Women as Leaders: The Tale of the Traveling Pantsuit

Contributed by Alana Elsner

2059900256_da1ba08e96_m.jpgThis is a tale of two women, exactly three decades and one pond removed. One is the United Kingdom’s first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher; the other, America’s first serious female presidential contender, Hillary Clinton. Both bobbed their hair and prepared for battle. Gender was a much-examined factor in both races, and the public was forced to consider the role of women in executive power. But identity politics did not tell the whole story, and both candidates were evaluated on the strength of their policy positions.

Looking back at both women’s campaigns reveals subtle nuances about the portrayal of femininity in leadership. Believing that men and women rule in the same way is a little like convincing yourself that a pantsuit compliments your figure. Just as women do not fit perfectly into men’s clothes, they cannot easily be placed into a same executive leadership style.

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21st Century Leadership for Women

Upon completion of this two-day workshop you will not only receive a Certificate of Credit from the Chartered Management Institute but will have new leadership skills that will enable you to manage the potential pitfalls of traditional structures including conflict resolution and change management. You will also have the opportunity to complete an optional part-funded full management NVQ.

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News update: Markets Down on Citi Fears

It was another rough day for Wall Street, as share prices plummeted on the news that Merrill Lynch had lowered its annual earnings prediction for Citigroup again, after an executive at the Dubai fund responsible for the recent cash infusion at Citi said that the bank would need to raise more cash to stay afloat and an analyst projected another $15 billion in mortgage-related write-downs.

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EHYA Current State of the European High Yield and Leveraged Loan Market

Join the European High Yield Association for a look at trends in this market.

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Do Men Need Flexibility Too?

Contributed by Michelle Kedem, Partner, On-Ramps

To build upon yesterday’s Voice of Experience piece about the Columbia Business School conference, we invited one of the speakers, Michelle Kedem of On-Ramps, to share her experience and offer some insights about work/life balance.

765603196_8504d17bce_m.jpg I was recently invited to speak at Columbia Business School’s annual Women in Business conference. The topic of this year’s conference was “Success… Your Way: Share Your Vision and Find Your Voice.” As often happens, many of the panel discussions, regardless of the specified matters at hand, turned to the work-life topic. At the networking event at the end of the day, one of the attendees asked the question on everyone’s mind: “Why do women in business spend so much time obsessing over work-life fit? And why don’t men spend an equal amount of time focused on the tricky navigation of a personal life while excelling in their careers?”

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Achieving Business Balance

The reality of multi-tasking can be overwhelming as we struggle to do it all: manage and administer our businesses, find new clients, develop new products, do the work we’re paid to do and have a life outside the office!

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Voices of Experience at the Columbia Women in Business Conference: “Success….Your Way”

nametag.jpgThere is one word that describes why I go to the Columbia Women in Business (CWIB) conference every year: inspiration. Every year, I leave the day-long event feeling invigorated, thrilled, exhausted, and tremendously inspired by the wisdom shared by the experienced women in finance who speak at the conference. This year was no exception.

Columbia Women in Business, an organization for women business students at Columbia University in New York City, sponsors the annual conference. The organization helps their members with networking and access to resources that can help their professional careers. The conference brings together Columbia students, alumnae, and other professionals for a day of networking, workshops and panel discussions, all designed to help attendees address various career and life issues.

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Achieving as a Woman in Technology

Become more successful in your career with this workshop designed to enhance your leadership skills.

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Journal of an Aspiring Professional

During the summer of 2005, I traveled around Vietnam with my friend Mary. We started off in Old Saigon and worked our way along the coast, via beach resorts, to the northern city of Hanoi. We had plans to travel from Hanoi to Sapa, a small village on the border between Vietnam and China. Our travel agent instructed us to go to the train station and look for a guy in a turquoise shirt, who would have our tickets. We ended up finding him too late and we watched our train as it chugged away. Afterwards, when we were trying to get our money back, our travel agent said that we were “pioneers,” because none of her customers had ever missed the train before.

“Pioneers?” Mary asked, as she noticed the language confusion, “well, at least we will be pioneers in something.”

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Wine Tasting @ The Wine Library

Network and learn about wine in a fun and relaxing environment.

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