Engaging Men in Culture Change: “Would You Want Your Daughter to Work Here?”

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iStock_000011462846XSmallBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

A few months ago Deloitte’s Ann Weisberg shared an anecdote with The Glass Hammer that struck a chord with many of us. She relayed the story of a Deloitte senior male partner who spoke on a panel about the issue of gender diversity. He asked the audience, “Would you want your daughters working here? If the answer is no, then you should own part of the solution.” It got us wondering: Could the simple question “Would you want your daughters working here?” change the way companies treat gender diversity?

A Powerful Question

Barbara Adachi is the National Managing Principal for Deloitte’s award-winning Women’s Initiative and yet another believer in the power of the question, “Would you want your daughters working here?” Not only does she believe that considering the question would help senior men see the work environment and culture from a very different and personal perspective, but she’s seen the power of the question at work.

“When we launched the Women’s Initiative in 1993, our CEO Mike Cook had two daughters who were entering the workforce. He personally recognized the importance of women having equal opportunities to advance and he applied this to our culture,” Adachi said. “In a Harvard Business Review article about the Women’s Initiative, [Deloitte Consulting CEO] Doug McCracken cited that the light bulb went on for a male partner when asked, ‘Your daughter is graduating from college. Would you want her to work for a company that has lower expectations for women?’ Suddenly, he got it.”

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Voice of Experience: Christine Hurtsellers, Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income, ING Investment Management

christineBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“When I first started, I may have been too competitive,” said Christine Hurtsellers, CIO of Fixed Income and Proprietary Investments for ING Investment Management. She explained, “I had to be the smartest, best, hardest working person… Since then, I’ve learned a lot about working as part of a team. Growing up and evolving is the key to my personal success – as well as great people who’ve helped me out.”

Hurtsellers, a marathon runner and mother of five boys, was one of the individuals charged with turning around ING Investment Management‘s fixed income business 2 years ago. “I’m a pretty driven person,” she said.

Looking forward, she said, “Time flies. In ten years, I see myself continuing to push ahead with many possibilities open to me: running a company as CEO… or stepping back and working in a freelance capacity or on boards… or doing advocacy work for charities.”

“Basically, in charge of the world or giving back to humanity!” she said with a laugh.

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Head Over Heels: Web Radio for Professional Women

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bonnieBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

The web provides so many ways to bring women together, and help them get to the next step in their careers. And The Glass Hammer is always looking for ways to collaborate with and support other publications that have a mission similar to our own – to inform, empower, and inspire professional women to break glass ceilings every day.

But with the vast wealth of information on the internet – including websites, social networks, newsletters, and more – one new media segment is often overlooked: web radio.

Recently, our founder and CEO Nicki Gilmour had the opportunity to contribute to Head Over Heels Women’s Business Radio with Bonnie Marcus. Marcus, in turn, agreed to tell us why she thinks web radio is the next big thing.

Marcus explained, “The show started as an extension to my coaching practice. Two years ago, I was having lunch with one of my mentors, who said, ‘You have a unique message, how do you want to go on coaching? One-on-one, or do you want to have a more global influence?’”

She continued, “It really hit me – the radio show opportunity came along so I grabbed it – it’s an opportunity to reach a more global audience.”

“I first launched the site September 22, 2009 under the name Women Mean Business. In January, I changed it to Head over Heels Women’s Business Radio.”

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Employee Wellbeing, Stress, and Engagement

iStock_000007316048XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

This article originally appeared on our new site Evolved Employer, a website dedicated to good corporate citizenship, diversity, and employee engagement best practices.

Last month’s issue of Wired Magazine featured an article by Jonah Lehrer detailing the effects of certain kinds of workplace stress on the immune system. “Under Pressure” discussed the work of Dr. Robert Sapolsky, a professor of Biology and Neurology at Stanford University, as well as summarized several other studies from around the world – revealing an important link between stress, power, and wellbeing.

Add that to a new report by Gallup showing how wellbeing affects employee engagement (especially in this current economic environment), and the issue of stress becomes even more pertinent for employers. According to Sapolsky (and Lehrer), stress negatively impacts your immune system, making you more at risk of both the sniffles and long term chronic illnesses.

But it’s not just any stress. Sapolsky is specifically talking about the kind of stress that comes from feeling powerless in one’s job or social position. And with layoffs, paycuts, and unemployment we’re all facing right now, many employees are beginning to feel the push.

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Movers and Shakers: Niamh Bushnell, North America Senior Vice President, MoneyMate

Niamh Bushnell - MoneyMate SVPBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Advise and evangelize, that’s what interests me,” said Niamh Bushnell, North American Senior Vice President at MoneyMate, a provider of investment data management solutions to global asset managers. Bushnell, who’s worked throughout Europe and now in the US and was recently named one of the 50 Most Influential Irish-American Women in 2010 by the Irish Voice, has made a career of helping technology companies strategically position themselves and their products.

She continued, “I meet a lot of executives – I’m very often impressed by their focus, ambition, and understanding of their industry.”

But, she said, everyday things inspire her just as much as her work. “I’m inspired by unexpected good humor – a bright smile from the server at the deli or the newspaper guy I bump into – the people watching the morning chaos who have the time and the interest to connect with you.”

“When I have that experience I feel it’s a lucky day.”

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Is Now the Right Time to Go Back to School?

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Adult Education SeriesBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

Have you dreamed of going back to school? Hours in the library, long conversations with intelligent professors and nothing to worry about except the deadline for that next assignment. Studying as an adult isn’t much like that, unfortunately. However, if you are unemployed with time on your hands, or want some extra skills to boost your resume, this could be the ideal time to dust off your books and get back in the classroom.

What’s your existing skill set?

“Everyone who wants to excel in business needs to understand finance and accounting,” says Dr. Linda D. Henman, President of the Henman Performance Group. “If you’ve studied HR but don’t seem to be getting anywhere, now would be a good time to pick up those classes. If you’re a finance professional, advanced training and a masters can only help.”

There has never been a better time to study finance and economics, as Jennifer Small, a graduate of Stetson University in Central Florida, found out when she studied for her executive MBA. “The classroom curriculum was naturally adjusted to reflect the challenges of this period, in addressing the tactical, economic, and ethical aspects of the economic meltdown,” she says. “I feel these valuable discussions and explorations have given me the tools to anticipate future economic calamities. I feel I’ve been provided with the means of identifying challenges and problematic trends before they transpire through the thorough examination of examples of past mistakes that led up to this recession. I strongly believe this has made me more forward-thinking in comprehending the importance and relevance of developing contingency plans to survive the economy’s many ebbs and flows.”

Small feels that studying in the context of the recession has given her new skills and a broader focus. “One of my very first classes was Economics, where recent headlines were not only explained, but heavily delved into with the professor leading lengthy discussions carried out by classmates from all areas of U.S. industry. The concept of ‘too big to fail’ was examined and scrutinised, in regards to government bailouts of certain banks and institutions. These tough economic times have shown the spotlight on business areas such as executive compensation, financial risk factors, and conflicts of interest.”

Learning new skills also has the benefit of making you more valuable to employers. “As a professor of a number of MBA schools, further education makes many professionals more viable,” says Dr. Ted Sun, Professor of Organisational Leadership at SMC University, Switzerland. “When there’s a layoff, the least valued employees are let go. If you’re in school and bringing new knowledge and skills, you’re the last to get let go. Even in this recession, I’ve had students who get promotions based on what they’re capable of doing, well before the finished the degree. Especially for females, the glass ceiling is still present. Further education is a must to compete.”

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Examining Education and Economics – What ‘Opt Opt’ Revolution?

iStock_000005245756XSmallBy Hua Wang (Chicago)

Dubbed the ‘opt out revolution’ by the New York Times, the phrase refers to the mass exodus of highly educated professional women from the workforce when they become mothers. These women presumably made a conscious choice to forgo earnings for the luxury of raising their children themselves. Is the opt-out revolution a proven phenomenon, or is it just media hype?

Women Are Not Abandoning the Workplace: The Facts

According to 2007 Census Bureau data, only about 26 percent of mothers with a college degree stay home, while more than 40 percent of mothers lacking high school diplomas are at home. College-educated women are more successful in combining work and family than other groups in part because they tend to have the resources to pay for child care and other help.

Research has shown that thehappiest couples are upper-middle-class, two-career couples. They report three times the marital contentment of the next happiest group — working- and middle-class families who favor a traditional division of labor and have only one breadwinner.

Better educated women are more likely to be in the labor force than less educated women. Raising children while building a serious career is hard for women, and when presented with the choice, many women opt for the latter. Half of Germany’s female scientists, for example, reportedly do not have children.

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Voice of Experience: Alexandra Lebenthal, CEO, Lebenthal / Alexandra & James Co.

Image via JW Magazine

Image via JW Magazine

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

The best piece of advice I ever got,” said Alexandra Lebenthal, CEO of Alexandra & James, a financial firm specializing in tax-free municipal bonds and high net-worth wealth management, “was in reference to driving a boat. ‘Whatever happens, just relax. You’ll always be able to turn around and get out of it.’”

“Sometimes you glide on the water, sometimes you go against a current – as soon as you relax all kind of things can happen.” She joked, “It’s something I should do much more of in life.”

Lebenthal, so far, has navigated her life’s currents well – in addition to having built a successful company from the ground up, she recently published a new novel, The Recessionistas, a book about New York socialites following the 2008 crash.

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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-Up

Beth 005Contributed by Beth Collinge of CTG – a division of ILX Group plc.

More weak economic data out of the US increased fear of a slower recovery. China overtook Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy. US and UK bond yields sank to record lows.

Overview

  • Another round of weak economic data out of the US this week increased fears of a deeper slowdown. There were weak manufacturing reports in the New York and Philadelphia regions and initial jobless claims hit 500,000 again for the first time since November 2009.
  • At the start of the week it was also revealed that Japan’s economy had expanded by much less than expected in the second quarter of the year. It grew by just 0.1% – 0.4% on an annualised basis. Economists expect that China, whose Q2 GDP grew by 10.3%, will permanently overtake the Japan by the end of this year, to become the world’s second-largest economy. This was on top of news that the European Central Bank would delay its exit from loose monetary policy, and that the Federal Reserve might consider further quantitative easing. Yields on benchmark US, UK, German and Japanese sovereign debt all sank to record or multi-month lows: In the USA, the 10-year Treasury yield fell to a 16-month low, of 2.58%, while gold rose to $1,227 as nervous investors moved away from equities, industrial commodities and the euro. The euro fell to $1.2664, its lowest level since mid-July.

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Five Important Steps to Secure Your Financial Future

PariContributed by Pari Hashemi, Financial Advisor, Financial Planning Associate, The McFadden Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC

Are women conditioned from an early age to not focus as much on money as men? Think of the daily chores a brother and sister in a household might traditionally be expected to take on. As her daily chores the girl is asked to do the dishes, set the table, or clean the house. The boy is asked to take out the trash, mow the lawn, or perhaps rake the leaves.

This may seem ordinary, but there is a hidden meaning: the boy gets the chores that are traditionally paid!

This early division of labor suggests that women are not predisposed to money. And it may be why I have seen that even affluent women do not prepare as well as they should, financially. But there’s no need to be overwhelmed! Here are a few steps that can help make the process a bit easier.

Involve a Professional

When looking for the right advisor for you it is important to take a few things into consideration. Do you trust that person? Do you have a good relationship with them? Are they looking out for your best interest? It should be the advisor’s job, just like a doctor, to make sure you are diagnosed and treated properly. You work too hard to make your money for that to be taken for granted. Unlike your doctor though, this checkup should be free and not even have any co-pay!

Yes, your financial advisor will likely want to be paid in one way or another, but some advisors are moving away from charging commissions on every trade to fee-based platform. This way you sit on the same side of the table and they want your investments to grow just as much as you do, because they get a percentage.

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