Currently, women represent only 15.2% of Fortune 500 company board membership and we are out to change that!The event will educate and prepare women for board service. Our panelists are top-level executives with extensive board experience and a desire to share their knowledge and necessary tools for serving as a director.
Topics include: being an effective board member; how to position yourself to get on a board; how to transition from serving on non-profit boards to for profit boards.
by Liz O’Donnell (Boston)
The mainstream media continues to grind out traditionalist messages about women, even though the economic recession has created some very untraditional realities for women at work and attitudes about working women are starting to shift. So say Rosalind Barnett and Caryl Rivers. Barnett is Research Director, Community, Families & Work Program, Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University. She is considered an international expert on women’s issues and has written seven books and many articles on the topic. Rivers, a professor of journalism at Boston University, is the author of “Selling Anxiety: How the News Media Scare Women” among other books. The two spoke recently at the Women Action Media Conference in Cambridge, Mass.
Consider this new reality: women now outnumber men on the national payroll. This means more women are juggling work and family responsibilities. It also means more families are being supported with less income. After all, these facts haven’t changed: women still do more hours of housework than their husbands and women still earn, on average only .78 cents for every dollar a man earns. Recent findings from the Families and Work Institute2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce, however, are encouraging and demonstrate a shift in the traditional reality of working couples. For example, women in dual-earner couples are contributing more to family income. The earnings of women in the workforce have increased from 39 percent in 1997 to 44 percent in 2008.
Difficult times generate more extreme challenges for business leaders, often calling for a shift in leadership tactics, emphasis and skills employed. That’s certainly the case for IT leaders in the New York region, where CIOs are swiftly redirecting priorities, doing more with less, shoring up staff morale and working to stay focused on the strategic end goal.In this one-day CIO Perspectives Forum in New York, we’ll tackle head-on what it takes to survive and succeed as leaders in these troubled times.
CIO Perspectives Forums are regionally focused one-day executive events for senior IT leaders at mid- to large-sized organizations in the private and public sectors. Produced by CIO magazine in partnership with sister organization, the CIO Executive Council, these Forums provide compelling, content-rich networking events where CIOs and senior executives can collaborate on a broad range of business and technology issues. They also empower local CIOs to build sustainable professional communities, determine the most relevant conference content for their region, broaden the scope of their partner/supplier networks and update them on the latest technology solutions and services their businesses require.
The agenda for each CIO Perspectives Forum is designed by the 12-member Regional Leadership Council in each event location. These powerful advisory councils, comprised of CIOs from the most respected companies in America, work directly with CIO magazine’s event staff to guide and approve the selection of topics for all agenda sessions, interactive workshops, keynotes and featured speakers. CIO magazine and the CIO Executive Council are pleased to partner with the local chapters of the Society for Information Management (SIM) for this exclusive, invitation-only event.
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Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart
A popular excuse for not making a big change is money. You don’t have enough money – training for new skills, career coaching, whatever support you need for the big change cost more than you have. You need the income you have – you don’t have any left over to save for the big change and you certainly don’t have the option of quitting to focus more time on the big change. However, although money is a legitimate consideration, it is not an obstacle you can’t overcome. It comes down to the math: how much do you need and where will you get it.
Think Robin Hood. Take from one place to give to another. Look at your discretionary income after the fixed bills are paid. Where can you shave off dollars to allocate towards your career change?
Raise your income. Can you start a side consulting business and use the proceeds for the big change? The graphic designer can create websites, the financial planner can give Quicken tutorials. I know a marketing director who did a brand strategy for a start-up to pay for her kids’ new swing set. However, remember that you need your energy for the big change — this job is just for money so pick something you know you can do in which you won’t get too invested.
Challenge your assumptions. Still don’t have enough? Have you really separated out discretionary income or are non-essentials still in there? (Cable TV is not an essential when you are questioning all expenses.) Are you sure you need this money? (Can you take a workshop instead of getting a long-term class?) Are you sure you have itemized all expenses? (When you are trying to find the wasted dollars, you need to take a microscope to your spending.) There are always gaps between what you actually spend and what you think you spend, so be willing to challenge your memory and actually look.
Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart, a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. Prior to launching SixFigureStart, Caroline recruited for Accenture, Oliver Wyman, Time Inc, and others. Email me at caroline@sixfigurestart.com and ask how you can attend a free SixFigureStart group coaching teleclass.
Association for Women in Computing, Puget Sound Chapter
Many of us believe we are underpaid, or simply have no idea what to respond with when asked what our salary requirements are. Find out how to know and claim your market value for a new role or prove your value to your current employer. We will show you how to prepare yourself to effectively counter an offer, request a raise, or make changes to your existing role.
We will cover:
How to prepare
Relevance of timing
Importance of reflecting the company needs
Presenting value
Negotiating for money or other points/requests
Thinking out of the box
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Leading companies such as IKEA, Danone, Airbus will discuss the challenges and opportunities they face when implementing a greener supply chain.
Confirmed speakers so far include:
IKEA – Thomas Bergmark, Head of Social and Environmental Affairs
Danone – Guillaume Benezeth, Supply Chain and Operations Director
McDonald´s – Keith Kenny, Senior Director Supply Chain Europe
Johnson & Johnson – Jo Tierens, Environment, Health & Safety Director External Manufacturing
Airbus – Ana Porto, Head of Environmental Compliance and Eco-efficiency
Kimberly Clark – Dave Challis, Head of Sustainability EMEA BT – Donna Young, Head of Environment and Climate Change
Deutsche Bank – Ron Herbst, Head of Energy Management Svenska Cellulosa – Yogi Pillay, Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility Programmes
Aggregate – Miles Watkins, Director of Sustainable Construction
National Express – Nick Coad, Head of Group Environmental Strategy
Accenture – Jonathan Wright, Senior Executive, Global Supply Chain Practices
Ricoh – Tim Taylor, Environmental and Compliance Manager
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – Alistair Clark, Corporate Director, Environment and Sustainability Department
NPower – Robert Harper, Product Manager, Environment & Renewables
L´Oreal, Ariane Thomas, Supply Chain Purchasing Director
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Duke women are engaged, enthusiastic and sociable. We sustain many professional and personal relationships and take on considerable responsibility. Yet these associations and duties can cause us to forget the importance of personal gratification and health. This is especially true in a time of economic crisis when the world’s challenges seem so overwhelming. This is an opportune time to evaluate what “richly” means to each of us: How do we find value in our lives? How do we find inspiration and assurance in a world turned upside down? To address these questions, three distinguished Duke alumni will share their insights on achieving fulfillment from the perspectives of mind, body, and spirit. Through an interactive group discussion, they may inspire you to think about what living richly means today.
Take a night out of your week to think about your life and to enjoy the great company of other Duke women. The evening will begin and end with wine, food, and conversation.
Click here to reserve your space by credit card. Space is limited, so RSVP early.
Jack Leslie, chairman of Weber Shandwick, will discuss working with companies as the head of the world’s largest global public relations agency, as well as from advising candidates during his earlier career in politics.
How well companies communicate is always important. But it can make all the difference during hard times, periods of transition and other defining moments for business and society. In fact, it can help transform results. What does it take to get this right? What lessons can leaders follow?
Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York presents the latest in our CEO Series – Jack Leslie, chairman of Weber Shandwick, will share examples from his years of experience working with companies as the head of the world’s largest global public relations agency, as well as from advising candidates during his earlier career in politics.
This program will identify key areas of action to respond effectively to downsizing or resignation.– What To Expect
– Negotiating Benefits
– Managing Employee Accounts
– Legislative Impacts on Post-Employment Benefits
– Launching Your Next Career Move
Register here
by Liz O’Donnell (Boston)
Telecommuting seemed like such a good idea and you were all set to pitch your boss on working from home. After all, as we’ve reported before, the majority of CFOs surveyed in the CFO Perspectives on Work Life Flexibility study from BDO Seidman, LLP and Work+Life Fit, Inc., think work life flexibility offers “high to moderate” business benefits. By now most people know the many rewards include improved health and well-being for employees who spend more time with family, increased productivity, more staffing flexibility, higher rates of employee retention, cost savings realized by lower overhead and environmental rewards due to fewer commutes. But is now the right time to approach the boss? With stories of layoffs splashed across every newspaper and website, should you prioritize face time over family time?
Work/life coaches will tell you that, now more than ever, it is important to take care of your personal needs and make sure the scales don’t tip in favor of work. Says one executive coach, “Women executives need to exercise and eat right so that they are in good health and can manage the stress caused by a recession. There is no need to work more than an eight hour day.” This coach also suggests increasing networking activity so that you are well positioned when the economy turns around.
Marsha Egan, an executive coach in Reading, Pennsylvania, says that in a down economy, employees often act out of fear and the fear causes them to assume the boss will say no. She suggests going to the upper management and laying out a fact-based, quantitative case for whatever work-life balance plan you have whether that be telecommuting, flex time or just a more manageable project schedule.