Sapphire Partners & London Business School Focus on Flexible Working

CIMG0571.JPGIt was standing room only at London Business School on January 31, 2008, as executives from around London came to hear tips and stories from four senior women who have risen through the ranks while working flexibly. Kate Grussing, Managing Director and Founder of Sapphire Partners, moderated the panel. Some advice recurred throughout the evening:

Read more

/by

How to Divorce your Man but Keep your Assets

For this Expert Answers column, The Glass Hammer turned to Catherine Costley, Assistant Solicitor in the Family Department of Rooks Rider Solicitors, a top British law firm known for its expertise in Employment Law. Here, Catherine provides her expert opinion to Glass Hammer readers about how to protect your assets in the event of a divorce. Erin Abrams, a New York divorce attorney, also contributed to this article with respect to divorce law in the United States.

88054915_90a58e7897_m.jpgThere’s a saying favored by women divorcing their husbands… “What’s mine is mine but what’s yours is mine too.” There’s a misconception that upon a divorce, most women are out to take their husbands for all the money they’ve got. Flowing from that is the misconception that the courts will actually endorse such thinking when it comes to financial settlements in a divorce. To the contrary, today more and more women are amassing wealth in their own right and instead of wanting to take her husband’s assets upon divorce, it is a case of preservation of the fruits of their labor.

Although this advice may come a little late for those of you reading this with a wedding band on your hand, the best place to start the preservation of your assets is with a prenuptial agreement.

Read more

/by

Be the Strategic Networker

Womenintechnology is excited to offer you this full-day workshop that provides the tools to help you create visibility for yourself.

/by

Book Reviews: The Glass Hammer’s Top Business Books

111515924_cd0b07f0c2_m.jpgThis week, we at The Glass Hammer are kicking off a new occasional Friday segment where we review and recommend business-oriented books that might be of particular interest to women working in law and finance. Today we review 3 top business books, so keep reading after the jump. Have a top pick yourself? Write in to let us know what you would like to see us review. Did one of these books change your life? (or end up being used to line your kitty’s litter bin?) Leave a comment and let us know!

“Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)” by Cathie Black

“One Person/ Multiple Careers: How The ‘Slash Effect’ Can Work For You” by Marci Alboher

“Fire Your Boss” by Stephen Pollan and Mark Levine
 Read more

/by

Spring Networking and Shopping Spree at the Worth Collection

The Worth Collection invites FWA members to an evening of shopping and networking.

/by

Saving Second Base: Fashion and Finance Party

Saving Second Base, an organization of young professionals committed to raising money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure affiliated organizations, will be holding a Fashion and Finance Party on Thursday, February 7 at Tailor (525 Broome Street) beginning at 7:00 p.m. The event, which will celebrate Fashion Week and bring together those from the communities of fashion and finance, is hosted by Gossip Girl Abigail Lorick, Urbanista.com, and eFinancialCareers the online marketplace for financial jobs.

/by

Unraveling of the SocGen Fraud

The news about a massive securities fraud by a rogue trader at France’s second largest bank, Société Générale, just keeps getting worse. The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that the bank didn’t lose the $4.9 billion euros that it first reported, but will actually report losses of over $6 billion euros after unwinding the unhedged bets by the rogue trader, Jérôme Kerviel. In what may be one of the great understatements of the year, CEO Daniel Bouton stated that the internal audit system of the bank’s risk management is insufficient to prevent this type of fraud.

President Sarkozy of France, who has been in the papers more than Britney Spears lately on affairs both private and public, has made it clear that he wants heads to roll. But who should ultimately be accountable for the biggest scandal to hit the financial markets since the downfall of Barings bank in 1995? There seems to be three upfront players in this blame game and all three seem to have played a little fast and loose with the numbers.

Read more

/by

Where the Jobs Are For Women in Finance in 2008

Contributed by Gary M. Stern

268912393_1dc14bdaed_m_1.jpgIf you listen to news reports about the subprime mortgage mess, you’d think the job market in finance is all gloom and doom. While opportunities in mortgages will be limited for some time, leading executive recruiters and career experts say that jobs are still out there for women in finance who possess the right skills and background. Here’s what financial insiders advise on where the job growth will be in 2008.

Opportunities in money and wealth management
 Asked where the major opportunities are in 2008, Kim Bishop, a New York-based senior client partner at Korn/Ferry International, a global executive search firm, said that she’s seeing steady growth in wealth and money management firms. Firms are hiring in finance “across the board and that includes business development, client service, financial planners and advisors,” she said.

But a leading female executive recruiter of a boutique firm in New York who requested anonymity said, “The subprime crisis is affecting other areas. If financial buyers can’t finance acquisitions, the market will be slower.” She sees opportunities cropping up in the next six months but envisions a tight, challenging marketplace.

Dealmakers: please apply
Venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms continue to offer opportunity, Bishop suggested. VC and PE firms seek women who have experience in “deal-making including initiating and executing deals” are in demand. Though several articles noted that private equity firms operate like men’s’ clubs, Bishop emphasized that these firms “are looking for the best talent in the world and will select whoever is best qualified,” gender not a factor.

Read more

/by

21st Century Leadership For Women

Learn how to enhance your leadership skills.

/by

Why Women Mean Business

On January 30, 2008, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) hosted a launch party for the new book Why Women Mean Business: Understanding the Emergence of our Next Economic Revolution by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox and Alison Maitland. The event took place at PwC’s offices at Embankment Place in London, where over 100 guests were invited to attend at talk by the authors. The event was sponsored by PwC’s Gender Advisory Council, which advises the Global CEO on gender issues, particularly retention and development of women and support of leadership initiatives.

Those concerned with diversity and gender issues in the business arena greeted this book with great fanfare, the book takes a new approach to these issues. Beyond “preaching to the converted,” this book seeks to bring the teachings of diversity and inclusion training to a wider audience in an understandable and accessible way.

The book goes several steps further than doling out the usual “case for diversity” plea. Instead, the book highlights WHY companies that embrace diversity and are sensitive to gender issues will become all-round employers of choice, as well as more effective marketers for this new century. It gives a lucid step-by-step guide for managers on how to create growth by valuing the input of both women and men in the workplace, explains why many current approaches to hiring more women haven’t worked well, and offers a new perspective.

Read more

/by