by Liz O’Donnell (Boston)
Jewelle Bickford has an unusual resume for an investment banker. After marrying and having children in her twenties, she was a self-proclaimed housewife doing lots of volunteering. Eventually she went to work for then mayor of New York, Ed Koch. She thrived in her position and eventually transitioned to the private sector taking a position with Citibank. It was at Citibank that she got involved in the investment banking world, something she was well-suited to do. Eventually, she started her own company and sold it to the Rothschild Family. Today Bickford is one of the 21 worldwide Rothschild Group investment banking Senior Advisors. But not for long. As of April 1, she is retiring from investment banking to work with a family office business advising clients on investing. And from this brief overview, you can learn two important things about Bickford: One: she doesn’t sit still. Two: she knows how to weave her personal and business interests together.
Bickford is busy and she is committed. In addition to her demanding career, she serves on the Board of Directors of the SEC-registered Torrey Funds and the Board of Women for Women International. She is President of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and is a Trustee of Randolph Macon Women’s College and serves on the Business Committee of the Metropolitan Museum. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Founder of the Task Force on the Council’s initiative on the role of women in economic and political development in the Middle East and South East Asia. She is also a member The Committee of 200, Women’s Forum and the Advisory Council of Afghan Women Leaders CONNECT, a Special Program of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
To sustain her schedule, Bickford works out with a personal trainer three times a week and jogs every day except Sunday. “It’s very important to find balance,” she says. Bickford has found her balance by adjusting the level of her participation in her pet organizations over the years. The not-for-profit world frequently refers to volunteers as doers, donors and door openers. “I’ve been all three,” she says. “Sometimes more and sometimes less.”
When it comes to her work with Women for Women International, Bickford gives more. She met Zainab Salbi, founder and CEO, of Women for Women International, during an event for the Council on Foreign Relations. Women for Women International provides tools and resources to women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts in countries including Iran, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Nigeria and Sudan.
The organization has helped more than 153,000 women survivors of war through direct aid, civil rights education, job skills training, and small business development. Women for Women has distributed $42 million in direct aid, microcredit loans, and other program services “Zainab invited me to lunch,” says Bickford. “I thought she was going to ask me to donate but she asked me to join her board.” The board meeting was scheduled immediately following their initial meeting. However, it was going to take place in Rwanda and Bickford couldn’t commit.
Eventually she did join the board and traveled with the organization to Rwanda in 2007.
“It was the most wonderful trip I have ever made,” she says. “It was a pleasure to meet women who survived genocide and were adopting orphans. It was beyond my wildest dreams.” Bickford, says what she has learned from working with these women is that the human spirit is indomitable. “Perhaps you have to tap into it and nurture it,” she says.” But it’s got to be in our DNA.”
Bickford is hopeful about the immediate future. “This is the beginning of a global movement where women in the developed world will adopt and help women in the developing world move ahead.”
Tips for landing that Board room Post: An insider’s view
NewsWECNY
This breakfast event will be hosted by WECNY with keynote speakers from the global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles and Vice Chairman of their CEO and Board Practice, Ted Jadick. Joining Ted will be two dynamic board members of Fortune 500 companies, Nancy Newcomb and Yvonne Jackson.
Please Click here to register
We hope you’ll be able to join us and look forwardto seeing you there.If you have any questions about registration please email: info@wecny.com
Career Teleseminar: SixFigureStart Career Check-up
NewsIs Your Job Search Where You Want It To Be?
Take the 60-question SixFigureStart Career Assessment and see exactly what you are doing well and what you need to do better;
Learn the six job search steps that really matter in the hiring process, developed by former Fortune 500 recruiters who have hired thousands of candidates just like you; Hear strategies and tips that you can use specifically in this challenging market.
This workshop will be led
by Connie Thanasoulis and Caroline Ceniza-Levine, co-founders of SixFigureStart and former recruiter for Accenture, Booz
Allen & Hamilton, Citigroup, Disney ABC, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, Time Inc
and others.
Workshop is presented via
teleconference line. You call in from the comfort of your own home/ office. The assessment will be emailed prior so you can complete in advance. The call will be a combination of lecture on specific topics, interactive discussion and small group coaching and Q&A.
Space is limited. Advance registration is required.
Email caroline@sixfigurestart.com or call 212-372-0277 with questions or to register.
The Value of Work Life Balance: The CFO Perspective
Work-LifeEven though many of today’s Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) recognize that work life flexibility can positively impact their company, few of them report working in organizations that offer formal programs to take advantage of the benefits.
According to the 2008 CFO Perspectives on Work Life Flexibility, 90 percent of CFOs say work life flexibility is a talent management strategy, and 88 percent say it has a high or moderate impact on improving retention and recruitment, respectively. The CFO Perspectives study was co-sponsored by professional services firm BDO Seidman, LLP, and Work+Life Fit, Inc., a national work life flexibility consulting firm. One hundred CFOs from companies across the country with 5,000 or more employees were surveyed. The survey defined work life flexibility as “having adequate time for what is important to you both personally and professionally, as well as flexibility in how you allocate that time.”
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Execs Drinking to Excess
NewsYou wouldn’t say no to a pay rise, would you? Well, be warned. Once your salary rises above £52,000 (about US$75,000) your alcohol consumption is likely to go up too, according to figures from the UK government released in January.
Women earning more than £52,000 a year drink more heavily than women who earn less. It’s not only the frequency of consuming alcohol – high-earning women also drink more units than lower earners. A lot of this is wine: half the weekly maximum recommended units of alcohol drunk by managerial and professional women comes from sloshing back the Chardonnay, Bordeaux or Zinfandel. And we’re not very sociable when we do it: women in managerial roles drink more wine than other women, but we are also more likely to drink at home.
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Voice of Experience: Tay C. Via, Partner, Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP
Voices of ExperienceTay C. Via, partner at Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP in San Francisco, entered the legal profession in part due to advice from one of her professors at the University of California, Berkeley, where she received her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Economics in 1987. Peter T. Jones, a lawyer who specialized in international trade, encouraged her to pursue graduate education “in anything,” regardless of whether she was clear on her ultimate career path. Professor Jones was not the first mentor to emphasize the importance of higher education to Via. Her grandfather, a blue collar worker, also believed that higher education was vital to success. He taught her to not be “in awe of anyone,” since anyone can succeed with education and hard work.
Via followed the advice of these two mentors, gaining not only a higher education, but an impressive work ethic. After receiving her law degree from University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1991, Via got her start at Morrison & Foerster, where she gained expertise in real estate development and land use law while working on the San Francisco International Airport Expansion Project. Over time, Via aimed to focus on large public/private projects in and around San Francisco, which led her to Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP in 1994.
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In Case You Missed It: News Round-Up
NewsIn case you were too busy to have kept up with all the news, contributor Martin Mitchell has gathered some important market events from last week to help you start this week well informed:
Mergers and Acquisitions
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Parent’s Guide To Internship and Entry-Level Recruiting
NewsFree SixFigureStart Teleseminar
Learn surprising trends in the recruiting of students for internships and entry-level jobs. Find out what your child needs to know about the job search process and what parents can do to help.
SixFigureStart co-founders Connie Thanasoulis and Caroline Ceniza-Levine have a combined 40 years of HR and business experience. Connie led campus recruiting and new hire training for Citigroup, Pfizer and Merrill Lynch. Caroline led campus recruiting and new hire programming for Time Inc. and has also recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen, Oliver Wyman, Disney ABC, TV Guide, and others. Caroline and Connie write career columns for CNBC.com, Conde Nast’s Portfolio.com, Vault.com, TheGlassHammer.com and Wetfeet.com and are adjunct assistant professors of Professional Development at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.
*The teleseminar is free but callers are responsible for any long-distance charges incurred to access the conference line. Conference call spots are limited. To receive dial-in instructions for the event, please RSVP to caroline@sixfigurestart.com.
Shaking Hands With Strangers
Office PoliticsAn introduction to a previously unknown person, whether in a business or social setting, generally starts the same way: names are exchanged, eyes meet, and a handshake seals the deal. Pretty standard, right? But, every now and again, especially in a business setting, you could find yourself in an awkward moment of silence, not wanting to offend and in a quandary as to the proper order in which to proceed with introductions.
Until relatively recent times, protocol dictated that a man be introduced first. The practice was carried over from medieval times, when the highest-ranking person in the room was always the person to whom someone was introduced. (“Your Highness, may I introduce His Grace, the Earl of Green,” for example.) With those times behind, the question still remains: who should be introduced to whom first? The most senior person, the man you work with, or the woman standing next to you? And, is it politically incorrect to introduce someone to a male coworker before introducing that person to a female coworker?
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Jewelle Bickford:Women Helping Women
Women and PhilanthropyJewelle Bickford has an unusual resume for an investment banker. After marrying and having children in her twenties, she was a self-proclaimed housewife doing lots of volunteering. Eventually she went to work for then mayor of New York, Ed Koch. She thrived in her position and eventually transitioned to the private sector taking a position with Citibank. It was at Citibank that she got involved in the investment banking world, something she was well-suited to do. Eventually, she started her own company and sold it to the Rothschild Family. Today Bickford is one of the 21 worldwide Rothschild Group investment banking Senior Advisors. But not for long. As of April 1, she is retiring from investment banking to work with a family office business advising clients on investing. And from this brief overview, you can learn two important things about Bickford: One: she doesn’t sit still. Two: she knows how to weave her personal and business interests together.
Bickford is busy and she is committed. In addition to her demanding career, she serves on the Board of Directors of the SEC-registered Torrey Funds and the Board of Women for Women International. She is President of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and is a Trustee of Randolph Macon Women’s College and serves on the Business Committee of the Metropolitan Museum. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Founder of the Task Force on the Council’s initiative on the role of women in economic and political development in the Middle East and South East Asia. She is also a member The Committee of 200, Women’s Forum and the Advisory Council of Afghan Women Leaders CONNECT, a Special Program of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
To sustain her schedule, Bickford works out with a personal trainer three times a week and jogs every day except Sunday. “It’s very important to find balance,” she says. Bickford has found her balance by adjusting the level of her participation in her pet organizations over the years. The not-for-profit world frequently refers to volunteers as doers, donors and door openers. “I’ve been all three,” she says. “Sometimes more and sometimes less.”
When it comes to her work with Women for Women International, Bickford gives more. She met Zainab Salbi, founder and CEO, of Women for Women International, during an event for the Council on Foreign Relations. Women for Women International provides tools and resources to women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts in countries including Iran, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Nigeria and Sudan.
The organization has helped more than 153,000 women survivors of war through direct aid, civil rights education, job skills training, and small business development. Women for Women has distributed $42 million in direct aid, microcredit loans, and other program services “Zainab invited me to lunch,” says Bickford. “I thought she was going to ask me to donate but she asked me to join her board.” The board meeting was scheduled immediately following their initial meeting. However, it was going to take place in Rwanda and Bickford couldn’t commit.
Eventually she did join the board and traveled with the organization to Rwanda in 2007.
Bickford is hopeful about the immediate future. “This is the beginning of a global movement where women in the developed world will adopt and help women in the developing world move ahead.”
The Wage Gap Puzzle in the Legal Profession: Why Women Lawyers Still Earn Less Than Men & What Can Be Done About It
Money TalksWhen President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on January 29, 2009, critics declared the new law a pain for employers and a boon for trial lawyers. Now that it is easier for plaintiffs to file wage claims when they earn less than their counterparts, the naysayers exclaim, trial lawyers will take advantage of the new law by filing frivolous claims. Ironically, lawyers may not be merely the busy enforcers of this new law. What if they are the plaintiffs? The wage gap, after all, remains a curious reality in the legal profession.
The reality is striking at all levels of the legal profession, but especially at the equity partner level. After a 2008 survey, the National Association of Women Lawyers found that on average, women earn $7,000 less in annual pay than men at the associate level, $14,000 less if they are of-counsel, $23,000 less at the non-equity partner level, and $87,000 less if they are equity partners. In essence, women lawyers find themselves with an even shorter end of the stick as they advance further in their careers.
Paying attention to the wage gaps for lawyers is useful because of the unique nature of the profession. First, the legal profession has experienced increased female participation for the last 30 years. Before 1970, few women entered the profession. Today, women make up more than 40% of law school enrollment and represent about a quarter of the legal profession. In addition, employers are well aware that the advanced training women receive in law school is in no way different from that received by men. Due to such transparency, gender discrimination should be minimal – at least theoretically.
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