The Firing of Erin Callan

By: Bailey McCann164271111_69fa367db7_m.jpg

Last week’s big news in the on going fall out inside the financial services industry was the fall of Erin Callan and Joseph Gregory. While there are varying levels of speculation on why Ms. Callan was demoted so quickly after her promotion to the CFO position, one thing is clear: in this industry when things get tough CEO’s start shuffling the desk chairs. When banks start to falter, the pressure hits everyone in the bank but ultimately lands squarely on the CEO.

Richard Fuld, the CEO of Lehman is no exception and now makes the most current example. Promoting Callan to the CFO position was controversial, and it seems clear when the quick turnaround didn’t happen he moved her out. Fuld has been the CEO of Lehman for a long time, but if he can’t pull the bank out of its disarray he may well be the next casualty of this economic downturn.

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Debating The Glass Ceiling – is it a Myth?

By: Caroline Shannon

Before she even approached the age of 22, a computer-savvy Laura McHolm had already graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, worked with the likes of big-time companies, like Apple and Intel, created and marketed games, such as Pac Man and Atari, and earned her computer law degree from the University of Oxford.

Just ask her and she’ll tell you she punched right through what is referred to as a “glass ceiling,” the invisible barrier that has been held responsible for hindering women’s career advancement. But that’s not to say she wouldn’t agree with the notion that gender bias is still 100 percent alive and well.

“It does exist – just look at the number of CEOs who are women, senators who are women, presidents who are women, managers who are women,” said McHolm, who is now the co-founder of NorthStar Moving Corporation, one of San Fernando Valley’s 50 fastest growing companies. “I don’t believe that 51 percent of the population just decided, ‘No, I don’t want to do that.” Read more

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Managing Maternity for Women in IT Careers

In this highly interactive workshop you will be exploring the dual roles of being a mother and a committed IT professional.

You will address childcare and working options tailored to individual values and look at how to maintain professional relationships whilst setting appropriate boundaries.

This workshop will give you tangible take-away tools, helping to smooth transition between the maternity announcement, handover to replacement cover and return to work.

Through one-to-one work as well as group discussion you will improve your confidence by aligning your personal and professional values and feel better prepared for what it means to be a successful working mother.

This workshop will be facilitated by Dr Suzanne Doyle-MorrisSuzanne is a professional speaker and accredited coach who received her PhD in Educational Research from the

University of
Cambridge. Her doctoral dissertation focused on the experiences of successful women in male-dominated fields. Today she helps these organisations retain, recruit and develop their high potential female employees. For more information on her and her services, please visit www.doylemorris.com

If this course is of interest to you, please email Sarah Lilley at slilley@womenin.co.uk or call on 020 7422 9213.

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Office Attire – Could Carrie Make It In The Boardroom?

By: Caroline Shannon

satc_carrie_s3_396x502_033020041903.jpgWhen Adryenn Ashley was in her 20s, she dressed Sex and the City style every day – cleavage, heavy makeup and perfectly coiffed hair all the way.

But then, one of her mentors told her the reason behind her low-key, makeup-free appearance: “She said, ‘Because that’s the naked truth,’” Ashley said. “For her, it upped the honesty factor she conveyed in the workplace.”

Now, Ashley, a certified divorce financial analyst and the owner of self-promotion company Wow! Is Me, says she realizes her revealing work attire was only putting her in a situation where people were admiring the contents of her push-up bras and not her IQ.
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News You Can Use: The SIFMA Technology Management Conference

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Tuesday kicked off the beginning of the annual SIFMA Technology Management Conference at the Hilton Club in New York City. For those who don’t know, this conference hosted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, last three days, and provides updates on emerging trends for technology and technology management.

I spent a lot of time in the exhibition rooms looking at what all the vendors had to offer, as well as talking to people about emerging technologies in financial services. Virtualization is the next big thing for Wall Street data centers. The bulk of the people at the conference were showing all types of virtualization applications tailored for financial services, promising to make your firm everything from highly organized, to environmentally green and faster than the speed of light to boot.

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2008 Technology Management Conference & Exhibit

SIFMA’s 28th Annual Technology Management Conference & Exhibit is the industry’s leading event with over 300 vendors and 7,000 attendees.

The conference will address:

Communications, market data, information security, trading room support, web and Internet technology, and information systems.

The conference will focus on the rapidly-changing use of technology to drive productivity, comply with regulatory requirements, and adapt to converging markets, products and investors.

The Exhibit will explore:

Products and services in data processing, market data, information security, trading room support, web and Internet technology, information systems and other related technology activities.

For more information regarding the program, please contact Art Trager at atrager@sifma.orgor 212-313-1246

For registration costs link to: https://events.sifma.org/2008/107/event.aspx?id=534

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Microinsurance- From Corporate Underwriting to MFI Customer

Join other FWA members to learn about the global growth and global reach of microfinance and microinsurance.

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Study Finds Gender Bias Still Rampant in the Legal World

By: Heather Morse

A new study led by a sociologist at the University of Iowa has found that despite the legal profession’s success at hiring more women lawyers, these women remain less likely to be promoted to partner.

According to study leader associate professor of sociology Mary Noonan, women who practiced in a firm for five or more years were 13 percent less likely than men to make partner; even if their qualifications were equal, regardless of whether they had children.
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PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Gender Advisory Council Gives Support Where Professional Women Need It

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By Heather Cassell

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Gender Advisory Council is helping the company pave the way to success and recognition. DiversityInc recently named PwC as one of the top five in its inaugural “Top Companies for Global Diversity” for its commitment to creative diversity and global culture.

Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr., PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global CEO, credited the company’s Gender Advisory Council as part of the suite of initiatives which saw the company listed alongside Verizon Communications, The Coca-Cola Co., Bank of America and Procter & Gamble in a June 3 news release.

“We are extremely proud to have made it into DiversityInc’s first-ever global top five list,” says DiPiazza in the release. “Diversity is not just the right thing to do; it is a business issue. We believe that when you work in teams that reflect different backgrounds and perspectives you’re going to get a better answer and innovative solutions.”

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Ask-A-Recruiter: How To Find Time For A Search

Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

406635986_fa8da57692_m.jpgBetween interviews, networking, researching companies, canvassing job boards, and following up with recruiters, a job search takes as much time as my job. I feel like I need to quit before I start looking. Yet, traditional advice says the best time to look is when you’re employed. How am I supposed to fit a job search into my schedule?

Recruiters and employers prefer the currently employed, even if you have a perfectly good reason to be unemployed. You are in-the-know. You have access to competitor information. You have an existing network that can be tapped for candidate referrals for the recruiter and/or new business for the employer. Therefore, quitting is an absolute last resort. Besides, if you have to quit to take on a job search, then what would you do if a special work project arose or a promotion came up that required increased responsibility?

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