by Jane Carruthers (London)

On Tuesday, May 12^th, the Deutsche Bank Women in European Business Conference 2009 was held at the Barbican in the City of London. 2,000 women had succeeded in getting onto the guest list for the conference; it was oversubscribed to a point where even the waiting list had a waiting list. The center was packed with smart, sassy, serious achiever females of every professional persuasion and a decent sprinkling of menfolk.

When Deutsche Bank puts on a show, it doesn’t hold back: as hundreds of women converged on the center for pre-conference refreshments the reception area was adorned with the artist Tess Barnes’s portraits of 50 prominent ‘Women of Substance’. These included such luminaries as Baroness Patricia Scotland, the UK’s Attorney General; June Sarpong, TV presenter and journalist and Dame Julie Mellor, Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and previously chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission.

A specially-bound book of the portraits and accompanying biographies was given to all attending, proceeds of which go to support The Haven Breast Cancer charity. So we’re lucky enough to hear interesting people, be given a fascinating freebie – AND a charity benefits. Ticks all my boxes. No wonder the event was nearly 200% oversubscribed.

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by Heather Cassell (San Francisco)

Innovation, collaboration, and the future of technology was the theme of this year’s Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology’s Women of Vision Awards.

The fourth annual awards event brought out 650 attendees April 30 to applaud innovative honorees Yuqing Gao, Jan Cuny, and Mitchell Baker and to focus on the future.

“You are all a precious resource to us,” Elizabeth Wilems, vice president of IT and chief information officer of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, told an estimated 136 young college women invited by sponsors to attend the event.“It should be encouraging to you that these opportunities are out there for you,” continues Wilems, telling the young women that there are programs to help them develop their careers and be successful. “Add your voice and watch your career take off.”

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by Elizabeth Harrin (London)

Last week, Gwen Rhys, founder of Women in the City, unveiled a new Lifetime Achievement Award at the launch event for the Annual Women in the City Lunch and Awards 2009.

The venue for the launch was the impressive London campus of The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, which was the first ever university to award a PhD in business to a woman, back in 1929. Tucked in amongst iconic city landmarks, the university is a hub of activity for graduate and executive education program.

As senior executive women from finance, law, consultancy, insurance and other fields stood in the welcoming lounge area, sipped bucks fizz and tucked into breakfast canapés, Gwen explained her ambitious plans for the Women in the City network over the next few years. Women in the City is a dynamic organization which aims to raise the profile of senior level professional business women working in London’s business hubs – the City, Canary Wharf and extending into the West End – and the impact they have in leading teams, developing talent, supporting the progress of women in the wider business world, and contributing to the economy. Originally launched in 2003 as a one-off lunch, Women in the City now offers a range of services and products to UK and international audiences and hosts an awards scheme which is endorsed by major UK professional bodies.

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by Jane Lucken (London)

350 women came together in the Plaisterers Hall in London last Friday to celebrate the achievement of senior professionals working in the City of London, Canary Wharf and Mayfair.

The eight award winners were recognized not only for excelling in their careers and organizations but also for actively mentoring and improving opportunities for women in their profession. You can see a full list of winners at the end of the article.

The most anticipated event was the announcement of Woman of Achievement 2008 – Amanda Blanc, Chief Executive of the UK broking division of Towergate, a leading UK insurance group. Since Amanda took over her role, gross earnings at Towergate have grown by 64% and she leads the activities of 3,000 people in 60 locations. She plays a very active role in ensuring that talented women in insurance get the promotion and recognition they deserve and as the only female board member has used her high profile to promote this message as strongly as possible.

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