Few Women Rising to the Top in the Land of the Rising Sun

japan.JPGby Caroline Shannon (Akron, Ohio)

 

Sakie Fukushima had to work her way to the top just like any mover and shaker in the business world. Her multiple degrees, including a Masters from Harvard Graduate School of Education and an MBA from Stanford University, led her to several significant positions, including her role as a consultant at Bain & Company, a major strategic management consulting firm, and her current position as the Office Managing Director of Korn/Ferry International in Tokyo.

 

But Fukushima also had an additional hurdle – she had to overcome the stigma that is often attached to women in the Japanese business world.

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Real Return USA? The Inflation Linked Products Conference

Real Return USA: The Euromoney Inflation Linked Products Conference is the only independent and editorially driven event about these financial instruments. Last year, Real Return USA brought together over 200 investors, issuers and market makers to discuss the future of inflation linked products, and this year will be even better.

Topics that will be debated include:

* The outlook for Inflation? How real are inflationary pressures? Where are they coming from? Do central banks have the right tools to combat inflation?
* The TIPS Market? Has the Treasury got this right? What drives investors? Breakeven modeling.
* Investing in inflation? Discovering and measuring inflation in your portfolio. Choosing the right index. Inflation derivatives. Relative value
To apply for an invitation to this event, or for more information

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SIBOS 2008

Our industry has faced considerable turmoil since Sibos in Boston. This year in Vienna, we will reflect on the implications and consider the opportunities of this fast-changing landscape.

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Voices of Experience: Shelley Hendrickson, Senior Vice President and Division Manager, Wells Fargo California Business Banking

shelley_hendrickson_pc_spencer_brown1.JPGby Heather Cassell (San Francisco)

Thirty years ago, peering into her uncertain future as a Spanish major at Colorado State University, Shelly Hendrickson, senior vice president and division manager for Wells Fargo California Business Banking, made a strategic move that put her in the driver’s seat of her own career and changed the course of her life. Upon someone’s suggestion that the Spanish knowledge could work well in business, she enrolled in a business course. Hendrickson says she “fell in love” and ended up double majoring in Spanish and finance.

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Casino Royale at The Gherkin (Swiss Re Centre)

Join us for a sumptuous buffet and drinks as we play Casino Royale in the fabulous Gherkin building, where the views over London will take your breath away.

Proceeds from the event go to Ovacome – the ovarian cancer support network, the charity supporting those affected by ovarian cancer – 1230’s charity for 2008.

Thanks to generous sponsorship by Abbey Business Centres, The Gherkin, usually only open to staff and their guests, is the venue for not one, but two 1230 ticket only* events -1230 Diamonds are Forever! in association with Frank Usher Fashion, and 1230 Casino Royale (open to guys as well) booked separately. Why not book both and stay in London over night at a nearby hotel.

Bookings have already been made for these events. This is a rare opportunity to enter The Gherkin – don’t miss out, book now!

Booking deadline – 11 September

To Register and for more information

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Women in Games 2008

This year’s Women in Games conference is being hosted jointly by the Department of Computer Science,University of Warwick and Rare Ltd. This is as a really exciting opportunity to get together with a wide mix of both academic and industrial participants (both male and female!) and to focus on issues relating to games industry and research, but with a particular emphasis on issues relating to the current gender imbalance. The conference covers all aspects of games but this year (given the interests of the Warwick Computer Science Department) they’re focusing on the technology aspects: getting women into Computer Science education, getting women into games programming.

Keynote Speakers:

Sara de Freitas (Serious Games)

Karen Brennan (Scratch, MIT)

Paulina Bozek (Sony)

Karen Clark (Bioware)

Eileen Brown (Microsoft)

*Deadline now extended to Monday 23rd June.

Contact nicola@womeningames.com for more information.

To Register

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Intrepid Women: Piper Cherokee Rising

smallairplane.JPGby Kate St. Vincent Vogl (New York City)

Flying by the seat of your pants is more than making things up as you go along. It’s trusting your instincts. I learned how in a Piper Cherokee. Not the first small plane I’d ever been in, but the first time for me in the left seat.

My flight instructor had a comb-over and shoulders hunched from years of folding into impossibly small cockpits. I was so sure I’d earn quicker than most. For years my family had planes—Beechcraft, Cessena, Mitsubishi. I already knew about the walk around, the preflight checklist. I knew to yell “Clear!” before starting the propeller. But, I didn’t know I couldn’t count on the instruments, white numbers dialed in black upon a dusty instrument panel. Read more

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Passions: Making Things Happen on The Rugby Pitch

rugby.JPGBy Heather Chapman (New York City)

Working full-time for an investment bank—a time-consuming position—can leave one with little free time to pursue outside interest, despite how much one might want to. But there are others who make it their goal to follow their passions; my friend Renee, a die-hard rugby enthusiast, is one of them.

By day an AVP on a change-management team working with derivatives, Renee spends her nights and weekends on the rugby pitch, and has for the past eleven years. Prior to her freshman in college, she had preferred to spend her time playing soccer and tennis; it wasn’t until her father mentioned that she try the sport that she became interested in rugby. That decision changed her life. “I wouldn’t be in New York right now if I hadn’t become involved with rugby. Without that network sustaining me, I’m not sure I would have made it here. I got my interview with for my current position through a fellow rugby player, as well as many past leads and interviews, and I certainly wouldn’t have had some of the opportunities I’ve experienced if I hadn’t decided to play rugby. Having rugby in my life also means that wherever I go, I have friends: when I moved to NYC, the first thing I did was find a rugby club and when I moved to England the first people I met were my new rugby team.”

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Leadership America – National Women Leaders Summit

Leadership America, one of the nation’s oldest national program for the development of executive-level women, will launch a series of regional leader summits to uncover the “Next Big Thing” in women’s leadership development.

In addition to exploring opinions on current leadership development program content, the women will be led through a real-time survey and open dialogue session asking what skills they need from a leadership program to aid in their successful rise up the corporate ladder.

Purpose of the National Women Leaders Summit Series is to:

* Evaluate women’s leadership development programming spanning the last 25 years.
* Assess tools and vehicles needed for today’s successful women leaders.
* Define existing barriers to women’s advancement today.

AGENDA FOR EACH SUMMIT: Breakfast, Panel discussion with heads of women leadership groups, survey, leadership journey activity, small group discussions, and evaluation session.

National Women Leaders Summit Series dates and cities:
— Monday, September 8 Omni Hotel Chicago – Chicago, Ill.
— Thursday, September 11 Omni Hotel Shoreham – Washington, D.C.
— Thursday, September 18 Omni Hotel San Francisco – San Francisco, C A
— Friday, September 19 Omni Hotel Los Angeles – Los Angeles, Calif.
— Saturday, October 11 Omni Hotel Mandalay – Irving, Texas (Dallas)

For more information on these events please contact:
Haley Curry, 214-915-0871
haley.curry@thewomensmuseum.org

RSVP with your name and the name of your mentee to Jesusita Santillan at jesusita.santillan@thewomensmuseum.org or call 214-647-6105

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Legal Industry in the UK

law21.jpgby Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

Earlier this week, The Glass Hammer reported on a study released by Human Rights Commission in the UK which indicated that the glass ceiling in many industries, including law, was thickening. However, according to The Lawyer UK 200 Annual Report just released, as reported on The Lawyer.com , more women than ever before are rising to the top of UK law firms, with women comprising almost twenty percent of partners in the top 100, although Magic Circle firms have fewer women at the top – just 14 percent of partners in the top four firms – as compared to their smaller counterparts.

So, what is the true state of the legal profession in the U.K.? The Glass Hammer recently spoke with Sara Dixon, the owners of Firm Beliefs, a business consulting firm in the UK specializing in law firms, to find out. Ms. Dixon, herself a solicitor with an MBA, talked to us about the current trends in the legal industry and their impact upon female lawyers.

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