Contributed by Vanessa Vallely, Founder of We Are The City
Back in 2008, I was a frustrated career orientated mum of 2. I realised that if I wanted to move on in my career I needed to seek other development opportunities outside of my Corporate environment. It only took me a year or so to work out that developing my career was not at the top of my bosses’ agenda and that my boat wasn’t going to come in, I had to swim out to it.
I had heard of women’s networking groups before, but, to be honest I had bought in to the stereotype that these were feminist gatherings where they burned bras and effigies of men. How wrong could one be?! And who would have thought that my frustration would not only lead me to create a solution to the problem, but through that process I would become such a huge advocate of women’s networks.
Despite my original preconception about their value, researching women’s networks in more detail felt like a sensible place to start. I reverted to the old fashioned Google search, and what appeared was nothing short of information overload. There were multiple groups offering all different kinds of support. Some were industry specific, some were senior Women only, others wanted hard cash for what I could see was little in return. My frustration was the amount of information I would have to wade through in order to make an informed decision about where I invested my time and what I would get in return.
What I actually wanted was a one stop shop that could provide me with a synopsis of all of the City Women’s networks, a centralized place where I could see what events were running in my area, a place where I could read articles written by experts that would contribute to my development or spark my creative juices and if possible (as we are women after all) provide me with a bit of City lifestyle guidance, e.g. where to entertain my clients, where to drink with my colleagues, where to shop in the concrete jungle and perhaps even where to get my nails done!
Despite searching, I quickly found no such website existed. So after a bit of convincing from my husband and friends that this was a good idea, coupled with the results of our market research, www.wearethecity.com was born.
Charting Your Path to the Boardroom
Industry Leaders, LeadershipLast Week, the Women’s Executive Circle of New York held an event entitled The Path to the Boardroom: What you need to do today to get there tomorrow. The event, hosted by Morgan Stanley, featured a talk with Bonnie Gwin, Vice Chairman and Managing Partner, Heidrick & Struggles.
Gwin, who focuses on Director and CEO level searches at the recruiting firm, serves as a national board chair of the Make a Wish Foundation.
She began her discussion with the following advice: “When you get into board practice, whether a for-profit board or a not-for-profit board, it’s got to be something you feel passionate about.”
Read more
The Davies Report: What Does It Mean for UK Women?
Industry Leaders, LeadershipThis is the first in a series of articles which looks at how UK business is approaching the issue of women on boards.
In February 2011, Lord Davies of Abersoch released his long-awaited report, Women on Boards, a review of female representation at senior levels in UK plc. It was handed to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and sets out recommendations on targets to improve the gender balance in business. It stopped short of recommending the introduction of mandatory quotas (as already seen in Norway and Spain) but suggests that FTSE 100 companies should aim to have at least 25% female board member representation by 2015 – an increase from the 12.5% reported in 2010.
Other recommendations include the requirement for FTSE 350 companies to set their own targets on female representation, that companies should advertise non-executive board positions in order to encourage greater diversity in applications and that headhunting firms should draw up a voluntary code to address gender diversity.
Read more
Mentor Moms: Five Pieces of Advice on Making Work/Life Work for You
Work-LifeIn a recent Forbes piece, Georgia Collins, managing director of North American business for strategic consulting agency DEGW, wrote about her decision to go back to work after her son was born. She wrote:
Seeking smart advice from the women who’ve been there before is a terrific way to manage the challenges you face – whether personal or professional (or in this case, both). Here are five pieces of advice from senior professional women on how they made work and family work for them. While every work/life situation is different, hopefully their advice will inspire your own solutions!
Read more
Voice of Experience: Stephanie Ruhle, Managing Director, Relationship Management, Deutsche Bank
Voices of Experience“It’s an interesting time to be a woman in this business – you have the opportunity to be a pioneer and affect change. Women might be on the verge of real change thanks to women supporting women. There is a sense of urgency to promote and empower,” said Stephanie Ruhle, Managing Director in Relationship Management at Deutsche Bank.
Ruhle thinks more women are entering the discussion for senior roles on Wall Street. She spoke enthusiastically about the opportunities afforded by the field, as well as the importance of senior female role models to empower the next generation of women.
Read more
Intrepid Woman: Helping Women Connect and Create Opportunities
Intrepid Women SeriesBack in 2008, I was a frustrated career orientated mum of 2. I realised that if I wanted to move on in my career I needed to seek other development opportunities outside of my Corporate environment. It only took me a year or so to work out that developing my career was not at the top of my bosses’ agenda and that my boat wasn’t going to come in, I had to swim out to it.
I had heard of women’s networking groups before, but, to be honest I had bought in to the stereotype that these were feminist gatherings where they burned bras and effigies of men. How wrong could one be?! And who would have thought that my frustration would not only lead me to create a solution to the problem, but through that process I would become such a huge advocate of women’s networks.
Despite my original preconception about their value, researching women’s networks in more detail felt like a sensible place to start. I reverted to the old fashioned Google search, and what appeared was nothing short of information overload. There were multiple groups offering all different kinds of support. Some were industry specific, some were senior Women only, others wanted hard cash for what I could see was little in return. My frustration was the amount of information I would have to wade through in order to make an informed decision about where I invested my time and what I would get in return.
What I actually wanted was a one stop shop that could provide me with a synopsis of all of the City Women’s networks, a centralized place where I could see what events were running in my area, a place where I could read articles written by experts that would contribute to my development or spark my creative juices and if possible (as we are women after all) provide me with a bit of City lifestyle guidance, e.g. where to entertain my clients, where to drink with my colleagues, where to shop in the concrete jungle and perhaps even where to get my nails done!
Despite searching, I quickly found no such website existed. So after a bit of convincing from my husband and friends that this was a good idea, coupled with the results of our market research, www.wearethecity.com was born.
Read more
A Brave New Regulatory Environment: The Glass Hammer’s Women on the Buy-Side Breakfast Panel
Industry Leaders, Leadership, Women on the Buy-SideModerated by Donna Parisi, Partner, Shearman & Sterling, the panel included Viva Hammer, Principal, KPMG Washington National Tax; Sarah Lee, Managing Director, Global Head of Fixed Income Derivatives Legal, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Cynthia Meyn, Executive Vice President Operations, Pimco; and Barbara Novick, Vice Chairman, BlackRock.
Parisi commented, “It’s a brave new regulatory environment, and it will take a lot more resources going forward.”
Read more
Dare to Ask – Learn the Right Tools to Negotiate Today
Expert AnswersThe ‘inconvenient’ truth is that to fully prosper as both a class and – perhaps more importantly – as individuals, women must get better at asserting themselves. Policy and statute are certainly critical to stop flagrant, documentable abuses. Context is important. But women themselves must, in a phrase, become considerably more comfortable about asking for what they want and be adept in getting it.
It was to that end – empowering individual women with skills that couldn’t be marginalized – that I set out to write Dare to Ask! A Woman’s Guidebook to Successful Negotiation. Good negotiating texts available, but few directly show women how to negotiate as women!
There are many reasons women often avoid negotiating – some are part cultural, some are part social, and some are part biological.
One more factor needs to be mentioned: women have typically not been mentored in negotiating. Most fathers don’t teach daughters how to ‘dare to ask’ for what they want. At work, men will often be exposed early in their careers to situations that call for negotiating; women generally will not be (although this is starting to change as more women penetrate the glass ceiling).
Examples of women suffering from their well-documented reluctance to negotiate are legion. We cite in Dare to Ask! a classic study of the starting salaries of graduates from prestige business schools: those of men were 6% higher than those of women (even more when bonuses are included, with initial differentials compounding over time) because, unlike their female counterparts, they didn’t accept the first deal offered. Even women lawyers, working in a field that focuses on negotiations, are underpaid; at the highest level of elite firms, female partners are paid on average $66,000 less than their male counterparts (this according to Professor Joan Williams of the University of California Hastings Law School).
Read more
5 Questions Professional Women Should Ask During a Job Interview
Next LevelEveryone with any interviewing experience knows that before an interview you must do some research. Look into the company or organization you are interviewing with. Learn their mission and their interests. Read about the position that is available. Study as much as you can about the bosses and supervisors. While most everyone knows to prepare for an interview, many still fail to prepare for one crucial part. At any interview an interviewer is going to ask if you have any questions. You should always have some prepared and educated questions to ask your employer. Looking for a job is a stressful time in any individual’s life.
But with the pressure to land the position and get the paycheck, many interviewees fail to remember that an interview is a two way process. You are interviewing your potential employer just as much as that potential employer is interviewing you. The following are five essential questions every interviewee should ask during an interview.
Read more
35 Under 35: Stephanie Niven, Portfolio Manager, Javelin Capital
35 Under 35Twenty-seven year old Stephanie Niven is aiming high. As sole Portfolio Manager of the Fundamental Strategy of the Global Equity Strategies Fund at specialist equity boutique Javelin Capital LLP, she has already been named both the Young Professional of the Year at the Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF) 2011 Awards and as one of Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35.
The list, published annually, showcases the UK’s highest achieving young women, acknowledging female talent in a variety of industries and disciplines. Nearly half of this year’s list includes women involved in the successful start-up of new corporations, with Stephanie’s inclusion reflecting her role as part of a three person team from Goldman Sachs who established Javelin Capital in 2009.
A self-described “geek”, albeit one who also competes in triathlons, Niven’s career indicates how it’s possible to find success in the City without the typical background of an economics or finance degree. She has a double first in History from Oxford University and describes history as her “passion, rather than a vocation – but the skills that I bring from an arts degree, such as assessment and the ability to constantly be learning, are very useful in a stimulating environment such as the City.”
Read more
Working Fathers Struggle to Balance It All: What That Means for Women
Work-LifeA recent report by A Better Balance: The Work and Family Legal Center, a national legal advocacy organization, revealed that nearly 85 percent of fathers feel pressure to be both a financial provider and an engaged parent, and three out of four fathers worry that their jobs do not allow them to be the kind of dads that want to be.
The report, entitled Beyond the Breadwinner: Professional Dads Speak Out on Work and Family, also found that more than half of the 250 working fathers surveyed identify work-family balance as a source of frequent stress. A larger study by The Boston College Center for Work & Family surveyed 1,000 white collar fathers from large corporations and came to similar findings: Dads are struggling to juggle their dual roles as caregiver and breadwinner.
Now we must ask ourselves: will companies be more receptive to offering flexible work options now that working fathers are struggling to balance it all? And if so, why did it take men feeling the pinch to get the attention of corporate America when women have been struggling with the same issue for years?
Read more