2008 FWA Holiday Benefit Gala and Raffle

It wouldn’t be the holidays without the joy that friends bring. It’s the perfect time of year to rekindle old friendships and spark new ones. Join us for an evening of friendship, fun, food and festivities.

One of the best parts of the Holiday Benefit Gala is the raffle, which features an array of appealing prizes. This year, in addition to our traditional raffle, we are hosting a special Chinese auction for gala attendees only, that will include a collection of exotic items. Visit the FWA website for a current list of retailers and donor prizes.

Chinese Auction to date:

Chanel fragrance basket with invitation to a Master class and breakfast with Chanel’s national makeup artists

Hair Design by Mark Garrison at Mark Garrison Salon

Raffle Donations to date:

Nina McLemore $1,000 Shopping Spree

Arbonne Skincare Party for 20 and Basket of Products

The event, raffle and Chinese auction will benefit the FWA of New York Educational Fund, the sponsor of our scholarship, mentoring, financial literacy, and many other great programs.

To learn more and to register

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Thriving in the Downturn

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financialdecline.JPGby Sima Matthes (New York City)

Gender matters. It matters to all of us, no matter what we believe we think. It matters when we react to the associate at the bank, or the customer service representative on the phone. It matters when we mentally note that our child’s teacher is (atypically) male, or that our construction engineer is (atypically) female. It shouldn’t matter but it does.

This issue is at the core of a recent article on the news page of the UK-based Management Issues site discussed the “thickening” of the glass ceiling in response to the global economic downturn. The article highlights the findings of a 2008 study by the UK management consulting firm Hudson, which concluded that many women may be held back from the top of companies because of their tendency to be “altruistic, people-oriented, co-operative and open” even as it acknowledges that these traits are helpful in leading modern corporations. In troubled economic times, the report states, corporations tend to fall back on the “traditionally ‘male” traits of decisiveness, persuasiveness and leadership in order to survive” leaving women struggling to reach the highest levels yet again.

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The Glass Ceiling in Australia

iStock_000004157201XSmall_1_.jpgBy Heather Chapman (New York City)

Living in New York, it’s easy to forget—especially in this economy—that women everywhere are struggling to break through the glass ceiling. As hard as it may be for women here in the United States, it turns out that it is even harder for women in Australia. A recent study, supported by the Australian government, has recently found that Australia is trailing the United States, Great Britain, South Africa and New Zealand in regards to women breaking into the ranks of senior management.

This survey had a number of interesting comparisons, highlighting that while 54.5 percent of Australian ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) 200 companies have at least one woman in an executive position, this compares poorly to the United States, where 85.2 percent of companies have at least one woman in an executive position. In Canada, that figure is 65.6 percent; in Great Britain, it is 60 percent; and in South Africa, 59.3 percent.

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Inform, Inspire, Persuade: Communicating Effectively with Clients and Peers

NancyDuarte_HeadShot_1_.jpgContributed by Nancy Duarte of Duarte Design

No matter how profound a presentation’s message is, it can be lost in a moment – buried beneath a web of uninspiring imagery and the monotonous recital of text on a slide. Many of us will be required to make a visual presentation at some point, but unlike verbal communication, which is practiced from day one, thinking visually isn’t easy, natural or commonly taught in schools or business programs.

The quality of your presentation depends on interaction – the interaction you have with your slides, and the interaction between your audience and the message you are attempting to deliver. If you merely stand and read bullet points, your audience will likely be disengaged. If you speak in concise terms while your slides are cluttered with text, your audience will be torn between listening and reading, and most likely won’t give either very much attention. As the presenter, the quality of your presentation is your responsibility, and learning to create visual stories that connect with your audience is imperative – especially in consideration of increasing competitive pressure on a global scale.

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Ask-A-Recruiter: Avoiding the Annoying Trap

istock_000005168521xsmall1.jpgContributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

It seems that everyone has caught on to networking. I can almost feel people cringe when I ask them if they know someone who can help me find a job. With so many people on the market and everyone networking, how can you still network without annoying your contacts?

Don’t ask for a job or imply anything close when you network. It puts the person on the defensive. But absolutely keep networking. Networking is critical to the jobseeker. Most jobs are filled via referrals, not ads. Getting inside is especially important in this slow economy, when companies are cutting recruiting costs. However, networking the wrong way can be annoying. Here are some tips to avoid the annoying trap:

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Nine Balancing Acts – Part II

In Part I of this article this morning, writer Paige Churchman wrote: “How wide is the gap between how you live and your ideal? Does your work feed or drain you? How do you give your career everything it needs and still know who you are? The Glass Hammer took these questions out into the corporate world to see how some top women find their balance or, if they haven’t found it, what they dream of. We talked to someone in a company known for its quality of life (Cisco Systems, number six on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For ), someone in an industry known for its long hours (law), and seven women in an industry that’s hurting (finance).” This morning’s part covered the women at Cisco and in law. This afternoon, Ms. Churchman finishes with a conversation with seven women in finance.

Women in Finance
Seven women in finance spoke anonymously about what might give them some balance. The two youngest, both single, want some time for themselves. They’re looking for freedom in how and where their hours go so they can develop in new directions.

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Nine Balancing Acts – Part I

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wroklifebalancescale.JPGby Paige Churchman (New York City)

How many times have you and friends, equally frazzled, fantasized about a three-day (or shorter) workweek? Something’s wrong with this picture because maybe like me, you actually love to work. Maybe throwing yourself into a project invigorates you, makes you feel important, connected to the world and happy.

So what’s wrong? A flame needs tending. It needs fuel to keep it going and it needs to be kept in check so you don’t burn out. First on my list of fuels is the work itself. I have to believe in it. My other fuels all start with P -pride, prestige, power and, yes, the paycheck. What keeps the flame from burning me up are the things that ground me and keep me human: good fresh food, sleep, nature, movement, music, meditation, family, friends, new ideas to bend my mind and lots of creativity. But when I’m burning too high, I often don’t know it.

How wide is the gap between how you live and your ideal? Does your work feed or drain you? How do you give your career everything it needs and still know who you are? The Glass Hammer took these questions out into the corporate world to see how some top women find their balance or, if they haven’t found it, what they dream of. We talked to someone in a company known for its quality of life (Cisco Systems, number six on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For ), someone in an industry known for its long hours (law), and seven women in an industry that’s hurting (finance).

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Massachusetts Conference for Women

boston.jpgBy Liz O’Donnell (Boston)

On Thursday, December 11, approximately 5000 women from the business, finance, technology, law, and health industries attended the Massachusetts Conference for Women at the Boston Convention Center. The conference’s theme, “The Next Chapter of You,” was underscored throughout the day in educational sessions and keynote speeches with titles such as “Standing Out in the Crowd,” “Second Acts and New Beginnings,” and “A Brand New, Brand You.” Speakers encouraged attendees to both invest in themselves and give back to their communities. There was little talk about Wall Street’s woes and the bleak economic outlook. Instead women focused on the issues they could control: how they were showing up professionally and where they could affect positive change in their business and personal lives.

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Women in the City Award Winner: Dr. Denise Pollard-Knight, Managing Director, Nomura Phase4 Ventures

denise_pollard_knight_High_Res.jpgby Elizabeth Harrin (London)

You wouldn’t expect a biochemistry degree to open many doors in financial services but Denise Pollard-Knight has found that her life sciences background has given her an excellent grounding for bioscience investment management. She is now Managing Director of Nomura Phase4 Ventures, a venture capital subsidiary of Asia-based investment bank Nomura, and has just been confirmed as the Financial Services Category winner in the Women in the City awards 2008.

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Hand in Hand International: A Holistic Approach to Microfinancing

india.jpgby Pirkko Juntunen (London)

In the fight against global poverty, microfinance has been hailed as one success story in a field of many failures. As microlending continues to move into the mainstream, men tend to hold the top jobs. But there are women moving up the ladder.

Hand in Hand International, a public charitable trust that works mainly in India with some activity in Afghanistan and South Africa, is a prime example. Headed by Indian national Kalpana Sankar, the organization takes a holistic approach to microfinance, believing that such an approach is necessary to make microfinance a sharper tool in combating poverty.

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