These days, it’s easy to watch the news and get depressed. War, natural disasters, and human rights abuses abound every time you turn on the TV, and its easy to just tune out all of the suffering going on around you, head to an air-conditioned office and surround yourself with comfortingly well-dressed people whose biggest problem is having too much money and not enough time to spend it.
But still, there is that nagging feeling. “Maybe I could be doing more to get involved in my community, or use my skills to help people.” When you are so busy at work, it’s hard to identify the steps necessary to get involved with a cause you believe in. But doing so can help you add meaning to your life, gain valuable experience in a sector other than the one you work in, and develop a sense of much needed perspective in the world of finance.
One of the causes I have been involved with over the years is the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and forced labor. When I lived and worked in Nepal, I helped design anti-trafficking programs for women and girls at risk of sexual exploitation, and implemented rehabilitation and reintegration programs for trafficked girls who had been rescued. Though I have been back in the US for five years, I have tried to stay involved in this cause by attending events, volunteering for pro bono projects, joining fundraising committees and keeping in touch with activists.
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Meeting the Mayor
Analysts and AssociatesWith the Women on Wall Street (WOWS) conference still fresh in my head, I started thinking about the professional metamorphosis I have made in the past year. One marker of this change is a Meet the Press event that a respectable Chicago newspaper coordinates annually. Last year I walked in wearing a suit to camouflage my anxiety of mingling with the financial industry big wigs. I was a wallflower. I didn’t bother anyone or make a fool of myself, but I didn’t make any contacts either.
Last year’s event took place around the time that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) announced they would be acquiring the Chicago Board of Trade. Craig Donahue, the Chief Executive Officer of the CME, was the featured guest at the event. I would never have recognized him if it wasn’t for his entourage. People gathered around him and he spoke for about 15 minutes. I can’t tell you what it was about since I didn’t speak his language. I took sips of my drink, laughed when everyone else did and clapped when he was finished.
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Branding Strategies for Returning Professionals
NewsThe Duke Alumni Association and Duke Club of New York will partner with Women@Work, LLC, to sponsor a seminar especially for women. Branding Strategies for Returning Professionals will address the question of women returning to the work force, and the repackaging of their skills and experiences in such a way that employers see “that they have continued to develop their business skills through significant volunteer endeavors, part-time positions, or occasional project work.”
To register online, click here:
https://www.womenatworknetwork.com/events_collegealumnaesminars.asp#upcomingseminars
Human Trafficking: A Cause to Be Passionate About
NewsThese days, it’s easy to watch the news and get depressed. War, natural disasters, and human rights abuses abound every time you turn on the TV, and its easy to just tune out all of the suffering going on around you, head to an air-conditioned office and surround yourself with comfortingly well-dressed people whose biggest problem is having too much money and not enough time to spend it.
But still, there is that nagging feeling. “Maybe I could be doing more to get involved in my community, or use my skills to help people.” When you are so busy at work, it’s hard to identify the steps necessary to get involved with a cause you believe in. But doing so can help you add meaning to your life, gain valuable experience in a sector other than the one you work in, and develop a sense of much needed perspective in the world of finance.
One of the causes I have been involved with over the years is the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and forced labor. When I lived and worked in Nepal, I helped design anti-trafficking programs for women and girls at risk of sexual exploitation, and implemented rehabilitation and reintegration programs for trafficked girls who had been rescued. Though I have been back in the US for five years, I have tried to stay involved in this cause by attending events, volunteering for pro bono projects, joining fundraising committees and keeping in touch with activists.
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Why Are Women Being Short-Changed at Work?
Expert AnswersMost women over the age of 18 working in the UK earn less than their male colleagues in the same jobs. Unfortunately, it does not look like this will change any time soon.
According to a report issued by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) in July 2007, it will take 200 years for there to be as many women as men in the House of Commons; 65 years to achieve boardroom equality at FTSE 100 companies; and 45 years for the pension gap to close at current rates of progress.
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100 Most Influential Women in London Awards
Pipeline, What's OnLast night on London’s Liverpool Street, there was a glamorous gathering of designer bags and stiletto heels, all assembled with their occupants at the Financial News 100 Most Influential Women in the City Awards. The Great Eastern Hotel boasted a gathering of ladies sporting mainly black and navy suits (both skirt and pants variety), with crisp cotton blouses and luxury silk scarves featured prominently. Dior, Hermes, Ferragamo, Celine, Manolo et. al. were spotted in abundance. The Glass Hammer held its head high with your own correspondent sporting pearls, Gucci scarf and (vintage) Chanel jacket.
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Equal pay tribunals in the UK overwhelmed with claims
NewsThough women have made great strides in the workplace in recent decades, there is still a disturbingly significant gap between the earnings of men and women in the same jobs. In both the US and the UK, independent juducial bodies have been created to address claims of pay disparity. However, the pay gap issue is so significant that these organizations run the risk of being overwhelmed.
In Britain, the large numbers of women taking employers to equal pay tribunals has left the system under such strain that the head of the Equal Opportunities Commission says that a moratorium on claims is urgently needed.
Jenny Watson, outgoing Chairman of the Commission, stated that the 155% increase in the number of claims from 2005 to 2006 has left the system overburdened and in danger of collapse.
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The More You Have, the More You Spend
Money TalksA recent article in Pink Magazine called The Devil Wears Handbags cited the statistic that those with incomes over $150,000 spend three times more on luxury goods than those in households with incomes ranging from $75,000-$99,000. While it’s intuitive that people with more money would spend more and would have more disposable income for luxury items, that’s not the whole story.
When it comes to high earning single women, it seems that the more you have, the more you spend. Among my group of friends, all successful young female lawyers, shopping is huge. It seems that every time we get together, someone is wearing a new designer outfit, showing off a new Marc Jacobs bag or sporting the latest Manolo Blahniks from the resort collection (or sometimes all three).
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Intrepid Women Series, Part 2: Trapeze School
Intrepid Women SeriesHow many times has this happened? You’ve had a super-stressful day at work: phones ringing off the hook, boss yelling in your face, long on hours and short on appreciation. You lean back, close your eyes for a minute. You picture yourself letting go and flying through the air, weightless and unburdened. Soaring like a bird, looking down on your office building, which suddenly looks tiny. After a few deep breaths, you are refreshed, ready to finish up that report in time to have it in your boss’s inbox by 8:00 am.
While its possible that you are a bit less mental than me, and don’t often engage in this fantasy as frequently or at work, every girl has dreamed of flying at least once. So, you can imagine my childlike glee when I learned that I could fulfill my lifelong dream by enrolling in a lesson at New York’s Trapeze School. Along the West Side Highway in downtown Manhattan’s Hudson River Park, the trapeze school operates outdoors in the summer and under a big-top tent when it gets colder.
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Entrepreneur Magazine Names Top 50 Women-Owned Businesses
NewsThe November 2007 issue of Entrepreneur magazine published a list of the top 50 fastest growing female-led companies in North America.
The study, co-sponsored by the Women Presidents Organization and Entrepreneur magazine, solicited applications from women-led businesses in North America that met the following criteria:
Companies were ranked according to a sales growth formula and the top 50 were selected.
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The Role of an Executive Coach
Next LevelTwenty years ago, if a person mentioned having a coach most people would have assumed that they were an elite athlete or that they drove a tour bus in their spare time. Today, having an executive coach has become an increasingly common feature of corporate life – but why?
In the past, organizations were relatively simple structures. There was usually one leader to whom a number of sub-leaders reported, each being responsible for a department related to their own specialization. There was usually a clearly defined hierarchy, explicit reporting lines and specific job descriptions. Of course this led to its own set of problems, in that departments did not always collaborate to the extent necessary, but it was at least fairly simple to manage. With globalization has come a complexity which was not present in the old traditional structure. Companies today have numerous different structures and matrices which overlay each other in a complex web of local market and centralized resources.
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