Is Norway working? The case for women on boards

norwayBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

Norway is considered one of the most progressive countries with regards to increasing the number of women on boards – thanks to it being an early adopter of legislation to force companies to recruit women to the boardroom. It sounded like a great idea to improve diversity and shareholder returns, and since then many other countries have adopted or considered similar laws. It’s been seven years since the law took affect. Has it made any difference?

Amy Dittmar, associate professor of finance at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business has recently analysed the impact of the Norwegian decision, and she doesn’t think so. Dittmar and her colleague Kenneth Ahern studied what happened after Norway required public-limited firms to have at least 40% of board seats filled by women in 2003. Voluntary compliance in the country failed, so the law made it compulsory in 2006, with a two year transition period. “Boards are chosen in order to increase shareholder wealth,” says Dittmar. “Placing restrictions on the composition of a board will reduce value.”

Dittmar and Ahern’s study found that when a board had a 10% increase in the number of women, the value of the company dropped. The bigger the change to the structure of the board, the bigger the fall in returns.

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5 Reasons NOT to Take a Promotion

lateralmoveBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

You are offered a sideways move, either in your organisation or to transfer to another company. Should you take it? While it might be tempting to hold out for a promotion, don’t disregard the possibilities presented by taking a lateral move. We asked five experts for their advice on taking a step sideways.

  1. Plan for the long term

    “A lateral move that is made capriciously may be a career limiting move; however, a lateral move that is part of an intentional plan can propel a career forward over the long term,” says Diane Youden, a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers specialising in HR effectiveness.

    Youden advises taking stock of your career path. Where are you now and where do you want to be? A sideways step might be the best thing to do to put you on course for your end goal and further career opportunities down the line.

    As well as considering the job prospects and how these fit with your overall career trajectory, think about who you work with now and who you could be working with if you said yes to taking that lateral move. “If your current supervisor is not a strong sponsor or champion for you, moving laterally can remove this obstacle and reset your career path,” says Youden. “A lateral move can be a strategic move when it broadens your network with key company decision makers, gives you more visibility, gains global exposure, or enhances management responsibilities. All of these attributes contribute to making an individual a more well-round and broader business focused resource – a desirable attribute in your career planning.”

    2. Read more

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The New Female Breadwinners – Celebratory Boon or Involuntary Boom?

femalebreadwinnerBy Gigi DeVault (Munich)

If Betty Friedan first showed women through a “room with a view” in the 60s, a Pew Report released this month has ever so gently closed the door to that room as well. The Pew report, The New Economics of Marriage: The Rise of Wives, explains why economic gains in marriage are now greater for men than they are for women. The number of men married to wives whose income and education exceed theirs has increased 18% since 1970.

Another gender trend reversal has been boosted by the current economic downturn; the employment of men has been hurt in this recession more than that of women, with men making up 75% of the decline in employment for prime-working-age Americans in 2008. If we call this phenomenon, where three out of every four people thrown out of work have been male the mancession, what tag can we hang on its corollary? According to the Economist, “within the next few months women will cross the 50% threshold and become the majority of the American workforce.” Betty Friedan might have said it is about time. The Economist says this “quiet revolution” is a reason to celebrate.

An increasing number of women step across their thresholds in the morning, gamely suppressing any show of guilt or relief, having outsourced or insourced traditionally “female” household duties. If they are the primary breadwinners for their household, they may wave goodbye to a beloved husband or partner, who stands immobilized by a toddler tugging on a pant leg or an infant testing the burp pad draped over his shoulder. How couples feel about these arrangements depends on a number of variables, not the least of which is whether an implied contract between them has been violated.

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New Accenture Report Released Today – The Power of Resilience

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resilienceBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

Anyone’s who’s ever had to struggle or overcome extreme hardships knows the power of being resilient; the importance of being able to bounce back and keep trudging onwards. According to a new study by Accenture, resilience – or the ability to overcome challenges and turn them into opportunities – also happens to be a much-needed characteristic in the business world; one that is key to keeping your job in a harsh economy.

The global research study entitled Women Leaders and Resilience: Perspectives from the C-Suite was conducted in support of International Women’s Day and the study marks Accenture’s sixth consecutive celebration of this global celebration, which honors the economic, political, and social achievements of women past. It is the company’s hope that their female-focused research helps fuel the dialogue on key issues affecting women in the workplace.

The Findings

Accenture surveyed more than 500 senior executives – including CEO’s, COO’s, CFO’s, and CHRO’s – of mid- to large-size companies in 20 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, and Latin America. According to the research, these execs believe that women are slightly more resilient than men. Results showed that companies are providing female professionals with a variety of programs aimed at developing resilience.

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Celebrating International Women’s Day: A Message From Our CEO

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Celebrating International Women's DayToday we are pleased to be celebrating International Women’s Day with all of the amazing women in our community.

An encouraging start to this week was Kathryn Bigelow’s historic double Oscar win for best picture and best director.

We believe this is a step in the right direction, not just for the entertainment industry, but for all industries. We need to achieve a critical mass of female leaders to change perceptions around what a leader looks like.

We also believe that there is immense value in building a strong network based on educational content. This week we are hosting our second networking breakfast for senior women in investment management. If you wish to join us to discuss Risk and Transparency in this field, please contact me – we may have couple of spots left. You can also read glasshammer2.wpengine.com on Thursday for full coverage, or sign up for our newsletter to receive this and other top stories in your inbox each week.

Every day is International Women’s Day on glasshammer2.wpengine.com. We want to see you succeed.

Sincerely,

Nicki Gilmour
CEO
Theglasshammer.com

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Voice of Experience: Michelle McCarthy, Chief Risk Officer, Russell Investments

Michelle_McCarthyBy Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

As the saying goes: “A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck.” That is certainly the case for Michelle McCarthy, Chief Risk Officer of Russell Investments. While she attributes much of her success to luck, it’s clear that her moxie is really what’s allowed her rise to the top of her profession. Said McCarthy: “I’m willing to be a bit of a maverick and willing to do things even when I don’t feel completely ready.”

At 13, a fearless McCarthy declared her intention to major in political science. For many, that would be precocious; for McCarthy, it was just part of her college life, which began at that age. Of the University of Washington’s experimental “Early Admissions” program, said McCarthy, “was a really enjoyable experience. In high school, they are much less forgiving of ‘nerds’ than they are at college. It was a kinder situation socially than I’d been in before. ”

After graduating university at the age of 17, she attended Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Science. To earn some money while earning her Master’s, she took a part-time job at a student loan agency updating spreadsheets. After a short time there, she realized that she had found her true calling—finance.

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10-Minute Workouts for Busy Women

exerciseBy Elisabeth Grant (Washington, D.C.)

We want you to become a stronger businesswoman. Literally. But while you know exercise can strengthen your body, did you know it can strengthen your brain too?

A number of recent studies show that aerobic exercise increases brain functioning (see articles from the New York Times, Scientific American, and ABC News). With exercise being both good for your mind and body, there’s no excuse to not do it, right?

Oh wait, there’s just that one small detail: time. In this post we offer some tips for both finding the time and also wanting to find the time (in other words, how to make exercise fun).

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Movers and Shakers: Shannon Vetto, Global Exchange Traded Funds (ETF), Russell Investments

vettoBy Gigi DeVault (Munich)

Knowing how to maintain a high level of productivity while sticking to a grueling travel schedule may have given Shannon Vetto an edge when she came to Russell Investments in 1997. Before then, at Price Waterhouse LLP, Vetto worked as a client service audit manager in the firm’s investment company group—in Boston, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle. Every few weeks she found herself in a new location, examining a new set of books and addressing a new set of circumstances.

For a financial asset firm seeking management capacity for a global product launch, itinerant experience like Vetto’s would prove to be a prescription for success. “It was pure luck,” she insists, “that I managed to get involved in an effort that was really Russell’s development overseas.” Vetto took a job as a manager in Operations at Russell, a role in which she was responsible for global vendor relationship management, fund accounting oversight, and financial statement preparation. She was quickly positioned to lead the development of operational infrastructure for Australian Funds products in Russell’s Sydney office, and in Russell’s investment trust business in the Tokyo office. Vetto recalls that she was new to the firm and wasn’t yet anchored in such a way that would make it difficult to relocate overseas.

Vetto’s tongue-in-cheek observation: The deal closer may have been that “I was okay with the travel.”

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Who Is Holding the Purse-Strings at Foundations and Endowments?

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pursestringsBy Gigi DeVault (Munich)

Endowments and foundations need to do well in order to do good. The funds of endowments and foundations did very well—prior to 2009. Now, Chief Investment Officers of these institutional funds must forge strategies that can get the funds back on track and safeguard their missions.

Reihan Salan, who writes a weekly column for Forbes and is a fellow at the New American Foundation, believes that women will play a leading role in the restoration of a healthy financial realm. Salan believes the shift of power to women has taken a revolutionary tack “dramatically accelerated by the economic crisis.” As the woman who is managing the clean-up of the Countrywide Mortgage mess for Bank of America, Barbara Desoer may be closer to the thrust of that revolutionary tack than most. She believes that men in finance suffer from “the bravado effect”—the excessive risk-taking, independent mentality of a trader.

Here we have three parts to a new equation: More women are taking the lead in the investment world; leaders are needed who understand the power of collaboration, coordinated communication, and studied, ethical decision-making; and endowments and foundations are lining up for more moderate pathways to future earnings.

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Movers and Shakers: Virginia Volpe, CFA, Director, Hedge Fund Services, Global Transaction Services, Citi

Volpe, VirginiaBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Get comfortable in your own skin as fast as you can,” recommends Virginia Volpe, Director of Hedge Fund Services at Citi’s Global Transaction Services division. “You will be so much happier so much sooner – I only realized that four years ago,” she explained with a laugh.

Volpe exudes a good-natured confidence, something she attributes to to her flexibility. “One of my professional achievements is how easily I’ve been able to slip in and out of various roles, whether at Citi or going back to being a member of a small village,” she said, referring to her time in the Peace Corps in Sri Lanka working as a community developer.

It was during her time in Sri Lanka that Volpe developed an interest in finance. “I was really intrigued by microfinance, but did not have a firm understanding of capital markets” she explained. After receiving her degree in Economics and Latin American Studies from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Volpe began a career as an analyst at Reuters, and eleven years ago, she says, “I was invited to work at Citi and haven’t looked back since!”

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