2009 Women of Vision Awards

The Women of Vision Awards Banquet, hosted by the Anita Borg Institute Board of Trustees, honors women making significant contributions to technology. One winner is selected in each category: Innovation, Leadership, and Social Impact. Register here.

The Women of Vision Awards Banquet, hosted by the Anita Borg Institute Board of Trustees, honors women making significant contributions to technology. The award winners will be selected in early February, and nominators will be notified.

AWARD CATEGORIES

Innovation recognizes a woman who has contributed significantly to technology innovation. The innovation might be creating unusual and important technology or approaching developing technology in a significantly new and innovative way, such as by bringing diverse people and experiences together in the technology creation process..

Social Impact recognizes a woman who developed or applied technology with a significant impact on society and/or the community. These people are creating or employing technologies that are changing our world in positive ways.

Leadership recognizes a woman who has led an important technology development or innovation, made a significant contribution to the technology industry, and someone who inspires others.

more information and to Register
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WIIT: Outlook for US-Africa Trade Relations

The Africa/Middle East Committee of Women In International Trade (WIIT) cordially invites you to a reception on the “Outlook for US-Africa Trade Relations Under the Obama Administration” featuring Florizelle Liser, Assistant United States Representative for Africa

Deadline for registration is April 23, 2009. Register here

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A Good Reason to be Cheerful: Opportunity Now Awards 2009

Op_Now_Awards_09_31_1_.jpgby Jane Carruthers (London)

After all the recent economic doom and gloom, a rare glow of positive light shone over a gathering of some 500 business and public sector leaders in the City of London on 29th April 2009: The Opportunity Now Awards, sponsored by Santander, celebrated those UK employers addressing inequality as a business imperative, creating workplace best practice so that women can succeed.”

The Glass Hammer sponsors PricewaterhouseCoopers and Goldman Sachs were among a line-up of winning firms, which also included Citi and FTSE 100 firms Pearson and Alliance Trust.

PricewaterhouseCoopers won both the Advancing Women in Business and Global Awards. Moira Elms, Global Partner for People, Knowledge, Brand and Communications and chair of the Gender Advisory Council at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: “We are extremely proud of this distinction. At PwC, we are committed to ensuring women have the opportunity to build a rewarding career and move into leadership positions. Since its foundation in 2006, the Gender Advisory Council has made a real impact. Every year, we see an increase in the number of female partners around the world. And we now have two talented women on the global leadership team.”

Cleo Thompson, Gender Advisory Council Programme Manager, who, with Moira Elms, accepted the award on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers, added: “I am delighted we have won this award, particularly since Opportunity Now is such a respected and prestigious organisation and one of the few bodies to recognise achievement in global diversity.” Goldman Sachs won the Santander Award: Equality of Opportunity through Education and Learning, for its 10,000 Women Program.

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Does Wall Street Prefer Women CFOs?

by Liz O’Donnell (Boston)

Does Wall Street prefer female CFOs to male CFOs? While it’s unlikely the financial world will make that claim any time soon, new research out of Boston College indicates the street responds more favorably to financial moves made by companies where the CFO is a woman. David Kisgen, an assistant professor at Boston College co-authored the Gender and Corporate Finance study with Jiekun Huang a Ph.D. candidate at Boston College. The study looked at public companies with at least $500 million in assets between 1994 and 2005. Kisgen and Huang tracked CFO’s performance’s from the time they transitioned into the role and then for three years after. Kisgen wanted to conduct the CFO study because there is so little research examining whether gender plays a role in corporate decisions and there aren’t enough women CEOs to study.

The Gender and Corporate Finance study examined whether men and women differ in corporate financial decisions. What Ksigen and Huang found is that firms with female CFOs are less likely to make acquisitions and are less likely to issue debt than firms with male CFOs. Female CFOs are less likely to make significant changes to capital structure in general and reduce leverage more than male CFOs. Male capital structure decisions are as likely to move a firm toward its target leverage as those made by female CFOs. However, announcement returns are higher around acquisitions, debt offerings and equity offerings when the firm has a female CFO. The study makes the conclusions that women make different corporate finance decisions than men and that, “…the better announcement returns suggest female CFOs do a better job of maximizing shareholder value, at least along those particular dimensions.”

Paul Santinelli, a General Partner with North Bridge Venture Partners, says gender is not a factor when he evaluates a CFO. Santinelli looks at three things: domain expertise, financial experience and strong moral and ethics. As far as financial experience, Santinelli examines, “What has this person done in the rank and file to get to this position?” Morals and ethics are important to Santinelli because, “It is not too difficult screw up a good thing inside a company. Besides, CFOs usually run Operations, Human Resources and Finance. Governance and compliance issues are far more extreme than they were ten years ago.”

Santinelli’s criteria could bode well for women. Kisgen says one possible take away from the study is that female CFOS are careful and risk-averse and that the market responds favorably to the moves they do make. He says another possible take away is that women CFOS are higher quality, as they have had to overcome discriminatory hiring practices to get to a C-level position.

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Association for Finance Professionals: Payments Forum

Controlling costs and ensuring long-term return on payments investments are more critical than ever. Attend the 2009 AFP Payments Forum and discover proven solutions to achieving payments efficiencies that will yield benefits to your entire organization.

Learn how to unlock savings by streamlining processes and tightening controls through e-payments:

  • Hear proven success stories and gain practical advice on managing your organization’s payments and receipts process when dealing with suppliers, customers and internal partners.

  • Participate in lively exchanges with your corporate peers in interactive roundtables where you can learn how others have solved the problems that you face.

  • Attend lectures that explain the basics of ACH rules, international payments, accepting and making card payments, and check imaging.

  • Gain insights into all payment methods—ACH, cards, checks and wires, domestic and international.

You will return to your office with innovative ideas and networking contacts that will help you achieve your company’s payments goals long after the forum has ended. Registration is restricted to corporate practitioners.

Register here.

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The Opportunity Now Awards and Dinner 2009

Demonstrate your commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion. Join over 500 other business and public sector leaders at one of the most prestigious diversity events of the year.

The Opportunity Now Awards and Dinner 2009 are generously sponsored by Santander

Celebrate, Entertain, Network

As well as recognising the commitment and progress which has been made in this arena, this glittering occasion also provides an excellent opportunity to network and exchange best practice.

Hosting a table gives you the perfect opportunity to reward your people or demonstrate your commitment to clients.

Guests will be addressed by inspiring and high profile speakers who will share their personal stories and achievements.

We will be delighted to hear from:

  • Carolyn McCall, Chief Executive of Guardian Group Plc and Chair of Opportunity Now
  • Samira Ahmed, Broadcaster & Journalist as host for the evenings proceedings
  • Cherie Blair, Leading Silk at Matrix Chambers and Patron of the Opportunity Now Awards
  • Cilla Snowball, Chairman and Chief Executive of AMV Group will provide the keynote address

This is one of the most prestigious occasions in the diversity calendar so make sure your organisation doesn’t miss out.

For more information contact: Michelle O’Brien 020 7566 8715

Book Now

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100 Women in Hedge Funds: Dinner Gathering during Milken Global Conference

The Los Angeles members of 100WHF have organized a dinner to come together after the Milken Global Conference, held here in Beverly Hills.

After hearing 500 CEOs from the world’s top-tier companies, senior elected and appointed foreign and U.S.
government officials, high-level executives in the American and foreign capital markets, global academic experts and leaders in education, health care and philanthropy, continue the discussions of the financial crisis and the global economy, as well as on government’s growing role in business and our lives over dinner and cocktails.

Seating is very limited. Register here

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The Women’s Recession

by Sima Matthes (New York City)

A recent article in the Financial Times stated that men held 80% of jobs lost in this recession. This would seem to indiate that, across the board, men seem to be suffering the most from the current economic crisis. But contrast this to the findings set forth in a stunning report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UK on April 15th in which they found a disproportionate effect of the recession on women in banking. According to Ruth Sealy, the Deputy Director of the International Centre for Women Business Leaders at Cranfield School of Management, who was quoted in the Times Online commenting on the report, “There is a sense among … women in banking that this is very much a gendered recession.”

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2nd Annual Women in Project Management Conference

Where women gather to seek the best of themselves and every woman experiences herself as the leader she was meant to be!

Speakers include:

  • Genevieve Bos – Keynote Speaker
    Secrets and Insights from America’s Most Successful Women in Business

  • Patricia Shafer
    Powerful & Connected:
    An Interactive Workshop for Women Transforming Their Work Environment

  • Sandra Yancey
    Relationship Networking

Register here

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Women in IP Breakfast Series – Recent Developments in Patent Law

Registration:
NYC Bar Member Price : $15.00 Register
Non City Bar Member Price : $25.00 RegisterThis is the second breakfast of a four-part series on Women in Intellectual Property. This program will feature leading law-firm and in-house patent law practitioners who will discuss their experiences as attorneys involved in patent litigation, prosecution and counseling, with a focus on the impact of recent significant decisions on patent lawyers and their clients.


Moderator:
CAREN KHOO, Assistant General Counsel, IP Litigation, VerizonSpeakers:
LEORA BEN-AMI, Kaye Scholer LLP; LESLIE MORIOKA, White & Case LLP

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