Inspiration at the Annual Women in the City Awards 2009

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wic-27nov09-532By Jane Lucken (London)

The fall-out of the financial events in 2009 has moved the argument for diversity beyond the HR department and firmly into the boardroom. So the 350 women who attended this year’s Third Annual Women in the City Awards lunch in London on Friday had plenty to debate, from diversity’s role in the reduction of risk to how companies can retain and develop female talent.

The opulent surroundings of the Plaisterers Hall provided a contrasting but welcome backdrop to shared experiences of pay cuts, zero bonuses and canceled Christmas parties. But the overall mood was of celebration and recognition of tangible examples of how individuals can make a difference in professional organisations.

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Avenues to Advancement: Ms. JD’s 3rd Annual Women in Law Conference

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By Jessica Titlebaum (Chicago)iStock_000000689853XSmall

“Roll up your sleeves!”

This is the advice Karen Lockwood, of the Lockwood Group, told the audience at Northwestern University at Ms. JD’s 3rd Annual Women in Law Conference on Friday, November 20th. “Exposing your wrist bone,” she explained, “exudes confidence and makes you look taller.“

The advice was symbolic as the day unfolded. The women ‘rolled up their sleeves’ and participated in intense workshops and break-out sessions. It was the second time Linda Bray Chanow from the Center for Women in Law at University of Texas Law School organized this conference focused on communication, networking and self-promotion.

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The Shape of Things to Come: The FWA’s Economic Forum Inaugural Event

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)iStock_000008946310XSmall

“Most of the conferences I attend are 90 to 95 percent men,” said panelist Beth Ann Bovino, Senior Economist at Standard & Poor’s, to the audience of over a hundred women (and a few men) at the Financial Women’s Association Economic Forum, held on November 16th in New York City. Gina Martin Adams, Equity Strategist at Wells Fargo Securities; Dr. Sherry Cooper, Executive Vice President and Global Economic Strategist at BMO Capital Markets; and Ellen Beeson Zentner, Senior U.S. Macro Economist, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. joined Bovino in sharing their thoughts on the shape of things to come in the recovery from the recent economic melt down.

Vanna Krantz, Chief Financial Officer for the Media Division of Thomson Reuters and moderator for the event, opened the evening with a rundown of this year’s major financial events: the financial collapse, AIG bailout, the government’s acquisition of a majority share in Citi, Bernie Madoff and other recent scandals, the stock market decline, loss of $12 trillion in capital – and her list went on. But Krantz emphasized that, rather than focus on the negative, she wanted to discuss the opportunities arising out of downturn.

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The Boston Club Event: Women Executives in New England’s Fortune 500 Companies

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By Liz O’Donnell (Boston)iStock_000002255927XSmall

Almost a full year has passed since we reported on the number of women executives and directors in Massachusetts’ 100 largest public companies and sadly, not much has changed. The Boston Club, an organization that provides networking and professional support for women in business, just issued its 2009 annual census of women directors and executive officers of Massachusetts public companies. The report is aptly titled, “Building for the Future or Stuck in the Past?” and can be downloaded here.

Women in the Commonwealth still represent just a small percent of directors (11.3%) and executive officers (8.6%). Those numbers show almost no growth in women directors and a loss in the number of women executives. In 2008, the census reported that 9.2 percent of the C-suite at the top public companies was filled by women. In fact, the number of women executives is the lowest it has been since The Boston Club began tracking the data in 2003. And although we reported last year that the percentage of companies with a woman among their most highly compensated officers also fell to its lowest point (24%), it dropped another percentage point this year to 23 percent. Also trending downward is the number of companies with no women at all among the executive officers. Of the 100 companies surveyed, 56 percent have all male executive teams. For women of color the data is even worse. Of the 697 executives across all 100 companies, just two are women of color. And only 1.2 percent, or 10 directorships, are held by women of color.

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Considering More and/or Better Regulation at SIFMA’s Annual Meeting

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)iStock_000000724728XSmall

On Tuesday, October 27, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) held its annual meeting in New York. While speakers covered a range of topics, foremost on the conference agenda was the coming changes in regulation, their potential effects, and whether more and/or better regulation is the right direction for the industry.

“We are by no means out of the woods, and even if we were, it would be irresponsible to forget” past events and the practices that have led to the current economic situation said keynote speaker Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro. Schapiro opened the conference with a strong call for new regulation, and explained its necessity.

The right questions had not been asked in the past, Schapiro said, and the SEC intended to change that. In fact, the SEC now receives hundreds of thousands of tips each year, and the agency is working to develop a new tracking system to better identify promising leads.

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Risk, Rhyme and Success: A Conversation with Sallie Krawcheck

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By Natalie Sabia (New York City)Wall Street

As part of the 2009 Henry Kaufman Financial History & Practices Lecture/Symposia Series, the Museum of American Finance recently held “A Conversation with Sallie Krawcheck.” In front of an audience, Fortune senior editor-at-large, Carol Loomis, caught up with Ms. Krawcheck to discuss the current economy and her new position with Bank of America as Head of Global Wealth and Investment Management.

“We thought that Sallie would be an exciting addition to our Lecture Series,” said Jeanne Baker Driscoll, Director of Development at the Museum of American Finance. “She is a big part of our Women of Wall Street Exhibit, so this was a very timely discussion.”

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6 Perspectives on Women in the Boardroom, Plus 3 Tips for an Effective Board: FTSE 100 Breakfast Panel

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By Jane Lucken (London)iddas-6462[1]

Company boards of directors are under intense scrutiny. Non-executive as well as executive directors hold the weight of company performance on their shoulders. Might more women in senior positions have reduced the impact or even steered us away from the banking crisis? Politicians, as well as media commentators, are weighing in on this debate.

A start to answering the question is to understand the different behaviours that women bring to board level decision-making. Boardroom consultancy IDDAS set out to explore these subtleties through in-depth interviews with 24 women who sit on the boards of FTSE 100 companies and uncovered some interesting insights. They released the results during an executive breakfast at The Ritz in London on October 30th. The quotes below are from interviewees for the study.

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Assessing and Managing Operational and Investment Risk: glasshammer2.wpengine.com Seminar for Senior Women on the Buy-Side

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Women-working-on-a-computerTheglasshammer.com hosted the first in the series of invitation-only networking seminars for senior women on the Buy-Side at the Harvard Club in New York City on September 29th. Our intent: to create a peer-to-peer environment for CEOs, Principals and Managing Directors of traditional and alternative funds to enable them to interact with Chief Operating Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Heads of Risk Management, and Heads of Operations and discuss the how the industry has changed over the past two years. The result: 100 female leaders in investment management gathered to network and to hear Cynthia Steer, Chief Strategist of Rogerscasey, Marianne Brown, CEO of Omgeo, Liz Philipp, head of the NY office for PIMCO and Annie Morris, Head of Linedata’s North American Business weigh in on the predicted trends for the industry.

The panel represented a 360-degree view of industry issues from front office to back office and how the “New Normal” means that operational risk is now a primary concern for business leaders who want to continue to compete in 2010 and beyond. Inspired by thought provoking questions posed by moderator Holly Miller of Stone House Consulting, the panelists first addressed the issue of operational due diligence, emphasizing the importance of having a corporate culture which supports a consistent due diligence effort.

“There has been a revolution over the last two years,” said Steer, “[People are recognizing that] you need to read your prospectuses; you need to ‘do’ back office.”

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Field Trip: The History of Women on Wall Street Exhibit

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By Natalie Sabia (New York City)
Wall St
We’ve come a long way, baby. And we have a handful of highly-capable, courageous women to thank for it, according to the fascinating “Women on Wall Street” exhibit at the Museum of American Finance in New York City.

A Smithsonian affiliate, the Museum of American Finance is the nation’s only public museum of finance. Founded in 1988 after the 1987 stock market crash, the institution’s mission is to support financial literacy and to help people understand the history, as well as the current information about the financial markets. “We were trying to speak to different levels of interest,” said Leena Akhtar, Director of Exhibits & Archives.

The idea for the “Women of Wall Street” exhibit developed after the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was passed in the early part of this year. “I’ve had this idea in back of my mind, and then, when the legislation was passed, it got the wheels turning,” said Akhtar. The interactive exhibit, which opened this summer, is important because, as the museum website notes: “The story of women on Wall Street is the story of women in America. Issues of self-determination, freedom and financial independence clashed with societal norms in the traditionally male domain of finance.” Said Akhtar, “It’s a story of independence and strength through the progression of women over different time periods. The idea behind the exhibit was to tell history that is not often told.”

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Conference Focuses Spotlight on Challenges & Successes for Multicultural Women in Corporate America

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By Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

In New York City last week, Working Mother Media hosted its annual Multicultural Women’s National Conference and Gala Awards Luncheon to honor 20 companies, including PwC, Goldman Sachs, KPMG, Citi, and American Express, as being the best companies for multicultural women.  The event, which took place over two jam-packed days, featured powerful speakers, including the inspiring Irshad Manji, NYU professor and director of the Moral Courage Project, as well as multiple workshop sessions designed to assist attendees in their continued development into resilient and innovative leaders.

One of the more popular sessions, however, was the lunch session entitled “What about the White Guys?” at which the mostly multicultural, 99% female audience got to be “flies on the wall” and “eavesdrop” on a conversation among several male executives.  Moderator Fenimore Fisher, the vice president of diversity initiatives at Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club, lead the discussion, posing probing questions to the white male panelists about their paths to embracing diversity, the importance of diversity in today’s workplace and the challenges multicultural women may still face in Corporate America.

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