by Kathryn Nilsson Reichert (New York City)
Founded in 2003, Women Advancing Microfinance International (WAM) is an international organization based in Washington, D.C. and with branches around the world whose mission is to “advance and support women working in microfinance through education, training, and by promoting leadership opportunities.” They also seek to promote the providing of financial services to the poor and economic opportunities to women worldwide.
A recent WAM event in New York City – “Promoting Women’s Leadership in Microfinance: Lessons from the US Financial Sector” – focused on leadership roles in microfinance and how lessons learned by women working in U.S. financial services firms translate to the microfinance field.
Two distinguished women speakers sparked a lively discussion by describing their experiences as leaders and the steps that financial services organizations take to identify and promote women leaders. The speakers were Linda Descano, CFA®, President and COO of Women & Co. at Citi and Rebecca Patterson, Managing Director, FX and commodities at JP Morgan Chase.
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Ask-A-Recruiter: Keep Your Lunch Dates
Ask A RecruiterGiven the bad market, I feel like I should be taking shorter lunches and less personal time. Do employers even notice that type of sacrifice?
If employers notice, are these the ones you want?
Seriously though, I once made a lunch date with a colleague who like myself is a busy working mom. About five minutes before our appointed meeting time, she was hovering outside my office trying to get my attention. Extreme punctuality? Actually, she was canceling at the last-minute. She had an all-morning meeting and came back to a stack of emails, so surely she couldn’t lunch.
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Top 50 Women to Watch
Movers and Shakersby Ellen Armstrong (New York City)
These days, we look for the bright spots in finance and the economy anywhere we can find them. Fortunately, in the case of the Wall Street Journal’s 50 Women to Watch, there are plenty of bright stars on whom we can focus our attention.
First on the list is Sheila Bair, the Chairwoman of the FDIC, who has been in the headlines of late, between her cogent testimony on Capitol Hill on the roots of the financial crisis and her key role in negotiations of various federal bailout packages. She has been an outspoken advocate of protecting homeowners facing foreclosure, as well as protecting America’s bank accounts in the wake of one bank failure after another.
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Staying Power
Office PoliticsThere are plenty of stories and statistics about the women who leave high-powered careers, but The Glass Hammer decided to look at the other side of the picture—who’s staying in the game, how do they do it and why? We talked to four women to find out what keeps them growing, motivated, happy and unstuck in their careers. All are mothers. One tried life as a stay-at-home mom but came back. All have high positions at major corporations. They’re located in New York, Chicago and Washington, DC.
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Voice of Experience: Laura Palomino de Forbes, Director and Head of Business Development, DIAM International
Voices of ExperienceIt is difficult not to fall quickly into clichés such as ‘superwoman’ when describing Laura Palomino de Forbes. In her mid-thirties, married and a mother to a 15-month old daughter, Palomino de Forbes heads up DIAM International’s business development and client services efforts in the EMEA Region from her London office. She has, through hard work and dedication, put DIAM on the map in Europe and Middle East by acquiring new assets of over $3bn in the past four years. Read more
In Case You Missed It: Weekend Round-up
NewsIn case you were too busy enjoying your weekend to have kept up with the news, contributor Martin Mitchell has been kind enough to gather some important market events from this past weekend (and week) so that you can start this week well informed:
Saturday, November 22nd
Financial Institutions
Credit
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Women’s Leadership Exchange East Coast Summit
Pipeline, What's Onby Zoe Cruz (New York City)
“One would think that in this time of stresses, the little things wouldn’t bother us too much. But they do.” So said by Mimi Donaldson, empowerment expert and co-author of Bless Your Stress, as she began her workshop entitled “Tactics to Triumph In Tough Times”. The workshop was one of the many available during the Women’s Leadership Exchange East Coast Summit held on November 12th in New York City.
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Sustainability – The Best Defense Against Recession
Corporate SustainabilityIn these uncertain economic times, companies often gravitate towards budget cuts, scaling back sustainability or “green” programs on the mistaken belief that such programs take away from the bottom-line. In reality, this thinking is the exact opposite of what business leaders need to do. Sustainability may actually be the best defense against market volatility during these difficult times.
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W(H)AM! Microfinance and the Leadership Challenge
Women and PhilanthropyFounded in 2003, Women Advancing Microfinance International (WAM) is an international organization based in Washington, D.C. and with branches around the world whose mission is to “advance and support women working in microfinance through education, training, and by promoting leadership opportunities.” They also seek to promote the providing of financial services to the poor and economic opportunities to women worldwide.
A recent WAM event in New York City – “Promoting Women’s Leadership in Microfinance: Lessons from the US Financial Sector” – focused on leadership roles in microfinance and how lessons learned by women working in U.S. financial services firms translate to the microfinance field.
Two distinguished women speakers sparked a lively discussion by describing their experiences as leaders and the steps that financial services organizations take to identify and promote women leaders. The speakers were Linda Descano, CFA®, President and COO of Women & Co. at Citi and Rebecca Patterson, Managing Director, FX and commodities at JP Morgan Chase.
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Chicago’s Futures and Options Expo 2008
NewsThe Futures Industry Association organized their annual Futures and Options Expo in Chicago on November 10th – 12th, bringing together the most influential people from the derivatives industry, from senior staff at brokerage firms and exchanges to pension fund managers, CTAs, CPOs, and individual investors. According to the FIA website, over 4000 people from more than 30 countries attended.
The two-day event kicked off on that Monday evening at an opening reception held in the preserved and reconstructed Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room, located at the Art Institute. Over the following days, participants attended a variety of sessions to discuss industry trends, hear expert views on key issues, improve trading skills and learn about new products, systems and practices.
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Managing Email Overload
Expert AnswersA strategic planning executive starts her day by opening her inbox and sorting all of her emails alphabetically. She answers messages from her boss first, followed by emails from the company’s management team and then she responds to everyone else in the organization. The whole process usually takes the first two hours of her day.
A former vice president in a technology firm, used to spend her day running from one client meeting to the next. “I was never at my desk,” she says, “but I felt compelled to answer every email I received within twenty-four hours.” She spent most of her evenings answering emails until 10 or 11 at night.
These two women could save time and increase their productivity if they knew a little secret about email: You don’t have to clean out your inbox.
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