By Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)
Russian-born, Israeli-bred Natalie Kaminski has moxie. The chief executive and founder of FinCode Solutions came by herself to the United States at the tender age of eighteen, with only a high school diploma under her belt and a desire to build a career; in what, though, she wasn’t sure.
As a kid, Kaminski had her sights set on a variety of professions. “My preferences went from wanting to be a lawyer (because it was cool) to wanting to be a model to wanting to be a psychiatrist. I had no interest in either technology or finance. To be honest, I don’t know how I ended up in those. I didn’t even have a computer. I heard about the internet but didn’t even use it.”
Yet, she said, “when [the internship at a technology school in Minneapolis] came along, I just took it.”
After a few months the technology school hosted a job fair to introduce the interns to local businesses. “I came very prepared and handed out my resume to everyone. But, when two weeks later, I still hadn’t heard from anyone, I just picked up the phone and starting calling all of the people I’d met.” One of those conversations was with Steve Timmerman, the founder and CTO of SWAT Solutions. Kaminski recounted, “I said to him, ‘hire me for free, give me experience that I can put on my résumé so I can go on to find a paying job.’ And he said, ‘Just because you are being so bold, I’m going to hire you AND pay you.’”
35 Under 35: Natalie Kaminski, Chief Executive Officer of FinCode Solutions
35 Under 35Russian-born, Israeli-bred Natalie Kaminski has moxie. The chief executive and founder of FinCode Solutions came by herself to the United States at the tender age of eighteen, with only a high school diploma under her belt and a desire to build a career; in what, though, she wasn’t sure.
As a kid, Kaminski had her sights set on a variety of professions. “My preferences went from wanting to be a lawyer (because it was cool) to wanting to be a model to wanting to be a psychiatrist. I had no interest in either technology or finance. To be honest, I don’t know how I ended up in those. I didn’t even have a computer. I heard about the internet but didn’t even use it.”
Yet, she said, “when [the internship at a technology school in Minneapolis] came along, I just took it.”
After a few months the technology school hosted a job fair to introduce the interns to local businesses. “I came very prepared and handed out my resume to everyone. But, when two weeks later, I still hadn’t heard from anyone, I just picked up the phone and starting calling all of the people I’d met.” One of those conversations was with Steve Timmerman, the founder and CTO of SWAT Solutions. Kaminski recounted, “I said to him, ‘hire me for free, give me experience that I can put on my résumé so I can go on to find a paying job.’ And he said, ‘Just because you are being so bold, I’m going to hire you AND pay you.’”
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ExxonMobil Foundation and CEDPA Work to Advance Women’s Leadership Around the World
Women and PhilanthropyThe Exxon Mobil Foundation’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Initiative has partnered with The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) to support and advance women’s leadership around the world. The Global Women in Management program, a month-long workshop developed and facilitated by the CEDPA and sponsored by ExxonMobil, was most recently held in Cairo, Egypt and Douala, Cameroon in October and November.
Why would ExxonMobil make a long-term investment in educating women in developing countries? Lorie Jackson, Director of the Educating Women and Girls Initiative, says, “First, to meet a social need in our key communities and to demonstrate thoughtful and responsible corporate citizenship. Also, there is the fact that with the desired outcome – a more educated population where economic growth and prosperity are supported through good training and good institutions of individuals, including women – it makes for a better operational environment to do business in. It makes sense from both a social, as well as a business, perspective. Over time, by integrating women and girls into all areas of society and providing them with the opportunity to fulfill their potential, it gives companies like ExxonMobil, or any other company, access to best talent, regardless of gender.”
CEDPA has been educating women and girls worldwide for more than 35 years, but joined forces with the ExxonMobil Foundation in 2005. For Jackson, the choice was an easy one. “CEDPA is a very well-respected player in the field of women’s leadership training. The Global Women in Management program has been in existence and experiencing refinements for over 30 years.”
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Top Organizations Preparing Our Future Female Leaders
Mentors and SponsorsCreating workforce gender equality is a multifaceted project, including the work to help women at the top right now, as well as planting the seeds for success for future generations. That’s why many organizations are working to help girls and young women develop leadership skills that will carry them from the classroom to the boardroom, by:
Their efforts are helping add women to front end of the career pipeline, ensuring that there will be more women in the coming years to help crack the glass ceiling.
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Equalité for All – France Considers Boardroom Quotas
NewsWhen I worked for a global financial services firm in Paris, I constantly found myself explaining to my French colleagues that both my degrees were in literature but in the UK I was still employable. French business is the bastion of people (read: men from wealthy backgrounds) who have gone to the right Grandes Ecoles and studied the right business course. I was odd – I didn’t have a business qualification, but the business district of La Défense had still welcomed me. It was a small sign that the French approach to work is changing – and in December it got a big push in the right direction with the launch of new legislation that would see women take half the seats in boardrooms in five years.
Currently, women only make up 10.5% of boards in the CAC 40 – the French stock market index – and only 8% of board members in the top 500 companies are women.
It’s a long way from the European average, and campaigners for the new law have cited Scandinavia as a role model for how quotas should be managed. Norway started the northern European revolution, by insisting that boards were made up of at least 40% women back in 2003. Comply or close were the options given to business leaders, and while it was a controversial law and a difficult time, board membership is now 44.2% female. Sweden (with 22% female board members) and Finland (17%) have also made huge inroads in moving towards a better gender balance at the top of organisations.
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Ask-A-Career Coach: What Are The Market Prospects For 2010?
Ask A Career CoachI often get market-related questions: what are employment prospects; what are the hot industries; who is hiring. Keep in mind that employment statistics are not worth following for your career planning. Fears of 10% unemployment are misplaced. The statistic you care about is either 0% or 100%; it’s are you employed or not. The next question to ask is, “Are you in the job you want or not?” So regarding market prospects for 2010, the short answer is, “Why should you care?”
Focus on your individual career. Yes, all things being equal, I would pursue growing over shrinking industries. But all things aren’t equal. It is more important to know your values, skills and interests and align them with the correct industry, function and company, rather than picking employers and force-fitting yourself into them. Read more
Back after the Bump: Difficulties of Returning to Work after Pregnancy
Work-LifeAfter a year off, you would imagine that employers would be falling over themselves to welcome new mothers back to the workplace. Apparently not. One in three women report that going back to work after having a baby is difficult, according to a new study by the NCT, UK’s leading charity for parents.
There are vast amounts of legislation aimed at supporting the transition of new mothers to the office, and many companies have their own HR policies that often provide enhancements that go beyond the legal requirements. The research by the NCT, the UK’s leading charity for parents, shows that for many companies, this is all lip service, and many of the 400,000 women taking maternity leave in the UK each year don’t feel welcomed back to work when the time comes.
“Although the Government has introduced incentives to encourage mothers back to work, there is a lack of guidance or support for both women and their employers,” says Liz Morris, who completed the research as part of her Master’s degree at Aston Business School.
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Sovereign Wealth Funds Growing in Popularity
NewsThe global economy has taken a battering recently – but not everywhere has been equally affected. Ernst & Young’s ITEM Club, one of the UK’s best-known independent economic forecasting groups, is predicting that the emerging markets will grow about 1% this year. Admittedly, growth up until recently had been around 6%, but at least those economies are not contracting. This has put the spotlight on to sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), which have helped keep the economies buoyant.
SWFs are like other investment funds, but they are owned and managed by the state. Depending on where the funds are based they might get some special tax perks for being a state-owned venture. For some countries, this state-run fund is managed by the central bank and is hugely important to the economy; for others it is just a slush fund without much of a role to play in balancing the books.
As you might expect, it is countries with state-owned commodities that tend to have this type of investment vehicle. Seventy-eight per cent of SWFs are in the Middle East and Asia and the largest SWFs are in the UAE. Even so, SWFs are not as big or as mature as corporate and institutional investments – but they haven’t fallen so hard as hedge funds or private equity either.
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Voice of Experience: Julie Monaco, North America Regional Head of Global Transaction Services, Citi
Voices of ExperienceIn April 2007, about to embark on a business trip, Julie Monaco, then managing director at JP Morgan Chase, was contacted about a position in financial giant Citi’s Global Transaction Services division. That’s when fate intervened and a routine trip turned into anything but.
While waiting in an airport security line for her connecting flight through Tokyo, Monaco struck up a conversation with a fellow business traveler. It just so happened to be the CEO of Citi’s Global Transaction Services.
“I stuck out my hand and introduced myself,” said Monaco. He laughingly responded, “You are about to have the longest job interview you ever had.”
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On Your Bookshelf: The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide
ReviewsDon’t let the chick-lit cover fool you. The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide: Get What You Want in Work and Life (and Look Great While You’re at It) may look fluffy, but it is full of hard-nosed advice about how to strategize each step of your career. Author Debra Shigley is a Harvard-educated journalist and lawyer whose work has appeared in numerous publications and has been featured as a career/lifestyle expert on The View, CNN, and in The Wall Street Journal, along with other media outlets.
Although the book is primarily geared toward women just starting out, Shigley’s advice holds true for women at any stage in their career – especially women who want to be more polished, more professional, and move ahead. Go-Getter Girl (GGG) is code for Type A personality, and The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide (GGGG) is filled with stories of highly-educated, highly-motivated, and high-achieving women.
Amidst the peach text and call-out boxes, Shigley sets the tone early with a chapter titled, “The Work World Can Be a Cold Hard Place – You Must Learn to Deal with It.” It’s true. Women do encounter issues at work that men do not. The GGGG discusses what to do if you have the occasion to cry at work and why it’s so important to maintain a sunny disposition no matter what (“fake it until you make it”). Other advice is common sense, but bears repeating, like not venting at work, avoiding gossip, and treating your coworkers with respect.
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2010 Gender Equality is Here, and Other Media Myths that Keep Unconscious Bias Alive
Expert Answers, FeaturedWelcome to my new weekly column on the latest news, surveys and trends on professional women in the workplace (I’ll sometimes write and sometimes podcast). I aim to keep you updated and to provide deeper insight into positive changes both employers, and women who are breaking the glass ceiling everyday, can make to improve working life. Feel free to comment and continue this discussion on the social network which can be found on our community page.
The Economist kicked off the year with Rosie the Riveter on the cover, proclaiming “We did it.” What exactly did we do?
Well, we became 50% of the workforce, generally, across all industries. We can interpret that in two ways, either as a positive advancement for women as they are able to have economic freedom by earning their own wage or that that women have to work to support themselves and their families; it does not necessary mean that we are actually getting somewhere as leaders and managers in equal numbers to men.
I have to be honest. I had to check that I wasn’t reading an old copy of the Economist from January 1980 when I read the words, “The revolution has been achieved with only a modicum of friction. Men have, by and large welcomed women’s invasion of the workplace.” Invasion of the workplace? Last time I checked, going to work to try and strategically improve your processes, and therefore the company as a whole, by delivering results in whichever area you work isn’t like invading Poland.
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