Ringing the closing bell at NASDAQ
If you had been in Times Square at 4:00 pm on May 28, 2008 and happened to have looked up at the NASDAQ exchange you would have seen the most unusual sight. You would have seen 80 designer handbags sitting on the ledge of the window. Why? The owners of those handbags were ringing the closing bell. 80 women who are C-level executives who sit on corporate and non-profit boards and are all part of a community of 425 women known as Women Corporate Directors (WCD). (www.womencorporatedirectors.com)
It was an amazing atmosphere- I have been in many rooms full of silver haired men in pinstripe suits but this is the first time I had seen such power consolidated in a group of women.
WCD is committed to identifying critical issues facing corporate boards in general and women board members in particular. The group was founded eight years ago by Susan Stautberg, the CEO of PartnerCom.
The industries that these women work in are diverse, and so, as a group, they have the advantage of wide experience. They are all decision-makers in their organizations. The group inclides CEOs, CFOs, EVPs, Presidents and Chairpersons of companies that we all know, including Ikea, Home Depot, General Mills, Playboy Enterprises, Lockheed Martin, Petco, Orbitz and Avery Dennison. All are brands in our lives that perhaps get coverage in the press without being ever associated with a female management team with a ton of experience to bring to the table. However, countering this expansion of women at the top, there is a growing trend reported that board directors are limiting their service to fewer boards than before.
At this event, I had the opportunity to chat with Lisbeth McNabb, ex-CFO of Match.com and current CEO behind w2wlink.com, a new website which is dedicated to providing expert content and a free private online networking environment for women. When I meet like-minded people doing projects that enhance women’s journeys in the workplace I am always excited and energized. We should all be collaborators towards the common goal of a level playing field, right? I also got to chat with Betty Cohen who founded the Cartoon Network ( that is cool no matter how old you are!) and was charmed by Sila Calderon, the former governor of Puerto Rico.
Some days, when I speak with people who try and tell me that there is no glass ceiling for women in the workplace anymore, I doubt my reasons for starting The Glass Hammer, but today I was truly inspired. Not least because every glass-breaking woman I spoke to at this event agreed that it’s an obstacle course to the top of the corporate world and that access to information can help navigate the journey for those just starting out.
