WITI’s Wisdom

by Meg Shannon (New York City)

Women make up an increasing percent of consumers for technology. Companies designing and selling these products would be well-served to employ professionals who can think like their buyers, say some organizations.

The mission of Women in Technology International—WITI—is to “level the playing field for women and open up opportunities through a global connection of professional, tech savvy women committed to mutual support,” according to Carolyn Leighton, WITI chairman and founder.

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Women in Venture Capital

by Erin Abrams (New York City)

Conventional wisdom on the street is that most venture capital goes to a certain type of entrepreneur. Smart. Innovative. Tech savvy. Well-connected. White. Male.

At the National Venture Capital Association’s annual conference in May 2008, legendary VC financier John Doerr confirmed the stereotype, acknowledging that VCs still primarily invest in “white male nerds who’ve dropped out of Harvard or Stanford.”

Why is it that the stereotypical recipients of venture capital (VC) tend to conjure up images of the smiling young men of break-away successes like Google, Facebook, and Youtube, but very few finance types—let alone VC experts—can point to examples of women-led or ethnically diverse start-ups that have received VC and generated a big return on investment? This image is backed up by the data. In 2006, only 4% of VC-backed companies had female chief executives, and those companies with women as leaders received just 3% of the total dollars raised from VC.

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The Leap to Line Management

by Elizabeth Harrin (London)

The perfect job appears on the company intranet. You know you could do the job; it would be just the stretch you need to shake yourself out of your rut and make the next career move. But it comes with line management responsibilities. Is that too long a leap?

Professional women are often very good at making a name for themselves as market specialists. Many are happy to stay in the specialist role, taking on leadership positions within their company that play to their strengths without having to manage a team. However, companies need fewer thought leaders than middle managers, and that means the route of career progress is paved with people management.

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Ask-A-Recruiter: Informational Interviews

Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

I’ve heard that nobody agrees to informational interviews anymore because they know that people are just fishing for jobs. Should I spend my job search time on getting some or is the info interview passé?

An informational interview is a meeting to get information about a specific career, job, or industry. For example, an aspiring entrepreneur might interview established business owners. A career changer might interview people in the new target career. It is distinct from a job interview because you the candidate initiate the meeting and the interviewee does not necessarily have a current open position.

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The Millennial Mentee

Contributed By Kiersten Mitchell of www.KierstenMitchell.com

Ah, the millennial. We’ve grown up with a strong achievement orientation. Our helicopter parents ensured that we got the best education, practiced our instruments, and participated in team sports to hone key skills like collaboration. We took collaboration and applied it a step further to the web. As a result, we live in a world where we can be the first drafters of history with our blogs. A world where you can find a virtual best friend faster than you can say QWERTY. We are idealistic, innovative, and entitled. We are Generation Y—hear us roar!—then give us feedback on its virility, tone, diction, and ferocity.

Yes, that’s right. Give us feedback on our ROOOAAAAR…Ooh, how was that one?

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Cure Your Achievement Amnesia

Contributed by Sylvia Warren of SimplytheBestCoaching.com

Busy professionals and executives execute complex strategies, lead wildly divergent teams, meet ambitious goals, and deliver on their commitment to the success of their organizations. Yet often they feel like professional and personal success still eludes them.

Why? It’s not just because the pace of work and life keeps accelerating. Smart women like you want to perform at their best. Driven by their own expectations of perfection and performance, they want to achieve all the lofty goals thrust upon them. Even when those goals are unrealistic, they feel compelled to accomplish them. So they try to get more and more done, faster and faster.

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Movers and Shakers: Michelle Crumm, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Adaptive Materials

by Margarita Shelley-Smith (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

The Glass Hammer recently spoke with Michelle Crumm, the co-founder and chief business officer of Adaptive Materials, an innovative company in Ann Arbor, MI. Adaptive Materials (AM) develops portable, quiet and efficient fuel cell systems capable of converting low cost, ecologically friendly fuel into electrical energy. These devices are already being used by the United States Armed Forces, commercial industries, and in emergency response situations by the Department of Defense.

Michelle Crumm, the business mind behind the success of the company, is a licensed CPA, with an MBA from University of Michigan. She was awarded the Crain’s Detroit Business “Most Influential Women” award in 2007 and was named one of “2008 Women of the Year” by the Enterprising Women magazine. Under her guidance, the company grew from a start-up into a manufacturing enterprise with double-digit increase in revenue. In March, the company moved to brand-new 47,000 square foot headquarters, and noted that its staff had tripled in the past year.

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Women on the Technological Edge

by Heather Cassell (San Francisco)

What do Liquid Paper, the submarine telescope and lamp, Kevlar, the windshield wiper, and the rotary engine have in common? They were all invented by women. Women have been creating innovative technologies that benefit the lives of people worldwide since before the start of the Industrial Revolution; however, until relatively recently, few, if any, women have been acknowledged for such achievements.

The Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology is helping to fill the recognition gap with the Women of Vision awards. The Institute, an organization that provides resources and programs to help the public and private sectors recruit, retain, and develop women leaders in high tech fields, created these awards nearly three years ago to recognize and honor women’s achievements in innovation, leadership and social impact through technology.

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Generational Philanthropy

by Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

In June 2008, Town & Country ran an article “A Woman’s Guide to Giving: How to Find Your Cause and Make an Impact with Your Money” and a related survey of 2000 women. As quoted on the website The Philanthropic Family, the survey results indicated that 73% of the Town & Country readers think that there’s a gender divide in the philanthropic community. To generalize, the respondents believe that women give more from the heart, while men give from the wallet, i.e., because of an ulterior motive such as a tax deduction.

However, according to the report “Women’s Giving: A Generational Perspective,” a 2007 survey conducted by Sondra Shaw-Hardy and Carmen Stevens, in connection with the Falconer Group, the bigger gap in the approach to giving could be between generations of women, namely Generation X women—those born between 1961 and 1980—and baby boomers, born between 1945 and 1960.

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South Africa Advancement of Women Conference

The South African Advancement of Women Conference will gather professional women who work for major global and South African based companies for an exploration of best practices, a dialogue on diversity, innovative strategies and concrete programs that make a difference in supporting women. The conference will ensure networking, learning and knowledge sharing in a safe environment.

WHY SOUTH AFRICA?
With approximately 700 companies in South Africa, the US is the second largest investor in South Africa behind the UK. Come together to learn how to strengthen your company’s global influence and take strides toward international business success.

YOU’LL LEARN THE HOW TO’S

• How to target challenges in the workplace
• How to find solutions to obstacles
• How to take full advantage of your benefits
• How to build powerful relationships
• How to MOVE UP in your company

DISCUSSION TOPICS WILL INCLUDE:

• Building relationships to leverage your network
• Eliminating obstacles for female executives
• Internal policies for supporting professional women
and what companies have them
• Overcoming systemic barriers
• How to enhance partnership among global women
• Flexible work arrangements and how to use them

To Register: contact Jacqueline.LaBrocca@workingmother.com

For more information

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