you’d just put something smelly under it.
An accomplished, smart, young associate at a large law firm, my friend is determined to make her billable hours, do good work, learn everything she can, and make herself more valuable to the firm. She’s not really sure why that should include learning how to golf.
As a non-practicing attorney who was in her shoes not so long ago, I offered her the following advice:
This week, 100 Women in Hedge Funds and Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC coordinated an event with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) to present investment options while improving the environment. Exchange Chairman and CEO Richard Sandler addressed about 40 women on the future of his company, the environmental benefits, and how to get involved in saving the planet.
The event took place at the Chicago Yacht Club on Wednesday evening, April 16, 2008, in a room above Lake Michigan. With windows as walls, the room emphasized Sandler’s speech about the importance of the environment. As he talked about carbon trading and saving the environment, the audience looked out at the sand and water just beyond him.
When Goldman Sachs says we are headed for a recession, most people on the Street believe it. When the Financial Times reports that big banking players like Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers eliminate 34,000 jobs with another 20,000 on the chopping block, people who work in finance get worried. But then the U.S. Labor Department comes along and releases their monthly numbers and you realize that…not all is lost. From this week’s report, it seems that the securities industry is not shedding jobs as quickly as some of the more dismal reports from investment banks may indicate.
Working women have been struggling for decades to achieve the delicate balance between work and life. These days there seem to be endless opinions on how to do it, but no one really understands it better than the women who walk that tight-rope everyday…in heels! Join us for a luncheon and panel discussion where you will hear women leaders candidly discuss this balancing act, the challenges they have faced, what has worked and what they still struggle with day to day.
After a long (or short) career in finance or law, working long hours, earning the big bucks, and gaining recognition in their field, many women come to a cross roads in their career path. While there is nothing at all wrong with working in the private sector and helping companies merge, do major deals, structure financing for important transactions or litigate big securities lawsuits, after spending years doing this type of work, some people find themselves yearning to have a job where they can give back to society.
Additionally, the long hours that are the hallmark of work in finance and law have long had a reputation for being less than family friendly, as The Glass Hammer has documented in many an article. Women, who often have greater child-care and family responsibilities than their male counterparts, bear the brunt of this. So its totally understandable that many female corporate stars dream of escaping Wall Street for a better lifestyle and a more rewarding career.
Enjoy the company of FWA members and other professionals in finance over lunch. Seize this great opportunity to invite a friend or colleague to sample the FWA in a convenient downtown location. You will have the chance to hear about FWA programs, including its award-winning mentoring program helping students at nearby Murry Bergtraum High School on Pearl Street.
Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine
I dread calling up HR to ask about my resume or my search status or even just to clarify a job posting. I find recruiters to be very short and difficult to deal with. But I know I need to network. What can I do?
Many people need to deal with recruiters for something — information, advice, help. However, asking something of a recruiter is not the same as asking anyone else. Because recruiters get approached so often, they know it is impossible to help everybody, so they become choosy. Therefore, a good ask of a recruiter has to be better than just a typical ask.